First picture shows wood being burned by the blade?

 

  

  

 

But sides shows nothing but smooth lines.

 

Two things I watch out for is if a person starts smelling wood burning and the main thing is when it gets hard to keep the blade staying on the lines and forcing the blade sideways will smoke the wood.      I first check the tension of the blade for a loose blade can not be controlled and if that don't correct the problem, look elsewhere. 

  Next thing I check, is the blade worn out.  If the teeth are worn to much then you will have trouble cutting through the wood so you start pushing harder on the wood to keep the same speed up  and all that happens is you end up weaving all around the line but can't go straight when needed..

   So this is where my being a tight wad I start thinking are blades real expensive to have to change them out real often..Yes if a person only uses a new or used saw only one time then sits it back there and forgets he even owns a scroll saw and will not even admit a little wood working machine is too complicated for a grown person to operate, then yes the blades are too expensive to buy.

The best deal on blades are if a person buys a gross at a time..  And if 144 blades are around 40 bucks then that would make each blade be between 25 to 30 cents each. Thats what one cigarette cost now if a person still smokes. This is the only thing I can think of right now for a comparison!!!!

  It seems like I got off of my original idea of sawing straight and being happy about it..........

 

Jesse

You are right on with your explanation.  I want to add just a couple of things.  Let me know if you disagree (I won't be offended).

 

As ya'll might notice, when the cut is pretty straight there is no burning.  Go into a corner and it starts to burn.  When we cut "straight" we are pushing directly into the teeth of the blade and not going sideways.  Going into a corner, we have a tendancy to push sideways, hence putting more pressure on either the right or left ide of the blade  This will cause more friction and cause burning.  Right?  That was one of the hardest things I had to overcome.

 

Speed can also create more burning.  I notice that the piece shown is pretty thick.  Harder to cut. More pushing.  More heat.  Slowing down the speed will create less heat.  Also, I have found out that it is the sawdust left in the cut will cause burning faster.  When cutting anything over 1/2" I will switch to a "skip tooth" type of blade.  This lets the dust be cleared out of the cut and therefore less heat buildup.  Oh yes, I forgot to mention using a blade that has fewer teeth.  ie. moving from a #5 to a #7 blade.  Fewer teeth, less heat buildup.

 

Just my 2 cents worth.  Works for me.

 

More thoughts from other members?  Would be appreciated.  Jesse has started a great thread.

 

fred

I agree Fred. For sure running a scroll saw is nothing like pushing a board along the fence of a table saw I learned long ago that speed gets a person nothing running the scroll saw. Things get easier and more fun as the hours add up pushing a board in to a blade. 

 

When sawing stacked wood I use wax paper between each piece. One will convince himself right quick what it will do for sawing. I have thought maybe using packing tape also helped the blade slide through the wood better but I just can't prove that to myself.

 

I ask someone once why he used spiral blades and he said he only makes silhouettes so using spiral blades one never has to turn the wood.... Learning to turn the wood is the entire name of the game with a scroll saw if one ever wants to expand in to other areas of scrolling. 

  Yes most all the wood burning come from trying to make turns.  A help is to slow the speed way down , always watch the blade to keep it straight up and down then gently turn the wood so the blade never pushes the blade sideways.

   I should have mentioned loose blades for they cause all kinds of trouble and the only thing I would suggest is to try a few different setting and you will gradually end up with the tension that suits you. This is for your help so don't always go by someone else thoughts...

    Lot of reasons why scroll saws end up sitting in the back yard or away from sight. Cheap machines, blades, advise and or ability all are part of saying bad things about their experiences with a scroll saw.. Just get that thought, if joe can do it then I can too.....actually I might do it better for I am better looking, richer, much smarter, have a prettier wife, and have more kids so yes I can do it. But using spiral blades is certainly not part of scroll sawing.

Thanks, Patch

Been a long time since this thread was posted

 

The above pictures were cut with a Flying Dutchman blade even though I slowed the saw down quite a bit.

The piece "chief #2" was cut with a #3 Pegus MGT blade regular speed.  Quite a difference, eh?

Soooooooooooo, I will stick with the Pegus blades on hardwood and use the Flying Dutchman blades to soft wood.

 

Comments are always welcomed