Cutting Compound Patterns.... :+(

[Danny]

Just wondering. 
     Example.... 2 inch Pine stock.  Cut from Store bought 2x4 Recently.
                       Very SLOW cutting.  Used UR5.  Also tried other blade types Slow!
                       
                       Cut 15 Compound bird houses from a 2x4 that I had sitting in my
                        shop for over a year.  Some what on the slow side, but not boring.

My feelings are maybe store bought lumber is bought on the side of still being wet and HARD.

QUESTION......................IS THERE A ....BETTER BLADE.... for this purpose?
                                          Thanks to any that reply......................Danny  :+}

[thumbs]

Danny--when I cut a 2x4 I usually use a #9, but that is to cut out toys cars and such--I'm not too sure for a compound cut--It might be too much for the inside cuts--by the way--sometimes slow is good--Richard

[TripleB]

Danny I agree with Thumbs, I'll add that I use a # 7 skip tooth, UR blades are not a good choice for thicker wood because the bottom teeth and very small distance between teeth, tend to pack the saw dust inside the kerf and makes cutting very difficult along with burning in the middle of the cut. The skip tooth will help remove the dust from the kerf much better than a UR blade.

Bob

[UHMNL]

Diana Thompson who designs a lot of compound patters likes to use the Polar # 5 and
also some of the # 7. I use mostly the # 5.
You do not need a blade with reverse teeth, the pieces what have fuzz on the bottom
are thrown away. These blades have the teeth of-set just very little what makes them clean the kerf better. You need very good tension, good speed and push very, very slow into the blade or the blade will grab the wood, what makes it hard to hold the wood down.
The UR blades is a skip tooth blade but not good for compound cutting.
The UR blades have two teeth down and one up along the whole blade. It is hard to see, that is why the company put a very tinny marking on one end, telling that it is the top of the blade.
FD Mike

[Rapid Roger]

Just to add my two cents....
I think you may be right about the "new" 2 x 4 being a bit wet and clogging the gullets in the blade. That will sure slow things down if the saw dust can't get cleaned out fast enough. Also, I have noticed that cutting with the grain (rip cut) is usually a lot slower and harder  to cut than cutting across the grain (cross cut)with almost any wood.
As a bit of a hint, a cross cut blade on a table saw has quite a few more teeth than a rip blade generally speaking.  Of course the two blades also have a different tooth style but, lets not get too technical about all that.
So, in the future you might take some of those clues into consideration when choosing a blade for your scroll saw. Type of wood, thickness, direction of most cuts to be made and how wet or dry the wood is.

Rog

[Danny]

And I THANK ALL for the fine input.  Learned bunches. 
     I did talk with Mike today asking him his best blade for this kind of cutting and then
there he is telling us all what I was going to relay.
     I did place my order for the POLAR #5 and #7 blades and am kind of excited about
using them....BUT....  Like I did state I used my Favorite type blade FD-UR on all 15 of
them bird house ornaments and was Satisfied....SO....Really thinking ....ITS THE WOOD....
                              Thanks again Ya'll....  Danny  :+}

[julief]

Danny, the other factor you have to consider is the tightness of the turns in your piece.  Some patterns have a lot of detail that requires tighter turns - thus requiring a smaller blade. 

[UHMNL]

Julief, The # 5 is the best, if you go smaller, the blade might start cutting with a bevel.
What would not be good for compound cutting.
FD Mike

[mrsn]

To further complicate things...
Not all wood is created equal, not all 2x4's are the same wood. many are fir, not pine. There is also a big difference in cutting the different species of pine.

I got some 8/4 pine from my school (used for turning practice) it cut beautifully with the scroll saw.

[slowcutter]

I use polar blades
Size 3-5-7-9 what I keep on hand