How do you chouse your blades.

[minowevie]

Hi all . How do you find, or chouse your blades. is it someting off the forum? or do you just like some blade you have used.? I have found some of the blades bend alittle . same size. but differant. brands. is it somthing to do with the wood. or the blade. a mistery. your friend Evie

[lucky788scroller]

Mostly from experience. I have a pretty good handle on what I am capable of doing with whatever blade I have. Theres no sense in going into brands of blades, we all got our preferances on that. Dale

[minowevie]

Thanks Dale. the one thing I have noticed is. when scrolling in hard wood. some of the blades I use. just don't wont to turn. like I am used too. are they softer. or what. the ones I am talking about are so sharp. but dont wont to turn like the others, bought in my locale store. seems silly. but I have had diffaculties with some of the ones, that are found on the forum. well that don't make seince. but I don't wont to give names. I am sure I am doing someting rough. but it just don't seem to be the same. is there something I am doing rough.?. maybe , I am just using the rough size to begen with.. mmmmmmmmmmmmm is a #3 still a #3 in other brand names. or are they differant? your friend Evie

[lucky788scroller]

No, a 3 is not a 3 in all brands. compare the measurements that are on the blade packages. a FD-SR No. 3 0.035width 0.013thickness #65 hole size compared to a FD-P No. 3 0.031width 0.013thickness #65 hole size
compared to a FD-NS No. 3 0.013thickness 0.035diameter # 59 hole size

That was just a sample of three diffrent #3 blades from one company. Compare these to other manufacturers and you will see that a #3 isnt a number three to everyone. dale

[minowevie]

Ok Dale now I am confused. what would make the blade on a #3 bend. is it the thickness.??? that for sure would make a differanse , but what if they say, they are the same thickness. and still bend in hards wood?? probley need to talk to ya in private. thanks. your friend Evie.

[CanadianScroller]

I tend to chose my blades wrong
I go too small. I know I should be using 5,s and 7,s on the thicker wood.

I like reverse tooth but I really love crown tooth, You can get double the blade life as long as you dont heat them up.
I do not break blades too much any more, I do wear them out though.
It is hard to believe, they are so inexpensive yet I work them till they wont work any more.

One scroller posted, or emailed me, about gluing an old blade to the back of each finished piece to show customers what he cut the wood with. It was a great selling feature and a good use for the stuff you normally throw away.

[William Young (SE BC)]

Dale is right. A number 3 (or any other number) can vary significantly from one brand to another.
But more important to me is the tooth design. Some manufacturers have different fabricating processes for forming the teeth so some some cut and perform better than others. My personal findings are that the cheapest blades are generally not the best ones when for slightly more you can get top quality.
PM works great if you would like some more info about what I am referring to. Always glad to help but blades can be a touchy subject on some sites due to advertising restrictions. .

In reference to the blade bending , do you mean bending from top to bottom? In that case your tension is not tight enough or you are using unnecessary side pressure when cutting .
If by bending , you actually mean "twisting", then that could be caused from a wider width of a blade than what you have been used to. One particular brand is quite a bit wider and /or thicker than some other brands in the same number range.
Whatever blade it is that is causing you the trouble when turning you could try rounding off the back edges of the blade with an emery stone while the saw is running but don't come around so far as to touch the teeth.
W.Y.

[Rolf]

Rick Hutchesen has created a blade comparison chart and a lot of other blade information. This was not a trivial task to put all of that information together. You can download a PDF copy @ http://www.scrollsaws.com/
"Blade/ Drill Bit Chart "
I mostly use a 2/0 blade for my fine work (even when stacked) I have tried different manufacturers and keep coming back to one. There is one blade that cuts faster but Ill be dipped if I can get it to follow a line or go around corners? I would be happy to discuss this off the forum.

Bottom line is the blade issue is that same as the Saw issue we develop a feel for what we like and what works best for us, and that takes time and lots of saw dust.

[Jediscroller]

I think this has gotten kind of funny. Are we not even supposed to mention brands anymore? I'm glad I got started before this little blade war between Pegas and Flying Dutchman erupted, people weren't afraid to recommend a particular brand or vendor. FWIW, I like both though I tend to break the Pegas blades which I don't do with the FD's. As far as which blade for which project, I experiment with different blades from different manufacturers and decide what I like best. I know which blade I prefer for stack cutting 5/8 BB (FD #3 SR), 3/4" hardwoods (Pegas #7 Skip tooth or FD #7 SR) etc. I really like the Olsen 2/0 Crown Tooths for very tight cuts in thicker woods though they don't last very long. I'm curious about the Olsen Gold Series as I haven't tried those but I will be.
I don't really care how they're made or who sells them or who recommends them. Some folks have personal agendas or axes to grind which is too bad. My advise is to try different sizes of different brands and decide which you prefer.
There, I feel better, I mentioned a whole bunch of brands, hehehe.

Kevin

[BobD]

Nicely put Kevin!

I'm not trying to stifle blade discussion on the board. There are a variety of blades out there--try them and give your opinion! Say Yah or Nah, but respect others' rights to have a different opinion!

Personally, I use all three of the major companies (FD, Pegus, and Olson) depending on what I'm doing!

What I've had a problem with is when people close their mind to trying something new, or start attacking a blade--or retailer--because of a personal agenda.

Bob(who has been known to wear a white hat and silver star)