about scroll saw blades

[daveswoodworking]

what is the best kind of scroll saw blades can i use to do scroll sawing
i'm kind of new at this and what kind of wood is good too
thank you david

[stevebuk]

Originally Posted by daveswoodworking

what is the best kind of scroll saw blades can i use to do scroll sawing
i'm kind of new at this and what kind of wood is good too
thank you david

hi dave and welcome,
find it kind of funny that you say your kinda new to this, and yet in your profile you say you have been scrolling for 4 years, anyhow, blades are as individual as people and only by trying different ones will you know what you like, and this applies to wood also.
hope that helps

[eendreno]

hello dave- in the magazine scrollsaw woodworking and crafts you will find ads for blades from virtually every manufacturer. you will also find the best prices there. the big box stores offer no choices, and have small costly packages. some of the ads are for blades only , some are full service, (patterns, blades, wood, woodworking machines, and even classes) i tend to deal with a company or store that has a good product, and people that i like. that made my choice difficult, because i've never had to deal with an unpleasant person in the industry. i've found a blade with some reverse teeth to be helpful cutting plywood, for hardwoods i prefer a skip tooth, don't cheap out! get a good selection of blades. size and teeth will vary slightly from one to the other, a 5 with one brand might be several thousands of an inch bigger with another brand. you will learn more, and avoid stupid mistakes by reading through these posts. have fun and read! doug

[NC Scroller]

Tough questionn Dave. Do golfers have just one club? A lot depends on what type of work and what materials you use. There are lots of threads and debates under the tools and blade section on this subject.

Personally I use two brands Olsen and Flying Dutchman. With Flying Dutchman my favorite. As for types of blades I use mostly reverse tooth blades for cutting hardwoods / solid wood and spiral blades for cutting pictures. I have blades from size 2/0 to size 12. On reverse tooth I use more #5 then any other. On spirals I use more 2/0 then any other. Remember this is just my preference.

Check at Mike's Workshop for lots of good info. http://www.mikesworkshop.com/blades.htm. You can also call him. I must warn you Mike sells Flying Dutchman blades.

[silverstar]

Dave, I'm like NC.. I also use Olson and Flying Dutchman, with Dutchman my favorite also. I use 2/0 and 4's a lot. I haven't got the art of using those spirals yet .

[NMScroller]

When I first started (not too long ago) I purchased a dozen each of a wide variety and brand. From crown tooth to precision ground to modified geometry and from size 2/0 through 12 and from Olson to Pegas and Flying Dutchman. What I have is several dozen blades that I will use eventually. What I have found works best for me is simply a selection of FD new-spirals (2/0 and 1), 2/0 skip, 2/0 reverse, 5 skip, and 5 reverse. Spirals for portraits, skips for hard woods and reverse for plywoods.

I'm sure many people here use many sizes and types, but I have learned it's best for me to stick to the basics at first. I found that the specialty blades (precision ground and modified geometry) seem to have a different blade bias than other blades
.

As for wood, check your local craft store and see if they have selection of baltic birch plywood. Hobby Lobby where I live has sizes down to 1/64th of an inch, too bad it's all 12" wide. Poplar cuts fairly well too and that you can find in 3 different thicknesses at Lowe's or Home Depot.

[Magpie]

I couldn't find respectable baltic birch plywood where I live so I mail ordered from Woodcraft. It actually came out cheaper than the crappy plywood they had at my borg, so that was nice

You can use about any kind of wood, and if you are just learning, cheap plywood or pine boards are great and won't hurt your pocketbook. Be careful if you scrounge wood--watch for nails and chemically treated boards and such.

[Mick Walker]

David, just starting to scroll I would use plywood, 1/8", 1/4", 3/8" or 1/2". Plywood is more stable as far as warping and chipping. I have always purchased mine from one of the scrolling catalogs. The stuff from the Borgs is not that great for scrolling.

[GrayBeard Phil]

Dave:

I don't know where you live. If you live in USA near a big city, you should be able to get Baltic Birch Plywood. Quite a few of our members don't live in North America; most of my following comments don't relate to overseas.

Baltic Birch Plywood is not just Birch plywood. But birch plywood that is imported from the Baltic Sea area and uses the trademarked brand name of Baltic Birch Plywood. There will be a blue stamp on the 5' X 5' sheet with BB in the center of the stamp. The closest relative is called the generic name of Russian Plywood. Sometimes it takes some looking around and visits to real lumber yards to find someone who sells BB, or Russian Ply, in sheets (or will special order for you.) Then you have to deal with the business hours of the lumber yard. (aside: Russian Ply sometimes comes in approx. 4 X 8 sheets but at a close metric measurements. Thickness is also a metric size.)

Any plywood that has thin veneers, properly kiln dried, and has no voids on the interior veneers is good. In short, stay out of "Home Improvement" big box BORGs. Sometimes 'craft stores' like Michaels will sell BB plywood, at high prices, in 24" by 24" or 12" x 24" pieces.

For solid wood, 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" hardwood are hard to come by if you don't resaw your self. Takes a lot of money to purchase Bandsaw, planner, etc to resaw normal thick solid hardwoods. But it is your choice.

Again, check out adds in SSW&C magazine for wood suppliers on Internet. But lord, do those shipping charges add up quickly on Internet sales on lumber.

Phil

[munkytows]

I bought a whole different assortment of Olson blades. They sell them in packages with 3 different sizes for each kind of blade. (Skip, reverse, Precision Ground). On the package it recommends the uses each blade. I'm new to this and when I was searching for blades I saw 2/0, #2, I don't know what that means? #/0, what is that?
Lots of info Phil, thanks! I learned a lot from your posting, I never really thought of where "Baltic Birch" came from, I thought it was just Birch. Theres so many trees that are the same species and different, walnut/black walnut; cherry/red cherry etc.
munkytows