Bill WIlson

Out of curiosity, I checked scrap prices at the local recycler. They're currently paying $7.00 per 100 lb for "steel turnings", which I presume is the type of scrap that machine shops would generate (kind of like sawdust & chips, only steel). That would probably be the closest estimation for what broken scroll saw blades would bring in scrap. Anyone have any idea how many scroll saw blades it takes to weigh a pound?

Priceless. More important than any project made are the memories of the time spent together.

Generally speaking the numbers that probably matter most are the blade size classification. The No. 1, No. 3, No. 5, etc. are mostly for quick and easy reference. The smaller the number, the smaller the blade and higher the number of teeth per inch of blade length. The other numbers are the actual specifications for the blade. 18t would be 18 teeth per inch. The other numbers are physical dimensions of the blade, length, thickness and width. I don't often pay much attention to those, unless I'm comparing blades or trying to determine the size hole to drill for blade entry. For 1/4" thick wood, I would probably start with the smallest blade in the package. See how it works. Then, just for your reference, try the others out and compare how they cut. You will find that the smaller blades will cut 1/4" material well and be easier to control than the largest blade. The smallest blade will also cut 1" thick hardwood, just much more slowly than the largest blade and it will get dull faster and could be more prone to breaking.

Travis, I sympathize with you in your dilemma. We've all had that sinking feeling in the pit of our stomach, when we suddenly realize we've goofed on something important. Just be reassured that the work you do for the scrolling community is very much appreciated. You've made this website a fantastic resource and I'm sure folks will be patient. Good luck with the repair job.

Nice! Congratulations on the new saw. As for blades, don't let all the choices overwhelm you. Most blade suppliers offer basic descriptions of the types of material and thicknesses the blade is best suited for. That will help give you a general understanding, but the truth of the matter is that there is a lot of overlap. A few basic rules of thumb; The smaller the blade the thinner the stock it is best suited to cut. Smaller blades have a lot more teeth per inch (TPI), which means it won't cut as fast or aggressively. This means that the smaller the blade, the more control you have, so you can cut finer detail more easily. The larger the blade, the more aggressively it will cut. Large blades are best suited for thick, hard material and faster cutting. For fretwork, most scrollers use a reverse tooth blade. This blade has teeth that point up as well as down, so that tear out on the back side of the wood is minimized. The actual number and configuration of the reverse teeth will vary by manufacturer. For that matter, size will vary as well. For example, a #3 reverse tooth blade from one manufacturer may not be exactly the same size and TPI count as a #3 reverse tooth blade from a different manufacturer. Spiral blades are a bit of a different animal. They are very well suited for certain kinds of projects, but not necessarily the best for all types of fretwork. They are designed to be able to cut in any direction. Many new and veteran scrollers have difficulty mastering them, but there is really nothing mystical about them. They may just take a little more practice. I know it all sounds confusing at first, but most suppliers offer a variety pack of blades that will give you a good selection to start with. After you get a little experience, you will settle on which blades you prefer. Good luck and have fun making sawdust!

Don't we all? Relatively speaking, of course.

I'm going to pretty much echo what the others have said in this thread. I doubt very much that you would ever be happy with a 10" bandsaw for re-sawing. Re-sawing successfully requires a fairly robust saw and a good amount of tuning to get it to cut straight. You may be able to make curvy cuts in 1" thick material all day with a 10" saw, but when you start re-sawing, you are putting much more strain and stress on the blade. It has to be adjusted perfectly, both for alignment and tension. Re-sawing also requires a wider blade than most most other kinds of cuts on a bandsaw. I don't know what the maximum width is of a blade for a 10" bandsaw, but I doubt very much it's wide enough for effective re-sawing. I don't know any thing about Harbor Freight's bandsaws. Personally, I'd be leery and would need to see a lot of really good, objective reviews before I would try one. I have a Grizzly 14", the popular G0555 model and frankly have never been completely happy with it for re-sawing. It does OK, but if one little thing is out of tune, the cuts are poor. It's very fussy to get adjusted correctly, at least in my experience. I know a lot of folks have that saw and love it, so my issues are likely due to operator error and impatience.

Well, it was some time ago and I only order via internet now. I think Sloans may have been one site I ordered via phone/mail back in those days, but they have since closed. I generally get all of my blades from Wooden Teddy Bear these days. They carry both Flying Dutchman and Olson brands. Their website is; https://woodenteddybear.com/collections/flying-dutchman-scroll-saw-blades If you are interested in Pegas blades, there is a member here who is a distributer for them. His website is; https://www.artcraftersonline.com/shop

Very nice! I think I've seen all of the Rifleman episodes at least 3 or 4 times. That show was sort of ground breaking for its time. Despite the fact that he killed an average of 2.5 people per episode, the show was centered on the relationship between single father, Lucas McCain and his son Mark. Johnny Crawford's older brother Robert played Andy Sherman in the first couple season's of the Western show Laramie.

Given the circumstances that Dan described, it's somewhat of a shock to me that we haven't seen a lot more of this kind of thing. I know that there have been selective shortages on all sorts of items, from toilet paper to building material to ammunition, but given the amount of goods that are imported (or made here with imported components), it's a wonder that we can get anything. I work in production and material planning for a small manufacturing company, here in Western PA. We source a lot of components from overseas. It's been nothing short of miraculous that we haven't experienced more serious supply chain problems over the past year. We have had some delays, but for the most part, we've been able to stay on schedule. Credit given to our Purchasing folks who have done a great job finding the parts we need.

I actually found it interesting. Thanks for the insight!

Just another example that proves the old adage; "different strokes for different folks". Most things like this work well for enough people to make them commercially viable. Otherwise they wouldn't be available in stores, only through this exclusive TV offer, like Flex Seal and The Pocket Fisherman.

I made one for my Dad's ashes. That was about 17 years ago. I don't have any pictures. We buried it. I also fabricated a concrete vault to contain the urn. Will this be an urn for display? If so, that and your particular set of skills & capabilities would drive the design choice, I would think. There are all sorts of styles. Maybe search Google images and pick out something that looks appropriate for your circumstances.

My stacks are rarely over 5/8" thick, so I've never run into a problem with the drill bits being too short. I think the smallest one I use is a #72.

I have a DeWalt 12" compound miter saw. It seems to be plenty accurate, but the thing I like most is the LED light that shines on the blade, casting a shadow where it will contact the wood. The light is located directly over the blade, so it is accurate, as opposed to most lasers that are on one side of the blade and have a little offset to them. My CMS didn't come with this factory installed. I was able to find it as an accessory and my saw was already wired to accept it. It works great. I think every manufacturer should adopt this method.

I have one similar to the Sedy. Can 't remember the brand, as I misplaced it some time ago and have yet to find it. I also have one like this and use it a lot. Not a band clamp, but it works well for me. One thing I like is that I can add couplings and lengths of 1/4-20 all thread and make it fit larger sized frames.

My rule of thumb for saving scraps is; If I can find a place to put it, where I don't trip on it, or bang my head on it, or knock it over, every time I reach for something else, then it gets saved.

Those are great. I really like the idea of the different types of bases you are considering. I'm sure the burl will look spectacular with a little oil on it.

I agree that type 1's have been elevated to some sort of mythical status among scrollsaws, that I don't think is necessarily warranted. Mine was a type 2 and I never had any real problems with it, other than stripping out and replacing the top clamp once or twice. In fairness, my saw was never used for heavy production cutting, just typical hobbiest level use. I remember all the chatter on the forums about the type 2's when they first hit the market. I think some of the problems were just due to poor quality control, with the move to the new facility. That sort of thing isn't all that uncommon. I also recall the complaints about how there was too much front to back motion in them. I believe some of that was not just the natural arcing of the blade, but attributable to some manufacturing problems and misalignment of either the top & bottom arms and/or the table. That is why shimming the table or modifying the arms solved the problem. Some saws would over or under cut, because of this misalignment. This was most evident when cutting thick stock. You could actually see the kerf being deeper on top or the bottom. However, when cutting thinner material, it just seemed like the saw was too aggressive. If a saw is cutting more aggressively, due to a more pronounced arc of blade travel, it should still make a perpendicular kerf. If the kerf is not perpendicular, then I believe there is something mechanically wrong with the saw. That's one man's humble opinion.

When I had my DeWalt, I never thought of it as aggressive. I didn't have much to compare it to, at the time. I had it for several years and cut some pretty fine detail with it. When I got my EX-21, I played around a bit with the motor orientation, to change the arc of the cut. I was able to get it to cut way more aggressively than my DeWalt ever did. I was making some compound cut ornaments and wanted to dial up the aggression. After that project was done, I stepped away from the saw and didn't cut anything for some time. When I got back to it, I had completely forgotten that I had adjusted the motor. I had a lot of difficulty controlling the cut on some fretwork. It took me some time and a lot of questioning whether or not I had lost my touch, before it dawned on me that I needed to reset the motor. Now, I've never used a Hegner or a Hawk, so I can't argue that the DeWalt isn't naturally more aggressive than either of those saws, but I don't perceive it to be too aggressive for a beginner.

23 gauge pin nails bend pretty easily, so it may well be safe to shoot them through the stack, backed up against steel. Personally, I wouldn't choose to do that, because Murphy's Law dictates that it would jam my pin nailer. I would probably be inclined to shoot them into another piece of soft wood or foam board or something. If they don't protrude too much, then separating the stack from the backer wouldn't be a problem. Pin nails don't have all that much holding power. Then I would clip & file them smooth, so as not to scratch my scroll saw table.

Very nicely done Frank. I've used 2/0 and 3/0 spirals. I love the degree of detail you can cut with a 3/0, but they are ever so fragile that I tend to save them for the most delicate of cuts.

I have a pin nailer that I use for other projects. I've never tried it for holding stacks together. I think mine has a minimum fastener length of 5/8" and I rarely cut stacks that thick, but I still might give it a whirl sometime.

Never saw that one before. It's pretty clever. That looks like something Tom Silva from TOH would do.

Interesting. I would caution you regarding using any water based paint on OSB. It could get underneath the surface and lift the flakes. I put it on the walls of my shop. Painted it with a standard latex interior paint and have a few places where the surface is lifting. Not a big deal on a shop wall, but maybe not ideal on a frame. If you paint with water based, I would seal it first with shellac.