New to Scrollsaw

[rgwhisenant]

Good afternoon.  I'm new to the scroll saw and I'm struggling a little.  I don't have a very expensive saw, and I have a couple of questions.

1.  How do you know if the blade tension is correct?

2.  If I make an interior cut, I have to bend the crap out of the blade to get it into a hole in the middle of the board.  Does that degrade the blades accuracy?

Roger

[dgman]

Hi Roger, welcome to the forum! You want to have a high tension on the blade. You want to hear a high "ping" when you pluck the blade.
 And yes, it does degrade the blade if you kink the blade. You must find a better way to move to interior cuts, weather it means taking the blade completely out of the clamps or some other way to accomplish this.

[ChuckD]

DGMAN hit the nail on the head with the tone of the blade.  I would not know the "a high C" from a low F.  If you are the same, try to move the blade.  It should not move more than 1/8th inch in any direction. 
As far as bending the blade, that is no problem as long as you don't, as dgman said, put a kink in them.  The kink makes a weak spot but they do bend.
Good Luck 

[rgwhisenant]

Thanks for the tips.  Is there a saw I can buy that has an upper arm that lifts out of the way completely?

[dgman]

Thanks for the tips.  Is there a saw I can buy that has an upper arm that lifts out of the way completely?

Three saws come to mind. The DeWalt 788, the Exalibur EX16 and EX21, and the Delta 40-695. Any of these saws will serve you well!

[king310]

welcome to the forum. We have way more answers than question..........nope I got that wrong. I have way more question than answers .
Everyone here is always willing to help out anytime you have a question. We have fun and find that everyone has a selection of different areas they like to scroll, burn, turn,and glue.

WELCOME from Iowa

[dirtrider73068]

I have the craftsman 16in model, price was 129, its been a good saw, the blade clamps on this one kinda swing a little and I found it gives me room to swing the clamp up out of the way, but have found that I have to kinda curve the blade to get into the middle of the board, you might to also feed from the top, take blade off, put wood on saw, insert blade through wood then clamp in.

[Keefie]

Hi Roger, welcome to the forum, I'm Keith from Cornwall U.K.
I see you have a few good answers to your first 2 questions, these might be the first 2, but probably won't be the last ones, never be afraid to ask any questions there is no such thing as a silly question. It's how we all started out - asking what we didn't know.

[Al W]

Greetings from South Dakota Roger.  Welcome to the madness (I see you have done that already) and the addiction.

Al

[jrpeteo]

Hello Roger, I'm Pete from Minnesota. Many of us here have the inexpensive saws, and many have the other kind. Mine (Craftsman) was $99 when I bought it 5 years ago. I have had to replace some parts, but that's OK. It is a little tough sticking those blades up through the bottom sometimes, especially with very small holes. But it does get easier.
Pete

[julief]

Hi Roger and welcome to the forum.  I'm Julie from Texas.  Glad to have you.  I started with a Dremel saw and the bottom blade holder toggled a little but you are right, it is a pain to feed that way.  It takes a little practice to do it without bending the blade.

[countryscroller]

Welcome! I'm Dustin from Ohio. Glad to have you with us.

[Russ C]

Hi I'm Russ from Florida your local moderator. Welcome to the Scrollsaw Forum. I love the smell of saw dust. 

[Toneman]

Welcome! I am Tony,aka,Toneman from Paris, Texas.

[Judy Hunter]

Hello from North Dakota.  I have the DeWalt and have the spring thingie that hold the arm up. 
It is a great machine!