Speaking of blades

[king310]

I am currently using Flying Dutchman blades as well BUT I am having a problem. When I make turns at times the blade will cut in a different direction. It looks like I have made a rounded curve ) instead of a square corner ]. I have tried to wait for the blade to come back into position before I continue but it does not matter. I have tried tension setting but all I have done is break a few blades!
Also how important is it to stay on the cut lines? I always have trouble staying inside the lines when I use crayons.

[mrsn]

The importance of accuracy depends on what type of cutting you do. Intarsia is all about accuracy. With most fretwork you have a surprising amount of wiggle room, a nice smooth line will help. Some parts of a pattern are more important then others, eyes come to mind. Also letters need to be right, they are one of the few details of our craft a "normal" person will notice flaws. If a letter is skinny, short or has a wave to it our eyes can tell something is wrong with it. On the other hand I doubt a "normal" person would ever be able to tell if the spots on a fretwork leopard are off.

[countryscroller]

Maybe use a smaller blade size like a #3 or smaller to make that sharper turn.

[king310]

I am very critical of my work. I am using a #3 blade set at the slowest speed. I am rotating my work counter clockwise like Steve. It seems to give me better control of my work. I am using ? inch oak. I am using the pattern out of creative woodworks (autumn) I figure that following the lines on the leaf pattern is not as important as the letters.
I am just wondering if the blade wants to follow the path of least resistance.

[dgman]

For 3/4" Oak, you need a much higher speed than the slowest speed. Make sure you have a high tension. You want to hear a high "ping" when you pluck the blade. To make a sharp inside turn, try this, cut just to the corner, then back out just a little. Go back into the corner widening the kerf by the with of the blade. Now the kerf is wide enough to turn the blade easily with out cutting. Line up the blade with the line, and your off!

[julief]

Ditto to everything said so far.  On 3/4" oak, the blade will try to follow the grain.  You might try going to a #5.  If you want to stick with the #3, do what Dan suggested.  Widen the kerf and then make your turn.  There is an excellent video on these types of turns on Sheila Landry's web site.  Sometimes seeing it done helps.  On many patterns, the lines are not entirely critical.  No one knows your mistakes once you take the pattern off.  Speed up your motor.  You don't have to cut that fast, slow your feed rate down but speed up the motor.  It really does give you more control.

[Danny]

I SECOND and THIRDS all said above.  I went thru what you are going thru long ago and have learned the saw needs to run at approx. 3/4 speed.  Running slower will
give the blade more of a chance to get off the line.  Everything I learned took lots of practice, but now years later.  Every cut is a PIECE OF CAKE.  LOL  Danny  :+}

[king310]

Thank you for the info. Going to a larger blade worked great. Cutting the outside of the pattern I used a #9FD and I was able to make some of the tight turns and it worked great. I think I will use a #7 next time to see how this works to cut the letters. My mistake was bigger than I thought. I was not using a #3 it was a #1. I had placed them in the wrong bin.

Thanks again

[cameronj]

Remember, practice make perfect (well almost).  The more scrollsawing you do, the better the result. 
Have fun.

[cdrover(Clyde)]

Many times to make a square corner I will cut to the end of the line on one side then pull back a 1/4 inch  more or less depending on the amount of room I have and cut through the waste to the second line and attack the corner from the other side. Works for me