Getting started in Scroll Saw Recommendations:

[leehljp]

I did some scroll saw work with a basic and cheap Sears saw when I was in Japan. Most of the scroll saw work was in my first 6 to 7 years there. It did vibrate quite a bit and I mounted it to a heavy slab of wood with thick rubber washers between the bolt and machine and under the machine too. I mostly cut out Kanji characters and some wood flowers. I haven't used one more than 20 - 30 minutes since the mid '90s.

Since I just purchased (or rather LOML purchased) a DeWalt scroll saw, I have been looking at books, patterns, bits and add-on items to get going. I found the Flying Dutchman's scroll saw blade site and ordered two different "bundles" with quite a few different kinds of blades.

What I want to do: Names/name plates, intarsia, puzzles, Christmas ornaments, and later toys.
Viewing a couple of Loring's posts helped with name plates:

http://www.sawdustzone.org/showthread.php?32661-how-to-finish-thick-scrollwork&highlight=Scroll+saw

http://www.sawdustzone.org/showthread.php?2351-quickee-name&highlight=harrison

What are some good reading/viewing recommendations for:
1. Sites/links
2. forum
3. Books
4. Magazines
5. Other.

I really would appreciate your input and suggestions.

In one of Loring's posts concerning getting the finish to the insides (cut-outs) of letters, there was one suggestion of using sandpaper strips that attached to the scroll saw in place of the blades. Anyone know of these?

[capncarl]

I have used the sanding strips that fit in the blade holder. They work good but teach you to slow down, maybe put in a finer tooth blade and not gap it up as much, Anything to reduce sanding. I've also clamped cloth sandpaper strips in my saw, that works also, but not as well as the commercial strips.

[JoeyGee]

http://forum.scrollsawer.com/

This site helped me a ton when I started out.

[JoeyGee]

As far as sanding, I have no good answer for you. I have not tried those sanding pads. Maybe I need to. My big problem is "fuzz" on the backside of the cut, similar to tiny blowout, if you will. If I'm doing a lot of stack cutting (which I do a lot of) I will put a sacrificial piece of 1/8" plywood on the bottom, which helps.

Also, when I am using a pattern, I usually wrap the wood in clear packing tape then use spray adhesive to apply that to the tape. no mess and I can make the adhesive as sticky as I want.

Also, I forgot, check out Steve Good's website and YouTube channel. http://scrollsawworkshop.blogspot.com/

[LCHIEN]

...

In one of Loring's posts concerning getting the finish to the insides (cut-outs) of letters, there was one suggestion of using sandpaper strips that attached to the scroll saw in place of the blades. Anyone know of these?

Try a google search like this:

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=scrollsaw%20sanding%20strips

[LCHIEN]

As far as sanding, I have no good answer for you. I have not tried those sanding pads. Maybe I need to. My big problem is "fuzz" on the backside of the cut, similar to tiny blowout, if you will. If I'm doing a lot of stack cutting (which I do a lot of) I will put a sacrificial piece of 1/8" plywood on the bottom, which helps.

Also, when I am using a pattern, I usually wrap the wood in clear packing tape then use spray adhesive to apply that to the tape. no mess and I can make the adhesive as sticky as I want.

Also, I forgot, check out Steve Good's website and YouTube channel. http://scrollsawworkshop.blogspot.com/

The backside fuzz can be reduced at the cut by using blades that have teeth that cut on the downstroke at the top of the blade and teeth that are inverted and cut on the upstroke on the bottom half inch of the blade at the table surface. See blade "A" below, it's called a reverse skip tooth blade

1. Reverse Skip-tooth Blades. This blade is exactly like the regular skip- tooth blade, except the last few bottom teeth point upward. This is great for preventing tear- out or splintering on the bottom of the cut and for use with plywood. When using a reverse skip-tooth blade you must set the blade in the clamps so that only two or three teeth are pointing up above the tabletop when the saw arm is in its highest position. You may have to trim a little from the bottom of the blade to accomplish this.

It's crucial you install this in the correct orientation!

Also the backside fuzz can be taken off with an aggressive cut on a coarse belt sander. The fuzz will be of course on the very edge, taking a few mils (less than .005"?) off the backside of the finished piece with a 4" beltsander running 80 or 100 grit will clean it up pretty good in my experience.

[cwsmith]

I just did a quick check and I see that Lee-Valley has sanding belts for scroll saws, along with a few other products. ( http://www.leevalley.com/us/ )

Edit correction - Here's the link to the Lee-Valley page for sanding strips: http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/pag...65&cat=1,42500

and to the general scroll saw interest catagory: http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/Search.aspx?action=n

I have a Ryobi 18-inch (no longer in production) that I bought during a big Christmas sale in 2003, the first year my local HD opened. I don't think they knew what they were doing, as they had it marked for $99 and the sale was their one and only 20% off... I had just retired and got that, as well as the Ryobi bandsaw, belt/disk sander, router table combo; all for something like $79 each. After the holidays, that particular scroll saw model was $ 180.

I like the Ryobi and I think that model was also dressed in Craftsman's black and red. The only vibration that the Ryobi really suffered was at about 3/4 top speed; above or below that, it's pretty calm. It is equipped with a segmented blower tube with integral light.

About the first thing I did was call the Flying Dutchman. Not sure if he is still alive, but he was a terribly nice fellow and I must have talked with him for at least 15 minutes. At the time, he had an offer for a variety pack of blades with his magazine-like book... I still have them.

CWS

[leehljp]

Thanks fellows for the information. Loring, thanks for the links to the sanding belts and files, I will order some pronto. CWS, I ordered 2 different "variety" packs of blades from the Dutchman. Joey, I appreciate the links.

This has been very informative! I will be traveling this afternoon back home (about 325 miles). If I have time tonight, I will order some belts and files. I need to check ebay, amazon and individual sites for the best offers plus shipping. I would like to order all from one place if possible.

There is one blade that I read about Saturday somewhere (and cannot find it now) that had teeth on the front and back side, not spiral either. This helped when going forwards and backwards (I am guessing) in some cutouts. I must look for that blade again.

[phrog]

Woodcraft sells sanding strips (but I have not tried them)

http://www.woodcraft.com/product/127428/olson-scroll-sanders-pinless-14-assorted-grit-4-pack.aspx

[cwsmith]

Lee,

I fixed the links in my original post. Sorry, but it was late and I was using a tablet so couldn't copy the links correctly.

Also, the website that went to was https://www.mikesworkshop.com/ which sold "Flying Dutchman" blades... so a bit of confusion on my part last night. Mike's was highly recommended back in 2003 and I see his website is still active. While it still appears as it did on my last visit a few years ago, I don't see the title "My Story" which was Mike's own history, about growing up in Europe and beginning scroll sawing at a very young age. It make think that perhaps Mike as passed. I hope not, but as I recall he was elderly when I talked to him back in 2004.

In any case, there's some interesting information there, including several links. BTW, the book I bought at the time was Scroll Saw Workbook by John A Nelson (2nd Edition, ISBN 156523-207-0. It's 88 pages contains history, mechanism, reviews, accessories, and 25 progressively harder lessons/patterns.

I hope this helps,

CWS

[scrollsawhero]

Great recommendations here! I never thought to try out sanding strips like that, but I'll definitely have to purchase some and try it out. Here's the guide I wrote to help others get started, it's a little more up to date than other posts I've seen on here: https://www.scrollsawhero.com/the-ul...o-scroll-saws/

[tfischer]

I purchased some sanding strips (can't remember the brand but they were supposedly decent quality ones) a couple years ago, possibly due to this thread. I ended up sending them back... first of all they're pricey to begin with. Secondly since you're always sanding with the exact same part of the strip, they wear out nearly instantly. Mine became dull within a minute, and broke in half after 2-3 minutes. Considering they cost a buck or two a strip, not sustainable IMHO.