danilou7

I used to use black lines and then read a post about 2 years ago on the same subject that suggested red lines. I tried that and it worked pretty well, but my printer doesn't have individual color cartridges so I was using up the color cartridge pretty quick and spending a lot of money for those cartridges. I use Inkscape for making my patterns and started experimenting with shades of grey and have settled on 30% grey printed on grey paper. That provides enough contrast in color between the blade and the pattern and have used this combination for about 1 1/2 years now. But as somebody said earlier, it's what works best for you and the only way to determine that is to experiment with different colors, shades and paper. Good luck!

You could look at Bell Forest products, https://www.bellforestproducts.com. I use a lot of 1/8" wood for projects and I've never had any issues with the wood cupping, not saying it won't. That could be determined by the humidity in your area. I've never had anything shipped to me because they're only 1 1/2 hours away so I make a run about every 2 months (I live int he UP of Michigan, so everything is at least an hour away). Super great people to work with and an extremely large amount of exotics to choose from.

I have 2 saws. One is a Hegner Multi-Max2, which was the original saw that I learned on. The other is an older Delta 20" variable speed saw that a friend gave to me recently because he never used it. I stuck it in the corner of my shop because when I first looked at it, the table was rusty and it was covered with dust, so I thought it was just a boat anchor. However, I started doing work with thin material and was wishing I had variable speed on the Hegner when I remembered the Delta. I dug it out, cleaned it all up, and discovered it actually worked okay. So now, I have both saws set up and ready to use for what the project calls for. Also, like many others here have said, "One can never have too many tools!"

As stated by most people here, practice, practice, practice does help. With that being said, I would like to add some suggestions that may help you. 1) Staying on the line while cutting straight or circular: Have you checked to see if the blade is square to the table top? If not, reset your table to zero, and the move your angle indicator to match. Another possibility is that you are not pushing your work piece straight back into the blade. If you happen to be pushing the workpiece to one side or the other, it can cause the blade to "wander" in that direction whichsl makes it pretty difficult to stay on the line you want to cut. I read that someone said to think of the blade as a pivot point when cutting round shapes, and by doing that, the work piece doesn't need much feed pressure. It's almost like it feeds itself around the curve. 2) Speed of the blade: General rule of thumb is that the thinner the workpiece, the slower the blade should be run, assuming you have a variable speed drive, and the blade size should go smaller as well. So in the scenario you presented, the speed should have been set at 1/4 for the 1/4" material and 1/2 for the 1/2" material. You will find also that as the blade speed gets slower, the easier it is to follow the cut line. I have 2 scroll saws. One is a Delta 20" with variable speed drive and the other is a Hegner Multi-Max 2, and is not a variable speed machine. They both have a place in my shop as I work with different thickness woods. Most of my work is done with 3/4" walnut so I normally will use the Hegner for that as I want the fast speed (1600 spm) and feed. And the Hegner is what I cut my teeth on, so it's my favorite saw. I can cut the thinner material using it, but it's much more aggressive on the feed, so I really have to pay attention to what I'm doing. But with 2 saws, I normally will switch to the Delta for 1/2" or thinner material. One more thing, I have learned that to make tight corners without having to back out and come in at a 90* from the other direction, is that when you get into the corner is to shift the feed pressure from pushing into the teeth of the blade, is to change the feed pressure to the back of the blade and then turn onto the cut line going out of the corner. That's the best way I can describe the technique I use for tight corners. For finishing my work, I use Deft lacquer spray. The 1st coat acts like a sealer, and then I spray 2 more coats on for the finish. The advantage to the lacquer is the fast dry time and the ease of use. Also, spraying the finish on looks a lot nicer than brushing and you remove the risk of the finish running down the sides of your workpiece. Well, these are just my thoughts on your questions. Hope they help and remember: Practice, Practice, Practice!!!!

Hey Seth, where are you located in the UP? I'm in Iron River.

Thanks for the welcomes everybody. It's good to be back in the "scroll saddle" again. I'll post pictures when I get some things figured out and some pieces made.

Been approximately 20 years since I've scrolled. Lot of water under the bridge in that time.. Just recently bought a used Hegner Multi-max 2 ( same as I had bought in the mid '80's) and am learning what I had forgotten about. I have discovered rather quickly that some things have changed in the scroll saw arena, namely the number of different blades available now. I started with blades from Advanced but after reading many posts, I ordered Pegas blades and really like them. The vast majority of what I did and am doing was with 4/4 walnut, but am beginning to develop an interest in more detailed. work, so I am sure I will be using thinner wood and smaller blades. It will be nice to catch up by reading many posts on this forum.