Blade Question - Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts Message Board

scrollnaway49 · 10-04-2007, 03:41 AM

Hello,
I need a suggestion or two, I am cutting Purple heart wood 1/4" stacked 4 high and am using a 5R blade but the going is sloooooooow.

Can anyone give me a suggestion as to another blade I can try? I hate when the blade grabs the wood also, any way to help stop that? I am using tape to hold wood together but still getting fingers pinched every so often, owch!

Thanks ahead for your suggestions,,
Shirley

lucky788scroller · 10-04-2007, 04:31 AM

Use a blade without reverse teeth, and of a skip tooth variety. The sawdust wont get trapped in the kerf, so it wont heat up that blade, and it shouldnt catch and bang your wood around like a reverse tooth blade might. Another blade that would be great for what your doing is a #5 or #7 FD-Polar blade or its equivilent. Dale

minowevie · 10-04-2007, 05:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scrollnaway49

Hello,
I need a suggestion or two, I am cutting Purple heart wood 1/4" stacked 4 high and am using a 5R blade but the going is sloooooooow.

Can anyone give me a suggestion as to another blade I can try? I hate when the blade grabs the wood also, any way to help stop that? I am using tape to hold wood together but still getting fingers pinched every so often, owch!

Thanks ahead for your suggestions,,
Shirley

Shirley. purple hart is hard enouph to cut in 1/4 or 1/2. " wood. that is some realy hard, did i say hard. I ment HARD wood. and you are doing it in a 1" of wood. dang girl. I am wondering, what made you deside to do this vensure. your a better sawer than me for sure. Dale told you right. a revers is not the best one to start with. for the reason. its very hard, and you need al the help you can get. getting that wood dust out. the revers brings the dust back up into the cut. but even then. you need less teeth per inch. also. what project are you cutting. is there lots of tight turns,? or v shapes. for me, and I am not sure on purple hart. I like the mach precision milled. these are milled for accurat cuts in hard or soft woods. they come in 3,5,7,or 9s they have less teeth per inch. and are very sharp. the #3s have only 7 teeth per inch. and the 5, and the 7s have 6 teeth per inch and the 9ns only have 6 teeth per inch. campaird to the FD polars. # 3 have 20 teeth pr inch. down to the #9 =14 teeth per inch
guess what I am saying is the less teeth per inch. it can cut fast. carry's out the dust faster. but, can dull faster. and the milled tooth, is shaped differant. Mike is going to kill me. oh well. my point is. use the least amount of teeth per inch you can. an go slow. not so much your speed. but your movement. let the blade cut. and in purpale hart, at 1 ". very slow.you can go fast, but that might burn your cuts. the blades will heat up for sure. Ok

, this might be a good time to use tape on your project. even lubracant too. and chang blades alot. as to the size. a # 5 sounds good, and if your holes are larger. a # 5 to 9 would work, but if smaller. mmmmmmmm a # 3 would work. but only if you have along time to cut it. but it would turn great. slllooooooooooly. just my oppion your frien Evie

minowevie · 10-04-2007, 05:42 AM

Shirly, if you would like to try the Mach precision milled blades, the are, Olson scroll saw Blade.you can get them at www.wildwooddesigns.com or Sloan's woodshop www.sloanswoodshop.com and probley many other places. your friend Evie

scrollnaway49 · 10-04-2007, 12:52 PM

Thanks dale, I will try your blade idea tonight to finish the job, and Evie, my project is small and need 4 of them so am trying to save time, I have tried those milled blades before on my Craftsman, but for some reason they didn't work very well so have never gone back to them. Thanks for your suggestion.
I am familiar with those sites as I have just ordered wood from Sloans.
Thanks again,
Shirley

Rolf · 10-04-2007, 01:18 PM

Shirley, our club did a project for a childrens charity last year we made a sound board out of 3/4 purple heart and Padouk I used the Olsen PGT 5 blades. They handled the job niceley. As far as the jumping goes just watch your turns so that you don't pinch the blade.

William Young · 10-04-2007, 05:45 PM

I would suggest as "better still" , to use Pegas Modified Geometry Reverse blades . You will have the convenience of the reverse feature for smooth cuts on the bottom side and the teeth are wider spaced and sharper than other reverse blades so they will clear the sawdust better and therefore run cooler.
I have compared them with everything else and they last longer for me than PGT's and cost a lot less .
If you need suppliers of most reasonable prices on Pegas blades you can email or PM me.

Also, If you are cutting 1/4" wood four deep in purlpleheart you might be wise to just cut two or three because woods like cherry or purpleheart that are prone to burning are a challenge for any blade regardless of price or quality.
Always use masking tape or clear packaging tape when cutting those woods and preferably both. Purple masking tape, then the pattern and then the clear packaging tape. You could also use the blue masking tape . It is the next best thing to purple . Don't use white or green.
W.Y.

thecopperfish · 10-05-2007, 06:48 PM

When cutting thick purple heart I use prescison milled blades, no reverse teeth, tape on both sides of project and blade lubricant (a stick that you rub on the blade, got it at a hobby shop). Don't try to force it, just let it cut and change blades when necessary, don't try to use it when it gets dull.
Chris

scrollnaway49 · 10-05-2007, 10:31 PM

Hi All,
I used a #5 skip tooth and it did fine, cut the project much faster and not much heating or pulling the wood up. I appreciate all your help and suggestions there are alot of different ones here and it will help on future projects. But don't know if I will be doing too many more purple heart ones that thick!...maybe 2 at a time instead. But I will send a picture if the purple turkey napkin rings when they are completed..

!
Shirley

keithmc · 10-08-2007, 08:23 PM

Who makes "hook tooth" blades besides Olson? And has anyone used them for intarsia? I seem to be using purple heart a lot and I am really not satisfied with any of the blades I've been using. The wood is usually 3/4" to 1" thick.
I am currently using #5 Polar from FD. They work fine but would like to try something different.
thanks
Keith

10-04-2007, 03:41 AM	#1
scrollnaway49 scrollnaway Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 352	Blade Question Hello, I need a suggestion or two, I am cutting Purple heart wood 1/4" stacked 4 high and am using a 5R blade but the going is sloooooooow. Can anyone give me a suggestion as to another blade I can try? I hate when the blade grabs the wood also, any way to help stop that? I am using tape to hold wood together but still getting fingers pinched every so often, owch! Thanks ahead for your suggestions,, Shirley

10-04-2007, 01:18 PM	#6
Rolf Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Bellport, LI New York Posts: 2,809	Shirley, our club did a project for a childrens charity last year we made a sound board out of 3/4 purple heart and Padouk I used the Olsen PGT 5 blades. They handled the job niceley. As far as the jumping goes just watch your turns so that you don't pinch the blade. __________________ Rolf RBI G4 Hawk, Delta SS350 Philosophy "I don't know that I can't, therefore I can"

10-05-2007, 06:48 PM	#8
thecopperfish Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Oregon USA Posts: 1,195	When cutting thick purple heart I use prescison milled blades, no reverse teeth, tape on both sides of project and blade lubricant (a stick that you rub on the blade, got it at a hobby shop). Don't try to force it, just let it cut and change blades when necessary, don't try to use it when it gets dull. Chris __________________ What! There's no coffee?!!

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10-04-2007, 04:31 AM	#2
lucky788scroller Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: wisconsin Posts: 6,260	Use a blade without reverse teeth, and of a skip tooth variety. The sawdust wont get trapped in the kerf, so it wont heat up that blade, and it shouldnt catch and bang your wood around like a reverse tooth blade might. Another blade that would be great for what your doing is a #5 or #7 FD-Polar blade or its equivilent. Dale

10-04-2007, 05:42 AM	#4
minowevie Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: california Posts: 6,398	Shirly, if you would like to try the Mach precision milled blades, the are, Olson scroll saw Blade.you can get them at www.wildwooddesigns.com or Sloan's woodshop www.sloanswoodshop.com and probley many other places. your friend Evie

10-04-2007, 12:52 PM	#5
scrollnaway49 scrollnaway Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 352	Thanks dale, I will try your blade idea tonight to finish the job, and Evie, my project is small and need 4 of them so am trying to save time, I have tried those milled blades before on my Craftsman, but for some reason they didn't work very well so have never gone back to them. Thanks for your suggestion. I am familiar with those sites as I have just ordered wood from Sloans. Thanks again, Shirley

10-04-2007, 05:45 PM	#7
William Young Banned Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Wynndel, BC, Canada Posts: 877	I would suggest as "better still" , to use Pegas Modified Geometry Reverse blades . You will have the convenience of the reverse feature for smooth cuts on the bottom side and the teeth are wider spaced and sharper than other reverse blades so they will clear the sawdust better and therefore run cooler. I have compared them with everything else and they last longer for me than PGT's and cost a lot less . If you need suppliers of most reasonable prices on Pegas blades you can email or PM me. Also, If you are cutting 1/4" wood four deep in purlpleheart you might be wise to just cut two or three because woods like cherry or purpleheart that are prone to burning are a challenge for any blade regardless of price or quality. Always use masking tape or clear packaging tape when cutting those woods and preferably both. Purple masking tape, then the pattern and then the clear packaging tape. You could also use the blue masking tape . It is the next best thing to purple . Don't use white or green. W.Y.

10-05-2007, 10:31 PM	#9
scrollnaway49 scrollnaway Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 352	Hi All, I used a #5 skip tooth and it did fine, cut the project much faster and not much heating or pulling the wood up. I appreciate all your help and suggestions there are alot of different ones here and it will help on future projects. But don't know if I will be doing too many more purple heart ones that thick!...maybe 2 at a time instead. But I will send a picture if the purple turkey napkin rings when they are completed.. ! Shirley

10-08-2007, 08:23 PM	#10
keithmc Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 35	Who makes "hook tooth" blades besides Olson? And has anyone used them for intarsia? I seem to be using purple heart a lot and I am really not satisfied with any of the blades I've been using. The wood is usually 3/4" to 1" thick. I am currently using #5 Polar from FD. They work fine but would like to try something different. thanks Keith