Spiral scroll saw Blades

[Bushwhacker]

If I am cutting 2-inch hard wood ( Maple and walnut) material, what size spiral scroll saw blades do I need to be using?
I am attempting to make Chess pieces, but am having trouble with the small turns and corners.

Bushwhacker

[Stick486]

the answer gots to be in here someplace...
.

No_Fail_Blade_Chart_206122387.pdf

Olson-scrollblade-chart.pdf

ScrollChart.pdf

[Bushwhacker]

the answer gots to be in here someplace...
.
No_Fail_Blade_Chart_206122387.pdf
Olson-scrollblade-chart.pdf
ScrollChart.pdf

Thanks Stick.

Bushwhacker

[Stick486]

Some things you need to ask yourself...
is the blade sharp...
is the blade loaded...
am I using the right blade for material being cut...
am I using the right blade for the material's thickness...

[CharleyL]

If I am cutting 2-inch hard wood ( Maple and walnut) material, what size spiral scroll saw blades do I need to be using?
I am attempting to make Chess pieces, but am having trouble with the small turns and corners.

Bushwhacker

Most scroll saws have problems with 2" stock. Slightly thinner, like 1 3/4" is usually required. The stroke length of the saw is likely even less than 2", so clearing the sawdust becomes a problem, and the blade grips may hit the work piece in both the up and down strokes. Maple and Walnut are hard woods to cut on scroll saws in any size. The blades don't cut fast, and dull quickly too. In 3/4" thick material and using #2 skip tooth reverse blades I can only cut 2-3 feet if the cut line were straightened out, before the blade should be changed. For what I'm usually making, I have found that the #2 skip tooth reverse blade cuts slower than I would like, but the surfaces of the cut require almost no sanding. For thicker wood, especially what you are trying to cut, you are going to need bigger blade teeth and likely a skip tooth design, so the sawdust buildup doesn't cause problems, but the cut rate and dulling of the blade teeth is still going to be a problem. This larger will result in a rougher cut that requires sanding after cutting.

Only you can decide what blade works best for what you do. You will need to experiment to see what works best for you, what you are cutting, and how you feed the wood to the blade. If you use too much feed pressure you will bend aand break blades. You won't be able to follow the line well either, but this also happens with a dull blade. If you run the saw too fast you will overheat the blade and it will loose it's temper, resulting in burned wood edges and more blade breakage. Applying candle or paraffin wax to the blade between each cut will lubricate the blade and let it run cooler at slightly higher speeds. You may need to change blades when doing the more intricate cuts, then change back to the original blade size again. You may also need to use spiral blades when cleaning out tiny intricate areas too small to cut easily with straight blades. I also never re-use a blade. Once removed from the saw, it goes into the trash. At about $0.25 per blade, my project and how well it's made requires sharp blades. So why be cheap and economize with the blade costs when trying to make something that you will be proud of.

All of this is a learning experience when first learning scroll sawing. This is a whole different kind of woodworking where your cutting needs to be treated as a "Journey", rather than a "Race to Completion". You can't do it fast. The tiny teeth on the blade don't hold much sawdust and they fill quickly. Be patient, work at the speed that produces the best results, and be proud of the finished project, if, and whenever you complete the cut. I have cut projects that took 50-80 hours just to do the scroll sawing part of the project. It's a Journey, not a Destination. Enjoy the Journey and be happy with the end result, whenever it's finished.

Charley