Bill WIlson

Experimentation is good and you are learning....that a #7 blade is far too big and aggressive for stock that thin.

Yea, I'd be tempted to blame it on the blade. I've had brand new ones that would barely cut or would track wildly. If you've already tried multiple blades, then I got nuthin'.

Molly Hatchet for the win!

What's an album?

For the sake of simplicity, let's start with the basics. There are essentially 3 main brand names for scroll saw blades that are the most used, at least by the folks on this forum. Those would be Pegas, Flying Dutchman and Olson. Pegas blades, as mentioned, are available from Denny @ Art Crafters. The other 2 are available from Wooden Teddy Bear (among other places). For starters, that will get you going. As for which brand to choose, right now, as a beginner, I don't think it really matters all that much. There really isn't a wrong choice. They all will do the job. Until you get a feel for what blades you want to use, pick a brand and run with it for a while. Many of us have tried a lot of different ones and have a large variety on hand, most of which we don't really use. So take Denny up on his offer. He will point you in the right direction and help you choose what size & type of blade to get you started. And you can always come back here for more advice. Search the forum. Questions about what blade to use come up all the time and there are many threads on the topic. Good luck and let us know how you are doing.

Agree with what Dan said. And a testament to that is the fact that most (if not all) of the better quality scroll saws only accept plain end blades.

My first experience with spirals nearly scarred me for life. Years ago, I was cutting several Volker Arnold schwibboggen patterns for Christmas presents. I got some Olson spiral blades. I had so many break, some even before I turned the saw on. I couldn't keep them in the clamps to save my life. When I tried untwisting the ends, I had marginally better luck getting them to stay in the clamps, but then they would break as soon as I put tension on them or shortly thereafter. It was a monumentally frustrating experience and I nearly swore off spirals forever. Later I tried some FD spirals and had much better results. I'm convinced I got a flawed batch of Olson blades. They were soooo brittle it was practically impossible to use them.

Yea spirals are a challenge to get into the blade clamps. Flying Dutchman offers flat end spirals in some sizes, but unfortunately, I mostly use the smaller sizes, which aren't available in flat end. So, I use the 2 pair of pliers approach and straighten them myself. It's a little tedious, but you get better at it the more you do it.

Olson has a 2-way cut blade.

Very cool site. I'm going to have to spend some serious time there. Lots of information to view. Thanks for putting that together and letting us know about it. I'll definitely pass this along to the members of my scroll saw club.

I was referring to blade speed. I will sometimes change the blade speed during a cut, so that I don't have to increase the feed rate and possibly lose some control.

That's true...to a point. I've been scrolling for almost 30 years. I don't consider myself a "fast" scroller. It simply is a metric that means very little to me, most of the time. I'll change speeds during a cut. I'll speed up when I'm cutting a long, smooth line. I'll slow down when I'm in very delicate and intricate areas of a pattern. It's more about control than speed.

I taught my grandson how to play a few years ago. He was maybe 10. I hadn't played in 40 years and was never really all that good at it, even when I did play regularly. Took me awhile to remember how all the pieces moved, but it eventually came back to me and we would play a couple games when he came to visit. I was able to beat him, but he soon lost interest and moved on to other hobbies. Probably just as well. If he had kept at it, I'm sure he would have been whipping me in no time.

The book is "The Scroll Saw Workbook" by John Nelson. https://www.amazon.com/Scroll-Saw-Workbook-3rd-Skill-Building/dp/1565238494 I would suggest that you not chase after the perfect blade, by trying a whole bunch of different ones just yet. Pick a good brand, from the ones that have been mentioned in this thread and stick with that until you get the hang of scrolling. Certain brands may be better in certain applications, but by & large, if you are able to make a cut, you can use just about any brand of blade. More important is to understand the proper size and type of blade for the material and pattern you are cutting. Try a few different sizes of a reverse tooth type blade from whichever manufacturer you choose. Use them to practice in thin and thick wood to learn the basics. Once you get to the point where you can reasonably and consistently follow a line, then you can diversify and try a few other brands to see if they make a difference for you.

I've used these for many years. They have their limitations and I'm considering alternatives that are a little more functional, but these have worked for me. I attach them to a strip of plywood that has a factory edge. https://www.grizzly.com/products/woodstock-board-straighteners/d3119

Welcome to the forum. More important than what brand you choose is learning how to determine the size & type of blade is best for a specific application. There is a vast array of blade sizes, types and tooth configurations. Throw in brand and the possible combinations become almost infinite. Here is a blade chart that is a pretty decent source of info as to the blades and their best application. It's for Olson brand, so some of the specifics will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. I presume Flying Dutchman and Pegas blades have similar charts for their brands. Anyway, take a look. Remember that the smaller the blade the smoother the cut, the finer detail it will cut, the more teeth per inch it will have and the thinner wood it is intended for. Hope this helps. https://www.olsonsaw.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/2020-scroll-chart-WEB.pdf

Try standing or sitting slightly off center to your saw. If the blade drifts away from the line, to the right, then move a little the right and you will trick your brain into thinking that you are cutting straight.

John's right. Any of the issues we are discussing in this thread are present in most other forums. It's just part of human nature. Where else but on forums (social media, in general) can we talk about this stuff with people all over the world, from all different backgrounds and levels of experience? It's really quite remarkable, at least for those of us who can remember the days when the internet didn't exist. One of the challenges that go along with asking and answering questions in this sort of format is that miscommunication and/or misunderstanding is much more prevalent than what one would typically experience in personal, face to face conversations. It's on all of us, who participate in these forums, to try and be as clear and concise as we possibly can with our questions, comments, replies and responses. Not all of us are as accustomed to conversing on-line as we may be in person. The dynamic is different and that affects the interpretation of our words. We do the best we can. Getting upset about it and bailing doesn't really help much. Everyone has something to add to the conversation. Even if it may be the same thing some of us have heard dozens of times, there is a good chance someone else is reading it for the first time.

I can attest to the Ray's statement; "Not a tough job at all if you are patient and take your time." It took me 2 or 3 hours to do mine several weeks ago. It would have been nice to have seen this video then, but the written instructions from Seyco were sufficient. And I'm not the best hand at this kind of thing.

Interesting. When I was having trouble with my EX a couple months ago, one of the things Ray at Seyco had me do was move the arm adjustment knob. I couldn't turn it. I bought the saw in 2016 and have never touched that knob. It was tight, like the threads were seized. I eventually got it to loosen up. Now I hope it doesn't start spinning freely on me.

In my case, it would be bears.

Presuming the Seyco's blade clamping and tensioning mechanism is the same as what is on my EX-21, there really isn't a whole lot that could be happening. If the Seyco had a tensioning mechanism like the Dewalt, for example, there are more potential mechanical reasons why tension could be slipping, but for a tensioning mechanism such as on the Excalibur, the options are limited. When the blade feels like it has slipped, do you notice slack in the blade when you re-clamp? Does the tension lever remain firmly in place? Is there any involuntary movement of the arm lifting knob at the rear of the saw? Blade slippage is the most likely culprit. You've owned the Seyco for 3 years, but have been scrolling for much longer. What kind of clamping method did you have on your previous saw(s)?

That right there is what makes it all worthwhile. Good job man. That is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship.

That was kinda the point I was trying to make. The saw has features that make it very user friendly (including the purchase price, compared to Hegner/Hawk), so indirectly it is the design that attracts them. My question was, once the cat is out of the bag, so to speak and owners realize the inherent weakness of the double parallel link design, is that enough to sway them to replace it with a Hegner or a Hawk? I'm only asking because I've recently had those thoughts myself. When my Excalibur broke down in November, I learned first hand what many others have already found out and has been written about on the scrolling forums for years. This design is prone to failure of the bearings. I purchased the EX to replace a Dewalt. Ironically it was because I thought my Dewalt was getting long in the tooth and I figured it was due for bearing problems. I never had any problems with it. I figured the EX was a more commercial grade version of the Dewalt. I liked how the Dewalt operated and the EX being very similar, there was no learning curve. I considered Hawk & Hegner at the time, but decided on the EX due to that familiarity. I'm wondering now if that was a good decision. I also wonder if any other owners of dual parallel link saws might have similar feelings.

Nice work. As for the features you dislike, consider all of them to be good learning opportunities. In most projects, you will find aspects you like and dislike. The cool thing is you can choose to modify any, if not all, of these features to be more to your liking. Next time you make something, don't worry too much about following the pattern and instructions to the letter. Consider the lessons you learned with these projects and apply them where appropriate to the next one. Often just choosing different materials makes all the difference.