Shadow Wizard

I will, a grumpy old man complaining my question don't deserve an answer won't put me off. Maybe (hopefully) he was just having an off day.

Now, I am looking at them and wondering if that will even do what I am trying to sand. When I cut, a lot of times my cuts are a bit uneven, so i am trying to sand INSIDE those cuts, is that gonna get in there and sand them, even on the very small fine cuts? or is there a different/better option?

So, I am cutting VTM clan symbols out of 1/4" thick Alexander Molding poplar hobby board. I am trying to avoid sanding by hand, but I am looking for a way to sand in inside of all my cuts easier, and I find a lot of them are coming out really rough. I hope that provides you the information that you need. I am still a bit put off that I was pounced on because I just didn't know.. Before this, when I needed to sand "something" a bit of wood, metal, cardboard, a car, ANYTHING, I grabbed a piece of sand paper, and rubbed it on there. The ONLY thing I knew what "higher numbers give you finer sanding" Until VERY recently I didn't have the information there was different sand papers for different things. I thought sand paper was sand paper, so I didn't know where was anything else to add. I didn't have the knowledge to know what information was needed or missing. And YES, I DID learn things from those that decided to share information, and from those that asked questions. Interestingly enough I didn't learn a single useful thing from posts that complained that my question was too vague, and suggested it didn't warrant an answer. Interesting how that is, hmm?

Thanks guys. I would have thought it was the other way around. I will get some oak just to try and see how it is, but for my first projects I will stick to poplar. The stuff I am doing so far doesn't have a lot of small pieces that can break off on most of them. Once I create my first few pieces on nice wood I will post some photos.

I am located in Canada. It seems silly to spend money on a caliper to measure a dozen blades, when I likely will never use it again. That being said, I do have one at work I can borrow to use to measure my blades. I am planning on doing most of my work on 1/4 inch wood. So I am guessing I should try and use some of the smallest blades I can get? It looks like in my collection I have skip tooth and regular tooth blades. From what I am gathering from the chart it looks like regular tooth blades with a high TPI and low width and thickness are what is ideal. Would that be correct? I have googled a fair bit, and cant seem to figure out what a kerf is. Although nothing has gotten clogged with sawdust, it would ne nice to know what one is for future reference.

So, I am just about to go and buy my first bit of, what I am guessing will be GOOD wood to use. I am thinking of "1/4-inch x 6-inch x 4 Feet Red Oak Hardwood Hobby Board S4S" linked here: https://www.homedepot.ca/product/alexandria-moulding-1-4-inch-x-6-inch-x-4-feet-red-oak-hardwood-hobby-board-s4s/1000408500 Or perhaps the same think in poplar. Question the first: Any reason NOT to use that stuff? Question the second: red oak, or poplar? Is there really any difference when it comes to doing scroll saw work other then appearance? Question the third: if for some reason that wood is NOT recommended, can you suggest what I may be able to get without needing to order? I am located in Canada and hoping to get started on 'keep' pieces tomorrow, so I need something that would be in stock. I looked & Baltic Birch is not available at my local stores.

Awesome.. Now I just need to find out what kind of blades I have.. I looked and can't see any markings on them. Any ideas, other then counting the number of teeth?

So, now for some help on blade selection. Those that has been following my posts know I kind of found this scroll saw in my shed when I bought the house, and so far I am loving it. It came with quite the assortment of blades Some with lots of teeth, and some with not as many. Some seem to have not as much space between the teeth and the back of the blade.. I am getting ready to move to a nicer wood, and would really like some help. Is there a general rule I can use? Something I can read somewhere? or a video someone can recommend? Thanks.

Actually, the question was vague because 1) I dont have the knowledge to make it more specific. I an VERY new to woodworking and don't know what else I should have added to get better 'help' and 2) Because it gives me a very wide range of answers. Lets say for example, I give every tiny bit of detail. Wood I am using, pattern, speed of saw, type of blade, current humidity, current temperature, time it takes me to cut, examples of what I did, time of day, etc, and I got a response that says "Use this method" Then if anything changed, I would need to come back and ask again, "Well I am doing the exact same thing, but I am cutting on poplar this time instead of oak.. Should I change my sanding method?" with a wide range of answers like what I am getting, I gain more knowledge. See, for example, I just learned I need help with blade selection.. I thought those fuzzies were normal..

I am trying to find one of those. I am located in Canada, so such stuff can be hard to find, or be called different things. Any idea what else it may be called? What are the bristles made out of?

Okay, so my next question is about finishing.. Well I guess sanding? Is there a better/other way to do it then by hand? I am not a huge fan of hand sanding anything.. So I thought I would ask.

So, I have seen several different methods of attaching your pattern to the wood. So far I am using the painters tape and glue method.. I attach painters tape to the wood, and glue the pattern using white glue to the painters tape. But I find that pulls some of the wood up, at least on the wood I am using. I really would like to learn some additional methods. Now, as far as wood. So far I an kinda in "practice mode" as I just started using this thing (first project came out really nice I think) so I have been using 1/4" thick flooring underlay (See picture) as its nice and thin (the kind of work I wanna get into) and very cheap. But can't help but think there are better options out there. But when I went to my local big box hardware store, I didn't know what to ask for, so the guy kinda looked at me like I was from mars when I tried to explain what I wanted. Is there a better "practice" wood? And what should I start to get when I want to start making some really nice stuff?

It looks like that might be my exact scroll saw. I actually just finished my first piece on it, and I think I'm going to enjoy this Hobby. I can definitely see how having a steady stream of air blowing on your piece however would be very helpful, because as you can see from my photos the pump that blows the air is missing. So I have needed to add that myself by blowing on it, LOL. Anyway, I am sure I will have a lot more questions, so you will probably hear from me again. Thank you again very much for helping me figure out how to change the blade.

Which hole? There are 3. The one closest to the blade is labeled "ACCU-CLEAR PUMP" The irregular shaped one is to access the tension nut. The round one at the top back.. I have no idea.. The motor does work, I actually cut a couple of things on it. Where do you see a variable speed control? I can't find one. Yes, it uses pin blades, and yes, tension is adjusted by the bolts in the back. Pushing down worked. THANK YOU! And I have no idea what could be missing from that back hole... DO you? And what hole are you talking about exatly?

I inherited a scroll saw, no make or model number on it that I can see, and I can't figure out how to change the blade, aside from using two wrenches and loosening the two bolts on the threaded rod. Seems like a lot of work every time I need to remove/install the blade. I have uploaded images, but can't seem to link them here. So I apologize I need to post links. Hopefully the forum doesn't auto-delete them. https://ibb.co/kQ606Q9 https://ibb.co/cCnFzNC https://ibb.co/9G1v997 https://ibb.co/yVC4cZV https://ibb.co/GHJNYTF