Cutting curves etc (a beginner)

[Topspin]

Hi Steve,

I've watched a number of your workshop videos and they are very informative, clear, well shot presentations, so congratulations.

I'm a beginner and bought my saw at the weekend (Clarke Vari Speed,Light CSS400C) it's a UK basic entry saw.

I'm really struggling to cut around a template shape of a birds wing (Whirlibird), no internal cutting at this stage. I only seem to be able to cut straight lines, sort of.

I'm using a 18 teeth single action blade, and the tension sounds like a guitar string.

Do I need to be more aggresive with turning the wood through angles, or slow down turning the item, or increase the speed of the blade, probably running at 800rpm at present (range 550rpm-1600rpm). I think I may be to worried about snapping the blade.

You make it look so easy, any tips would be greatly received.

Thanks Topspin

[daveo]

Hi
mate I am going to have a go in steves absents
I am going to assume that if you bought a clarke you are first using pin ended blades and secondly you are using blades that came with the machine or were supplied to you by machine mart.
If I am right on either count then throw them in the bin they are useless.
I also assume that there is a set of blade holder adaptors for pinless blades supplied try using those with some reasonable quality blades at first and then progress.In short I think you will find that the problem is the blades.
for the blades try "hobbies" they sell Niqua blades that are made by flying dutchman (supposedly).
Also you may well be better to get a pair of retro fit blade clamps, Axminster list one (part number 400124) it is supposed to be for there AWFS machine but they do retro fit most entry level machines and are much easier on blade change and they are only ?1.98 each HTH
Dave

[EIEIO]

Practice is the key. Have you broken a blade when making a turn? If not, you should try to do it - you probably can't break it unless you have a very wide blade or in a very thick, hard wood. If you're cutting 3/4" lumber, turning the wood won't bother the blade. Lowes and Menards sell 1/4" oak and poplar that are easy to cut. Blades sell for about 20 cents so it's no big deal if you break one while learning.

You don't have to turn the wood fast to make a sharp bend in your cut, but you need to hold the wood in place as you turn - a lot of people use a finger tip to anchor the wood. You might want to try reversing pressure during the turn so the back of the blade is touching the wood rather then the teeth.  This takes some practice. Some people make a wide turn, then back up and square it up with another cut. To cut the sharp tip of a wing, you might cut along the top and past the tip then loop around and into the bottom cut (if the waste space is available).

And you should not be pushing hard to make the cut. If the blade is good (sharp) it takes little pressure. A lot of people (including me) call themselves slow cutters. This is for fun, so if it takes longer it just means you had more fun.

Avoid pushing the blade sideways - that just gives you a non-perpendicular cut. If you wander off the line a little, turn the wood to cut back to the line. If you're not cutting gear teeth or font characters, a little wandering won't be visible. 

For any serious scroll work you'll want plain end blades (they can fit through a 1/32" pilot hole so you can really get in there!), but until you get to change clamps, Olsen has some good pin end blades sold through Lowes and Manards. You get much better pricing at the on-line scroll vendors like
 - Seyco http://www.seyco.com/category/blades.htmland
 - Mike's Workshop http://www.mikesworkshop.com/blades.htm 
but the big box stores might be convenient for you.

[Keefie]

As Dave says, ideally you need to use pinless blades,  I always use FD UR no1 and no3 blades for most of my work and find they cut excellently. The other advantage to using these blades is every third tooth is reversed so the cut leaves next to no "fuzzies" to be sanded off.  I get my blades from Mike at http://www.mikesworkshop.com/blades.htm  His service is excellent and I usually receive the blades within a week. He only charges $3 for shipping (cheaper than most P+P charges in the U.K.) and the blades are cheaper than anywhere else I have found and the flying dutchman blades seem to have less drift when cutting and also stay sharper longer. hope that helps.

Keith.

[Shogun]

Hi Topspin,
My Favorite blade is a FDUR #5, also made by Flying Dutchman. I would think that around 800 on your saw is a pretty good speed to go with. When I'm cutting curves I always slow way down and use just enough pressure to lightly touch the teeth so the blade does all the work. You might also want to keep in mind that because the blade you are using is flat your curves and circles may not look right until the waste piece falls away, because it's nearly impossible to cut a perfect curve or circle so the gap where your blade removes the wood is more like a series of very tiny straight lines. The best thing I can tell you to do is put all your scrap wood of any descent size in a box and save it to practice with. It will come to you in time.

[Becky]

It's also important to make a smooth, continuous cut if possible.  Starting and stopping adds "kinks" to your curve. 

I had a lot of trouble with curves early on myself.  I think it is at least partially to do with the fact that the grain keeps changing direction as you turn the wood so the blade cuts more and then less aggressively.  As my skills improved, I turned up the speed on the saw.  I think I probably still cut more slowly than most here but the faster saw speed seems to help.  The thing is not to let a faster saw speed change your feed rate.  Early on, I couldn't control that very well and it was like cutting in fast motion.  Got a little too frantic so I kept it slow until I learned better control.

Meanwhile, there's always sandpaper.  At least as long as your little kinks are outside the line instead of inside.  There's no substitute for practice.

[lion1234]

hi topspin,i have the same scrollsaw as you and i found in the beginning the same problem ,you should have had 2 little clamps with saw which you can use pinless blades,if you havent got clamps get in touch with clarkes via net,they will give you good service,as for blades contact dragon blades on ebay,they are based in south wales, try n0.3 and 5 reverse cut blades they are made by flying dutchman and are realy good,you should recieve them within 2 days,hope this helps.