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Q: Why does wood jump while cutting? I have the blade in correctly. The feed rate is slow. The motor speed? Bad wood? Bad blade? What have you learned about scrolling to help you overcome this? Sometimes I feel like I have to hold down the wood so hard my already arthritic hands get so sore. It cant just be my lousy saw.... Can it?

I read in a post somewhere (here, I think) where they recommended using a #7 or even a #9 skip tooth blade for cutting birdhouse ornaments so the sawdust would clear better. I am in the process of making a large batch of birdhouse ornaments, so I decided to give it a try. I had some #7 Flying Dutchman blades, so I tried these first. No joy. It cut much slower, a tiny bit rougher, and the blades did not last long. I could cut one or two birdhouses depending on the size before needing a new blade. I didn't have any #9 blades and ordered some Pegas skip tooth blades from Denny. Same result. They cut slower, a bit rougher, and the blades would only cut one or two birdhouses before I needed to change the blade. Last night I finished the birdhouses cutting them with #3 Pegas modified geometry blades that I was using before. The difference was dramatic. They cut at least five times faster than the skip tooth blades and lasted far longer. I cut ten ornaments with three blades, and this probably would have been two, but I had a catch that shortened the life of one blade. The wood I'm cutting is all poplar S4S square stock I bought at Lowes except one that I cut from pine to see if the wood made a difference. Am I missing or misunderstanding something? Why would the coarser skip tooth blade cut slower and dull faster?

I used up all my FD corian #3 blades and am looking for replacements. Today the first batch of test blades came in. One dozen each FD Polar skip #1, #3; Pegas Skip tooth #1, #3. I am cutting the interior of my heart boxes, 1 1/4 inch thick oak, some fairly sharp corners, same pattern for each blade, two boxes per blade type. FD-P #3 first up, fairly good cutting very smooth finish, drop out slides back and forth in the hole without binding, good tracking (didn't wander off the line) PST-3 good cutting, not as smooth finsh, one drop out would not slide all the way through, poor tracking. PST-1okay cutting, broke one blade an inch into the cut, finished the first and second box with the second blade,not as smooth a finish as FD, drop out slides back and forth , poor tracking. FD-P #1 great cutting, smooth finish, drop out slides back and forth, good tracking. I think this is the winner, especially for the sliding dovetails. I'll continue to contrast and compare these blade to one another as I make more boxes.

Every heard of or experimented with using a candle or canning paraffin and waxing the blade. IE running the blade and pushing a little wax into it to coat as a lubricant? RJF

Hi I have not been on for A long time. Trying to get Info On where to buy scroll saw blades. I Have been out of scroll sawing for along time trying to get a handle on Who sales the best priced But good blades. We have just restored A old Grain building in to my wood shop with A lot of the work being done by my Husband. Any way I'm trying to get back in the swing of this Hobby I once was active in. I've gotten Older And eyes have gotten older too. So I'm not as fast As I used to be at running My Scroll saw. But I'm Not giving up. The Dewalt Must think I a banded it Cause it has been a few years Since I have Made a pile of saw dust.

I recently posted a comparison of some scroll saw blades and got some good feedback. One notable thing was that several said that the Pegas Modified Geometry Blades were their favorites. I had not used them and ordered several different sizes. Once I got them, I wanted to compare them to my standard blade which is the Flying Dutchman #7 Polar and to the PS Woodshop #7 Super Sharp. Below is a picture showing a close up of the blades and also a table with the specifications and the cost per dozen. Interesting that the Pegas Modified Geometry has some reverse teeth on the lower part of the blade. I edited this topic and took out the references to the cutting comparison that was done.

Someone asked in another thread about my blade storage technique. This is as it is now....New tubes coming so I can replace some and make some modifications See if this picture opens I guess you could say I am a "blade" collector But when it comes down to it there are a couple sizes in 3 styles I use the most

Well, I certainly don't wish to come across as a "smart-aleck" or anything along those lines, so suffice it to say I'd like to share a real-life personal experience with you. I recently (October) took up scrolling as a rather serious hobby/small business. Just like anything with me, I tend to learn faster through trial and error, with the emphasis leaning a tad heavy in the direction of error. I am fortunate in that I have a "scrolling mentor" who lives about an hours drive from me. I asked him the other day "how does one determine if they're pushing too much, aside from recovering from a broken blade, far too often?" Rather than try and answer my question, he asked me what blades I was using since he knew my primary material I am cutting (3/4" MDF). I told him I was using a #7 Olson and he suggested a #3 Ultra-Reverse blade from Mike's, The Flying Dutchman. So, I ordered the blades and got them in. Voila'!! I wish I asked him sooner!! I would have NEVER guessed using a #3 blade, period, due to the thickness of my stock. The cut was so smooth and clean, I did another one and another one. I'm BRAND NEW at this hobby folks, however, as a way of saying "thank you" to many of you who have already opened up with suggestions and encouragement, I felt compelled to share this information with you. Back in July, this year, we had a horrific shooting (Baton Rouge, LA, USA) here that left three of our law enforcement professionals dead and two, seriously wounded and still recovering. I said that to say this. Using my new blades which I described above, I made a plaque for one of the wounded Deputies (the other one remains unconscious). This coming Thursday, I am going to his home and gifting him the plaque I made for him, as a surprise. This is said plaque.

I know this subject has come up several times.but my memory fails me at times.What do you Fellow Scroller's use to lubricate your blades,until recently I did not have to worry about it,but I am using a smaller blade,and it wants to burn quicker,I am using a # 2 in !/4 plywood.What would be the best thing to make my blades last longer?

So I have been doing some compound cutting on 1 3\4 x 1 3\4 blocks. I have tried multiple blades. I would like to get everyone's opinion on this. What do you think is a good blade for this? I have tried #7 modified geometry with horrible success. Moderate success with the #7 skip tooth and have found that a FD #1 ultra reverse works best for a fast cut without burns. I would think that the thicker blade on thick stock would be better, based off of what I have read but it seems that this is the opposite. Any opinions would be great. Thanks

Again posting from a position of complete ignorance, I mainly cut MDF and wondered how long a blade might last? I feel that it's best to quantify "how long" in linear meters /feet. I use fairly cheap Silverline blades, and change them approximately every 1m of cut. I don't know why. I typically don't use lubrication. How far would the experienced guys go?

I have been looking online for suitable wood for scrolling and fretwork, but I have been unable to find any thing. My local stores only carry plywood and I dont want to use that unless there is no other way. I would like to find about 1/2" thick domestic hardwoods, anywhere from 4" wide to 12" wide. Wildwood designs is the only place so far that I have found, and they go to 8" wide. They are in the process of updating their site so it isn't quite working right, but is there any where else?

Hello everyone, I have a problem, the blades do not seem long enough to connect to both ends. I have tried to push the top arm down and it does not move, nor does the bottom one. I have the tension released (of course) but the blades are not long enough to meet up where they should. Now after having said that, I am still able to get some blades to work, I can not figure this out and can use any help from anyone. The machine I have is the Excabibur 30, I am using both flat and spiral blades, problem occurs on either. Here is a question for anyone~~does anyone make a slightly longer blade???? Thanks in advance for any help, Maggie Nell

I knew I hated spiral blades but had no choice as this was 3' long in oak and after I finished it I remembered why because they are really difficult to control. I know some of you love them but I have slowed down speeded up I still don't like um but some things you just can't turn around on a EX-21. Thanks for listening to my rant. Roly