Raccoon

Thanks for all the advice everyone, going to try a few things today to make sure everything within the machine is running right. Going to make sure the machine and the blade are all aligned as well as work on my tension with speed + pushing the wood. Another question regarding blades, regardless of the makes. Can using a bigger, less TPI blade on thinner, smaller wood cause more problems than using a more fitting blade like one with more TPI? I'm pretty sure using a small blade on thick wood is a no go, but what about a thick blade on thin wood? Planning on getting some higher quality blades in the future, after I run through all my current ones as I practice and tinker with things. Thanks everyone!

So before I start, just going to give a little background about myself to potentially answer a few question. Firstly, I recently just bought a new Scroll Saw, http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-1-2-Amp-16-in-Corded-Scroll-Saw-SC165VS/205419917?cm_mmc=Shopping%7cTHD%7cG%7c0%7cG-BASE-PLA-D25T-PowerTools-SKU%7c&gclid=Cj0KEQiAl5u2BRC6yszC1_75v5wBEiQAD-hdz3blPJAdwZpc6K53OYMO4uTpczRnBcuHYV6pfWdpqiUaAmWd8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds This one to be the exact model. Just wanted something simple, (Cheap comes with that) and just something to make small things with, had no real intentions of getting into real delicate or precise designs. This is basically my first time using a scroll saw, I took a few years of Wood Shop in highschool and only used it once (created a name plate) and since then I have lost all knowledge or "skill" I had with it. I'm comfortable with any other machines, band saws, table saws, lathes, etc etc. But when it comes to the scroll saw, I just lack anything and quite frankly, am nervous to use one, which is weird since it's probably the safest machine to work with. Anyways, to my issue. I just seem to can't cut anything without a blade snapping in half (Are blade breaks suppose to sound like gun shots? God, the first one scared me like no other) and whenever I go for a cut, it just doesn't seem right. Chances are, I'm assuming I'm doing something wrong with the tension, the blades I'm using and the wood I am using all together to create me problem. But with such little knowledge of the scroll saw, I wanted to have people personally respond with their inputs to help me (I've been watching a LOT of videos on the scrollsaw and have been reading a lot, but answers direct are always more informative. Here are some pictures of the saw, The saw has a knob to change the speed, but has no numbers or way of saying this is that speed and this is that speed, just gotta eye ball it in terms of all the way down, in the middle and all the way up. The machine also has a knob for tightening which I always find myself not sure when enough tightening is enough (I aim for that "C" pitch sound and have even played the noise from others on Youtube to mine to compare to find the perfect tone, yet still find everything out of wack) Here are the blades I'm using, just picked up some as Home Depot hoping for the best, didn't do too much research into them. The wood I was using, Pre cut Poplar from Home Depot. I've broken two blades on this, one broke right at the bottom, the other right at the top. Both were from cuts that were pretty straight or were slightly curved, no crazy speeds or turns or anything like that. Everything was also very shaky, just didn't have that "clean, smooth, everything is going good" feeling with it during any cuts, and this is going less than an inch into the wood. Not sure if this is common with scroll saws, or if not. I'm pretty sure the issue is the type of wood I'm using + the blades I'm using with a mix of an issue with tension/work speed so would love if someone could confirm or answer if this is possibly the issue. Didn't think the wood, which isn't thick at all, under 1/2 could cause so much issues. D: The blades broken, The 10TPI from the blue package above (Pretty sure this is the wrong blade type for this type of work) Broke from the bottom Blade that came preinstalled on the machine in packaging, Believe it is 15 TPI. Broke from the top Sorry for the rather long post and all the pictures, just wanted to make sure everything was clear in description to help out in explaining. If anyone has an answer, any advice, or anything that can help, would love to hear. I know the only way to get better is with practice and knowledge so am looking forward to that. Just want to make sure I'm practicing the right way and not making a silly mistake. Thanks.