Material size

[jayhuck1]

Whats the largest(lentgh or width) wood you have cut on a scroll saw? Thinking of trying something large but want to hear or see some other peoples experiences first. Also the table on my saw has four holes in it looking like mounting holes. Would bolting a piece of 1/2" plywood alter the performance? I know I would have to countersink bolt heads into ply, and tilting table would not be possible. Thanks for any help

[Al W]

Obviously one needs to consider the size of the table.  For example I have a 16 inch throat on mine.  I could reasonably cut something quite long, by using external support arms/legs/stands/benches, whatever, but would still be restricted to the approximate 16 inch wide wood.  One of the reasons for spiral blades, as I understand, is to allow a piece of wood to be cut without spinning it around.

On reflection, mayhap a person could cut a long piece of work that is close to 32 inches wide, by rotating the work so first one side is "in" the saw, then rotating to the other side.  I personally think that would really be a challenge, and difficult to work with, especially with any small detail.  Perhaps could be done to make a larger style of sign.

Just a couple of random thoughts.

Best of luck.

Al

[Dan26]

I agree with Al. With a regular (flat) blade, you are limited to the depth of the scroll saw. With a 16" saw, you can cut a depth of 16", but don't forget to take into account the corners. So depending on the pattern, you may only be able to cut about 11" (if my high school geometry is right). But with a spiral blade, you can cut a board that is 16" x 16".

I'm not sure about the holes in the scroll saw table. Mounting plywood would make it hard to slide the wood you are trying to cut. You could use melamine. No matter what you use, you will reduce the thickness of the wood you are able to cut.

What brand/model saw do you have?

[GrayBeard]

Go to the "BRAG Forum" and look at the post titled "Eagle!"....

~~~GB~~~

[Coullion]

I tried something the other day that actually worked. I have a 16" saw. I had a bigger pattern than that to cut and didn't want to use spiral blades. I put in a flat blade and tensioned it up and then got some pliers and twisted the blade 90 degrees. Worked really good for the longer piece I was working on. Just a thought if you want to try it.

Todd
EX-16

[malc]

I have, on one occasion used the blade facing the wrong way, i.e. teeth facing back. It worked OK but took a lot of concentration!
Malc

[jayhuck1]

I have an 18" Craftsman saw. I seem to be one of the minority on here that likes to cut with spiral blades. The reason I asked this question is Granpa made a pattern for me a while back. It was a portrait of my wife and I. I went to www.blockposter.com and blew it up so its now 24X17. Rockler sells BB Ply 24X30X1/4 for around $10 so I was gonna give it a shot. If I'm out the $10 then oh well but maybe in the process I can learn something. On the other hand who knows maybe it will work out. I do have a 3'X3' piece of old countertop maybe that would work as a larger table surface? Its fairly heavy so maybe i could just cut a hole for the scroll blade to pass through and mount it to my work bench(I have a wood bench my scroll saw is mounted to)

[tux_linux]

You should use spiral blades when you need to do a big project.

The biggest piece on the saw so far was a  32" long wordart. I didn't like it much, and as already said, it's a different cutting using spiral blades.

Charles Dearing does big projects regularly, he's doing projects up to app. 80" length. He's got some additional stands to support the wood, you have seen the ones with the roll on top. Looks amazing when he does that!

[daliclimbs]

The largest I have done was a welcome sign that came in at about 32" long. I used FD flat end spirals. I'm not a huge fan of spirals, but You have to do what you have to do.

[jayhuck1]

Just got back from Rockler, bought a piece of BB 24X60X1/2" Gonna get started and will post pics when I'm fininhed cutting

[julief]

On portrait work, I generally use spiral blades.  It extends the size of the piece you are capable of working on.  As far as adding a top to your table, if you are using reverse tooth blades, you will loose the capability of the blade on the upstroke and defeat the purpose of the blade.

[BigPete]

Hi , I have just finished cutting a project that measures 30" x 24"  using spiral blades. I have pupose built supports either side of the scrollsaw that are the same hight and level with it ....Pete