scroll saw sanders

[bronco]

Hello,
I have a delta ss250,I just installed a new quickset blade changer
on the lower blade holder. When I put in a blade it works great,but
when I put in a pinless scrollsaw sander the bottom blade chuck will
not hold the sander it lets it go as soon as I turn on the saw.I have
3/8,1/2 and 1/4 inch sanders. I have only tried the 1/4 inch.I need
to sand the insides of crosses I made and I welcome any suggestions.
Thanks,
Bill

[jttheclockman]

Does that have the lever blade holders or the thumb screw?? In either case it sounds like there is not enough tightness on the ends of the sander. The lever there is a set screw you can adjust and if it is the thumb screw then tighten tighter. May I ask why you need to sand? Is it because there are ridges or is it because the edges are not smoothe?? If there are ridges then the technique needs work. If it is the edges are rough then you are using the wrong blade and the speed needs to be increased. Just suggestions.

[bronco]

John,
I have thum screws on my blade holders.I cut out my crosses
with olson #7reverse teeth blades. I tried other blades and the olson blades
are the only ones I can cut straight with so it's probably me and not the blades.
I used oak and walnut for my crosses. What kind and type of blades
would you suggest?I am learning and have not been exposed
to woodworking for very long, so I have a lot to learn.The crosses I cut out
have a lot of rough edges from my blades.Thanks for your advice.
Bill

[Mick Walker]

Bill, instead of buying the sanding strips I make my own. I use emery cloth, if you want a 1/4" sanding strip, cut a strip of the emery cloth 5" long. 1/2"
wide, fold it in half lengthwise and clamp it in your blade clamps and sand away. Can't help you with why the clamp is not holding, I have a Delta P-20 with the Quick set II clamps and they hold just fine. Mick.

[jttheclockman]

Bill

Like I mentioned in the blade test area I prefer the Flying Dutchman blades hands down. I have used Olson blades back when I first started because they were about the only ones around. As far as the blade I use is a #5 double tooth reverse blade. I will use a #7 if the pattern calls for alot of straight cuts. It is stiffer and tracks straighter. If the pattern has fine details then #7 is too big. The reverse teeth are good for help in limiting the fuzzies on the bottom of the work but they must come through the table top. Some blades are not enough teeth on the bottom and because of the saw action they might not protrude thus making them useless. Oak is a hard wood so it cuts tougher. If you are using a skip tooth blade maybe try a double tooth or even a non skip tooth blade. Increase the speed to let the blade stay in the cutting area longer and slow your feed rate down. Let the blade do the cutting./ This comes with practice to pick up a rythem.

As far as the sanding pads since I do not use them I am limited in what I can tell you. But with those as with blades you should clean the ends of or roughen up with some sandpaper. Also with thumb screws you need to take them out every so often and sand the ends down to get rid of the shiny spot you get when rubbing metal against metal which happens every time you tighten a blade. Good Luck.

Here are a couple of crosses I made. The cross is walnut and the Angel is oak. Both 5/8" and a FD #5 blade was used. By the way if you want to try the Flying Dutchman blades the site is wwwmikesworkshop.com Mike will send you some free samples and is a very nice guy to talk to so he can help with blade selection. If you check his web site out he has alot of useful info there.

[Forester21]

Beautiful work John!!

T

[Woodmanplus]

John T.
Just wanted to say that your crosses are great.
I also get my blades from MikeM. He is a heck of a guy.
Chet

John - those are fantastic. What size are they? Are the lines in the angels' robes cut or burned or what?
Thanks.

[jttheclockman]

Thanks all for the kind words.
Nancy-- the aproximate size of both is 9" wide by 15" tall The angels robes are all scrollsawn cuts or veining like it is called. Of course like with any plan you can make to any size you like.

[bronco]

John,
your crosses are beautiful. Thanks for the blade tips, Flying Dutchman
seems to be used by most scrollers. I just had a problem keeping them
from wandering off my pattern,but if they are that good maybe I need a
little more patience and practice with them.
Mick,
Your idea with the emery cloth sounds good and economical.
Thanks for all the tips.
Bill