My first day cutting.

[kaba]

I received my scroll saw the week before last. I spent last weekend building a bench to hold it. Today was my first real day of cutting. A few lessons learned:
THIS IS REALLY ENJOYABLE!
My wife has some quilt patterns which consist of dolls in various poses. I picked two of the more basic patterns and cut them out of composition board for practice. Her attitude immediately changed from "Why do you need another tool?" to "How many of these can you make?" Gotta love that!
I need practice on following the pattern in general but specifically with sharp interior angles and gently curving lines.
I'm going to need to learn more on blade tensioning. I tried to feed too fast twice and the result was the lower end of my blade pulled away from the holder.
I've got my unit setup on my back patio. A great location for light. But I'm going to need to address dust collection or I'll be tracking lots of sawdust into the house.

Have a blessed day!

[greatdane2]

The biggest help for my cutting was switching to red ink for all my patterns. A black blade gets lost on a black line and I found it hard to see if I was cutting on the center of the line. The other was getting a GOOD lamp/magnifing glass, with a movable arm. They sell for around $80 dollars here.

Good luck, Alan.

[Mick Walker]

kaba, Alan is right, light colored patterns work great, red, light green, light blue. Too much tension is better than too little. Tension your blade then pluck the back side of it like a guitar string, you should get a nice "ting" sound and the blade should not move more than 1/8". With practice you will know when the tension is correct. Following a line will also become easier the more you saw. You will soon become addicted to scrolling.

[f250]

And your wife is just going to have to get over the sawdust in the house thing. Now days the only time mine complains is when I bring the sawdust to bed

Tom

[turningnut]

Kaba,

Congratulations on the new saw...

You've come to the right place, there is more here on scrolling than one could read in a lifetime...I just started and I'm already addicted, and the mantle over the fireplace is full already and can't hold another piece...

Enjoy,

Mike

[Huntter2022]

Congradulations on your new saw!
AS the others have said the more you cut the better it gets. plus with all the good info here.Try different blades, speed , it is a personel preference.
If you have any question please ask

David

[SNAPPER]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Scrolling. I guess the best advice is Practice, Practice, Practice. Trial/error. Try not to force the blade off center. Curves are fairly easy to get the hang of, keep the line feeding into the blade, try not to twist the blade. Turn the wood not the blade. Sharp interior corners are a bit tricky, this is where the 3 P's come into play. Let the blade do the cutting. If you have to force the the blade to cut then it is time to use a new blade.
What kind of saw do you have?
Dean

[Barefoot1]

Welcome to our addiction Kaba, you will find that this is a great site! When making sharp turns try cutting up to the end of the line and then back off just a hair and then turn your piece, practice will only make you better. We all started learning somewhere. Get you a good scrolling book, I have the Scroll Saw Work Shop Bench Reference by Zachary Taylor and The New Scroll Saw Handbook by Patrick Spielman either are good starting points.

[MPep]

Kaba
Lot of great info posted to your reply, I liked Snapper's let the saw do the work, and also
Greatdane2's The lignt and magnifing glass helped me alot. One of the first things I tried after not cutting for a few years! was to angle my work bench(saw) I can see a whole lot better, If not sure try bringing up the back with scrap wood, It helped me.
Take care
Pep

[kaba]

Originally Posted by MPep

Kaba
Lot of great info posted to your reply, I liked Snapper's let the saw do the work, and also
Greatdane2's The light and magnifying glass helped me a lot. One of the first things I tried after not cutting for a few years! was to angle my work bench(saw) I can see a whole lot better, If not sure try bringing up the back with scrap wood, It helped me.
Take care
Pep

Pep, I do have a magnifying light which helps. My eyes were never good and unlike fine wine haven't improved with age, (58 years old for two more months). I swapped my transitional bifocals to fixed bifocal lens this weekend and find it easier to get a good focus with the fixed bifocal lens. I've also located my work area between two windows that face south and west. And I may very well try angling my saw as you suggest.

Patience and practice are going to be my two biggest allies here.