Making Turns

[wazabiker]

Am I making tight turns correctly? In making tight turns, I begin rotating the work just a miniscule bit and may have to wait for the blade to catch up. Of course this takes a lot of time, and often results in uneven curves/cuts. I use both pin end and pinless blades.

Bookisly
Paige Turner

[Back2Jake]

Paige,

When making tight turns, I prefer to do it quickly. Although this might be difficult to follow, I'll try to explain here....

When you come to the turn, pull forward slightly on the blade as you turn your work, so you are really turning on the BACK of your blade and it is in effect not cutting at that moment. When you release this pressure, your blade will quickly pick up the cut, leaving you with a sharp turn.

Being right handed, I use my right to feed the wood into the blade, and my left hand to pivot the work. My index finger on my left hand is my pivot point. This finger is usually placed toward the back of the blade, along the left of the cut.

Hope that helps.

Take care
Toni

[3_M]

Paige,

This is what I have on my "Q & A" page:


Some people just spin the blade around, this will leave a round corner. I don’t like that. If you do spin the wood, make sure you stop cutting, but keep the saw running. Then, turn the wood with pressure on the back of the blade so it won’t remove any wood while turning.
I like to do it different. There are two lines: line “A” going into the corner, and line “B” going away. Cut on line A all the way to the corner. Then, back out about a 1/4” and turn the blade with the teeth into the waste, start cutting a curve towards line B and then to the corner. A small piece will fall out. This gives you room to turn the blade, put the back of the blade in the corner and start cutting on line B. Try to have the open space to the left of the blade. The right side of the blade has this little burr and will grab faster into the wood. Be careful that it does not get off the line. With some experience you can even utilize this burr to do some sanding if you have a little bump. Some people like to round the back of the blade. This is done by running the saw while holding a wet-stone against the back of the blade.

[Gill]

I use the same technique as Toni. It takes a little practise at first, but once you're confident you'll soon have some nice crisp corners .

Gill

[sheltiecarver]

Paige,
I use Toni & Gill's technique - my favorite things to cut have no waste, because they are puzzles or segmented things.
I don't think you can expect to get a very sharp corner from those pin-end blades, though, so Mike's method would be best there. If you do much precise work, I think you will gradually quit using the pin-enders.
Good luck!
Sandy

[Minnesota scroller]

Toni and Gill had excellent advice but putting it into action just takes a lot of practice. However, unlike Toni, I have fo und that slow turns work better for me. If you do proceed slow and make a slip, the bad cut won't travel as far if going slower. If I were you, I would practice both methods and see which works best for you. Different strokes for different folks.

[wazabiker]

Thanks folks for all the great advice. In fact, I'm going to try both methods, as they seem to be for different cuts. I sure am having a grand time learning this scroll saw thingee. Using lost of woods and miles of blades. Oh well, it all helps with the economy. Just doing my bit.

Patiently,
Will Power

[beemerbob]

Originally Posted by wazabiker

Am I making tight turns correctly? In making tight turns, I begin rotating the work just a miniscule bit and may have to wait for the blade to catch up. Of course this takes a lot of time, and often results in uneven curves/cuts. I use both pin end and pinless blades.

Bookisly
Paige Turner

If you have to 'wait for the blade to catch up' you need to increase the blade tension.


The suggestions in this post are right on. Can someone send Bookisky and of the practice lessons in some of the beginner books?

bob

[BobD]

The best practice I've found it to take a piece of 3/4"-thick pine and draw a bunch of straight lines on it. Start in the middle line and cut about 1/2" into the wood. Turn around and come out. Then go 1/2" further, turn around and come out. Go about 1/2 way through the board like that and then move to the next line...until you've done it on all the lines.

Then start on the other side and make stair-steps..go 1/2" in, make a 90-degree turn, and cut 1/2", then turn 90-degrees and cut 1/2", etc.

It's great practice!

Bob

[lucky788scroller]

Try all the ways youve been told, and most importantly, practice, practice, practice. It will become second nature to you quickly,
Good luck,
Con Fused Boutyername (dale)