Wowsa, it's summertime, in my neck of the woods that means plenty of heat, yard work, thunderstorms and all kinds of fun stuff  . This week we're going to do a question and answer type post. Just post a question and we'll all give our answers and discuss it around. So fire away !! Let's see what we can come up with. 

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Greg
Scroll Saw forum host

http://www.thesawdustfactoryga.com/

OK I'll bite!

For the first time scroller, never scrolled a day in their life, but they know they want to do it, what would be a good machine to invest in and not frustrate this first time scroller? Thanks Greg!

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker
Proud Supporter of Wounded Warrior Project and Homes For Our Troops

Same question as John! Just had the mailman ask me the same thing on Saturday!

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Lew Kauffman-
Wood Turners Forum Host

Time traveler. Purveyor of the world's finest custom rolling pins!

Great question Gents. Ultimately the answer would be buy the best that you can afford. Practically speaking though a lot of people won't want to spend $500-800 on something just to see if they like it, and I can't blame them. Definitely stay away from the low end saws, Ryobi, skil and such, most of these are not real user friendly and have quite a bit of vibration which makes for a bad experience, which will turn people away from the craft. Middle of the road priced $200-250 saws will handle any beginner projects. Another alternative would be a good used saw, craigslist or the local pawn shops can help with this. As with any major purchase do some research and educate yourself, try to anticipate future projects that you would like to try also so your saw will have the capabilities. Since Al Gore invented the internet , we all have access to information and misinformation instantly. There are quite a number of online forums with plenty of friendly people  like us that are more than willing to share info and knowledge, so check those out too. Of course this is the only  forum you want to get info from . Hopefully this helps. 

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Greg
Scroll Saw forum host

http://www.thesawdustfactoryga.com/

Hey Greg, what's the word on the older Delta Rockwell scrollers? I have one at dads place, it's nice, runs great, sound like a dang sewing machine. Are those good or will the blade changeovers be too frustrating.

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker
Proud Supporter of Wounded Warrior Project and Homes For Our Troops

Greg is there any kind of conversion chart for saw blade numbers and where is the best place to pick up saw blades? I noticed that Lowe's and Home Depot carry blades, but they don't have the numbers on them I see you guys talk about.

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John Moody
Site Administrator


John Moody Woodworks
http://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com

John, I'm not that familiar with a lot of the older saws, but back in the day they were built so heavy that they had little vibration.Does it use plain end blades ? , a lot of the older saws were set up for pin end blades only, which pretty much limits you to outside cuts. But there is some retrofit blade holders available, this site list some for a Delta 
http://www.pozsgaidesigns.com/page0006.htm and Rick Hutcheson is probably the best authority overall in scroll saws especially Delta's. He has the largest collection in the states and has been involved in scrolling for so many years, check out his site http://scrollsaws.com/ he's always willing to answer questions too. 
John Morris said:

Hey Greg, what's the word on the older Delta Rockwell scrollers? I have one at dads place, it's nice, runs great, sound like a dang sewing machine. Are those good or will the blade changeovers be too frustrating.

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker
Proud Supporter of Wounded Warrior Project and Homes For Our Troops

Here's a link to a chart put out by Olson Blades 
http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/yhst-16765698503918/ScrollChart.pdf you should be able to do some comparisions with it and the blades @ HD and Lowe's, all the manufacture's will use different model #'s, but you can compare actual dimensions. Ultimately I HIGHLY recommend getting blades from Mike Moorlach http://www.mikesworkshop.com/blades.htm, you can not say enough good about Mike, he is always willing to answer questions and his service beats anybody. He is in S.D. and typically if I order blades on line in the evening he mails them the next afternoon and I will have them in my hands by wed. or Thurs. at the latest. He has a sample back available, you might want to order that, or call him and explain what type of cutting you plan on doing and he will steer you in the right direction. 
John Moody said:

Greg is there any kind of conversion chart for saw blade numbers and where is the best place to pick up saw blades? I noticed that Lowe's and Home Depot carry blades, but they don't have the numbers on them I see you guys talk about.

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John Moody
Site Administrator


John Moody Woodworks
http://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com

Thanks Greg for the great advice. I remember on this saw, the blade was secured on both ends, I am not sure what this means. But if you wanted to make a cut in the middle of the board, you'd have to detach one end and slide the board over the blade. Is this common?

Greg Aksdal said:

John, I'm not that familiar with a lot of the older saws, but back in the day they were built so heavy that they had little vibration.Does it use plain end blades ? , a lot of the older saws were set up for pin end blades only, which pretty much limits you to outside cuts. But there is some retrofit blade holders available, this site list some for a Delta 
http://www.pozsgaidesigns.com/page0006.htm and Rick Hutcheson is probably the best authority overall in scroll saws especially Delta's. He has the largest collection in the states and has been involved in scrolling for so many years, check out his site http://scrollsaws.com/ he's always willing to answer questions too. 
John Morris said:

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Greg
Scroll Saw forum host

http://www.thesawdustfactoryga.com/

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker
Proud Supporter of Wounded Warrior Project and Homes For Our Troops

John, a pin end blade will look like this

 

the big disadvantage to this type blade is the entry holes for inside cuts, plain end blades are just that no pins on them and they mount in a pinch type jaw, something like this

Plain end blades come in a wide variety of styles and sizes for cutting various types and thicknesses of material,  for my entry holes I usually use a #55 drill bit, sometimes I will use a 1/16". 
John Morris said:

Thanks Greg for the great advice. I remember on this saw, the blade was secured on both ends, I am not sure what this means. But if you wanted to make a cut in the middle of the board, you'd have to detach one end and slide the board over the blade. Is this common?

Greg Aksdal said:

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Greg
Scroll Saw forum host

http://www.thesawdustfactoryga.com/