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  #1  
Old November 16th 03, 03:42 AM
turtle
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Default scrol saw


Guys
I recently bought a scroll saw and thought that there was a blade to cut
in any direction without rotating the wood. Is there such a thing or was I
dreaming?
Will

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  #2  
Old November 16th 03, 10:20 AM
Dave Mundt
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Greetings and Salutations.

On Sun, 16 Nov 2003 02:42:01 GMT, "turtle" wrote:


Guys
I recently bought a scroll saw and thought that there was a blade to cut
in any direction without rotating the wood. Is there such a thing or was I
dreaming?
Will

You are not dreaming. They are called "Spiral blades", and,
while they work, I think they suck big time. I have tried using them
in the past and found several problems.
1) the kerf they leave is REALLY big (on a scrollsaw scale).
Since in most cases, I am using the scrollsaw for fine work and I want
nice, sharp corners when I change directions, this is a big problem.
2) Accuracy. The fact they can cut in any direction means
that (at least for me) it is harder to get a nice, smooth curved cut,
or, straight cuts tend to wobble. The blade that cuts on one edge
has a "self-guiding" effect from the smooth sides of the blade.
3) Speaking of smooth...smoothness of cut. I find that the
walls of the cut with a spiral blade are always rather rougher than
cuts with a regular blade. One of the joys of scrollsawing is the
fact that, with a good blade and smooth technique, no sanding is
necessary. I hate to sand, and, again, in many cases, the things
I am working on are small enough that sanding would be a challenge.
4) Accuracy, part B. This could simply be because I did not
cut with the spiral blade all that much, but, I find it very easy to
move the stock in a straight line, in the same direction, all the
time and get a good cut. When I tried pulling it in different
directions with the spiral blade, I found it harder to keep the same
even pressure on the blade - which lead to cuts angling off in
directions I did not want, and, in thicker stock, a greater chance
that the blade would bow inside the stock.
I think that one "attraction" of the spiral blade is the
'difficulty' of turning the stock accurately around the blade when
making a turn. It DOES require skill to turn the stock accurately
enough that the blade simply rotates and does not cut into the sides
of the cut. However, that is NOT that hard a skill to acquire and
tends to come quickly with practice. Speaking of which...since you
just got the saw, it would be a VERY good thing to make some
practice pieces out of scrap stock before you "practice" on your
REAL project. The end results will be much happier, and, it is
a lot less painful to toss a piece of scrap you have messed up
than it is the top of a jewelry case one already has quite a
number of hours invested in. DAMHIKT.
Although I don't do THAT much scrollsaw work, I enjoy
it quite a bit when I do. It is very satisfying to see such
interesting things emerge from the stock.
Regards
Dave Mundt

  #3  
Old November 17th 03, 02:10 AM
turtle
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"Dave Mundt" wrote in message
.. .
Greetings and Salutations.

Dave
Thank you very much. Your reply was much more info than I would have
aquired on my own. What is your optimum speed for softwood, basswood for
example?
WIll


 




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