Don't have a clue

[tafiore]

Hello all I am new to this site and to scrollsawing my neighbor gave me a 16 in. ryobi scrollsaw today I purchased some blades from the local home improvement center the saw can use plain or pin end blades the blades I bought were spiral cut blades from vermont american it was a 12 pack of bades my question is these blades are so thin I am having trouble getting them into the blade holder I went back to the instruction manual it wasn't much help I was just wondering if anyone has some advice?

[CanadianScroller]

I am not sure how the clamp on the 16 Ryobi works. I know on the 18" fine blades can be a bit of a pain.

You may want to try a thick flat blade to start. Just so you get the knack of clamping the blades.
Spiral blades can be awkward due to the twist.

There are other manufacturers of blades you may like to try too.
I am not crazy about those little red packs you can get at the home improvement stores. I really think they have put many people off scrolling.

[Bill Wilson]

First off, welcome to the group. Unfortunately spirals will give even experienced scrollers fits when it comes to getting them to stay in the blade clamps. I'm not familiar with the Ryobi blade clamps, but the bottom line is, the section of the blade that is engaged by the clamp has to be flat and the top & bottom should be flat in the same or very similar plane. Most spirals are twisted all the way to the ends. You can undo this by taking two pair of pliers and untwisting the ends. Secure one end in the clamp, watching closely that the blade is seated all the way in the clamp and the clamping mechanism is engaged against the flat sides of the blade. I usually start with the bottom, since it's harder to access. Once the bottom is in, move to the top. If the top needs twisted a little more to rest flat in the clamp, you can hold it with pliers while you tighten the clamp. Just remember that if you are doing fretwork, everytime you loosen that top clamp the blade will probably return to it's natural twist. Getting both ends flat and in the same plane, makes it easier to re-clamp the next time.

If the clamp engages against a section of the blade that is twisted, it will either not hold securely or it will crimp the blade, making it prone to premature breakage. Once you see how the blade fits in the clamp and how it's held in place, hopefully this will make sense.

Now, if you want to make your life a little easier, set the spirals aside for now and get some standard flat blades. There are a number of on-line sources for them, most are listed in the "Other Great Sites" section of this site. Flat blades are easier to use for the beginner, both in getting them clamped and tensioned correctly and in the actual cutting.

Good luck and have fun making sawdust!

[Tor]

Welcome to this great place.

As for spirals, again, loading them can give you a dreadful headache. If you can't load your spirals, get used to loading a flat blade, and then if you want, and prefer cutting with the spirals, become proficient in loading the twisters. There are some flat ended spirals in existence from some of the better blade manufacturers, which if you cannot seem to load the spirals, but need to use them, may help. They are not available in the same range of sizes though.

I would suggest that you be able to use flat blades anyway, because some work cannot be done with spirals. The only time you absolutely must use spirals is when you are working with a piece too big to spin (for some things, even that can be gotten around with flats).

Tor

[tafiore]

I actually recieved some flat blades that I have been waiting for from e-bay as you all said they were much easier to use so now I started cutting I think I will need alot of scrap wood for practice again thank you all for your advice