scroll blades

[Mr.J]

Where is the best place to buy blades? I can't find 2/0 blades or any numbered blades. Thanks,

[foneman]

Mike sells Flying Dutchman blades and most report good results with them. I especially like the 1 dollar shipping charge on blades. They are all I need and have no reason to look any further.

http://www.mikesworkshop.com/blades.htm

Good luck!
John

[NC Scroller]

I also would recommend Flying Dutchman blades and Mike's is a great source. Mike is also an experinced scroller and a member here. Wherever you order from I recommend ordering by the gross and take advantage of the price breaks. Mike and other suppliers normally allow you to mix n match to reach a gross.

[GrayBeard Phil]

Mr. J:

I just reviewed some of your previous post so I could put your question into context.

- As a hobby, you will find few retail stores that carry the specialized products, such as blades, books, patterns, and so forth. Mostly you will find the products On-Line, or by Mail Order catalogs. Yes, mail order is still working because of the strong (and enforceable) postal service anti-fraud laws.

- When you ask about blades on this forum, the presumed blade you ask about is plane pin-less blades. It is also presumed that you are talking about 5 inch blades (higher end quality blades made in the EU are actually made to about 5.1 inches, which works out to be 13.0 cm.)

- I doubt that you will find #00 blades with pinned ends. In fact, with pinned blades, I don't think you will find them using the blade number system too often. The number system for blades are loosely defined by not only the kerf width, but also the width of the blade front to back (plus some other dimensions.) Obviously, blades with a pin, need a lot of metal behind the teeth for the pins.

- Using pinned blades limits what you can do in this hobby. That may not be a problem for you. All depends on what you feel comfortable doing. This is just a hobby, not a job. Having fun, and enjoying your saw.

- There are some coping saws and manual fretsaws that use 5 inch pinned blades. These manual saws will use the larger sized blades in the building trades. Building trade carpenters will look to TPI, Tooth hook angle, and tooth set when selecting a blade for their coping saw.

- I think Sloan's and Woodcraft sell pined end blades, but the selection is limited, as one would expect since the width of the blades is so large.

- Pinned blades of less than 5 inches are hard to find of any size.

Phil

[Rolf]

Sloans is also an excellent source of blades and material. They sell Olson blades, you also have Pegas blades. Try them all and see which blades work best FOR YOU. We all develop a prefference.

[Minnesota scroller]

Olson, Pegas and FD blades, all have their unique properties. As Rolf said, try some of each. What some people like, others hate. You can't go wrong with any of these 3 brands. Ben's Scrollsaw is a great source for the Pegas, and as Rolf mentioned, Sloan's for Olson. They all offer great service.

[Coop]

Hi all from New orleans: I am new to scrolling and need a lot of help. What are the best books I need to get for the beginner.
And if there are classes I can go to for some help. I don't even know what blades I should use.

[TerryInMich]

Coop - in my opinion John Nelson's Scroll Saw Workbook is the best place to start.
Terry

[Wood Dog]

Welcome Coop....if you are new to scrolling check out your local library for anything on scroll sawing, and come by here often, read posts and interact with the members. This place helps everyone.

[3_M]

I have to agree with Terry. That is a very good book for beginners.

If you email me, I will tell you where to get it.
Mike