Out of my slump ( sorta )

[sawduster]

I also understand the slump. I'm mostly out of mine. What blades do you use in your portraits/

Well I'm a darksider so my blade of choice for portraits ( and lots of other stuff ) is a spiral. I used #1 and #3 on this one .......flying dutchman of course :gar-Bi

 

[CaptnA]

Robert that is awesome!
Know slumps all too well and they can come from a variety of sources.
For me injury, heat, and just being down about life had kept me out of the shop
for too long! A bit after my surgery I tried to make a pen to give the PT guy and found
that even that was too much for me at the time. Well CRAP! So I didn't even
open the door for about 8 months. Still a little piece inside kept gnawing at me.
I started by just cleaning up the shop and doing some simple but necessary
"tool maintenance". Rationalized to myself, even if I never use them again I
couldn't get much out of them if I let them just sit and rust or whatever.
Still hot but that two day jag sort of got me going a little - more in my heart
and head than the shop perhaps but a start...
you haven't lost a thing in talent my friend! Hope that gets you going strong!

 

[sawduster]

Good question Cathy. What size and type blades are most useful for the kind of work that is done by the scrollers here? And where is the best place to buy them? And how do you store them? Questions, questions.

I prefer Flying Dutchman blades. They have an " ultra " reverse that to me drives just like a sports car Most commonly I use #3 but have #1, #5, and #7 in my arsenal. I made my own blade holder out of PVC and a block of wood with extra tubes for " scuffs " . New blades cut almost too good at times so it is not unusual for me to run them into a piece of 2 x 4 a couple of times to dull them slightly for better control. If I have one on the machine that still has life in it I put it in the scuff tube for later. I also at times round the back edges with a stone while they are on the saw to help with tight curves and corners .......hope this helps

 

[sawduster]

Andy, You know all too well where I have been and where I am . It is really, really good to see you peeking out from behind the curtain again bro :icon_thum I spent yesterday cleaning my equipment, blowing off dust, waxing decks etc.
Yeah, this too shall pass :wconfused:

 

[cskipper]

In my humble ( ) opinion, Flying Dutchman (http://www.mikesworkshop.com/blades.html) Ultra Reverse blades are the top of the line when I want the advantage of the reverse teeth. If that doesn't matter to me I really love the PSWood (http://http://www.pswood.com/precision-ground-scroll-saw-blades/ Super Sharps. Beyond that I have only used Olson blades (after ruling out [STRIKE]cheaper [/STRIKE] less expensive blades).

Reverse tooth blades decrease the amount of "fuzzies" on the bottom of the piece you cut, which means less sanding for you. Occasionally the teeth can contribute to wood lifting off the table (DAMHIK).

Blades are generally stamped so their teeth tend to drift usually to the right. You can learn how to accommodate for the drift. Some scrollers simply sit a little to the fight of the blade because they find it easier to compensate for the drift. Precision Ground blades are ground to allow for a straighter cut.

The PS Wood blades and Olson precision ground blades cut very straight.

There is a large selection of different types of blades. There are double tooth and skip tooth which are supposed to help with removal of waste with and without reverse teeth. Mike (Flying Dutchman blades) is good to provide suggestions depending on what you are going to cut.

Someone mentioned that soemtimes new blades are too sharp. Sounds strange, but can be especially if cutting single layers of 1/8" or 1/4" Baltic Birch plywood.

 

[ScottM]

I use #5 Flying Dutchman (FD) Ultra reverse for 75% of my work. The other 25% of the time I use:
- other sizes FD Ultra reverse (usually smaller #1 and #3)
- #5 FD Polar blades for compound (3D) cutting
- #1 and #3 FD spiral blades

Depending on the project I may use several sizes and styles of blades.

I do agree a blade can be too sharp especially when cutting delicate parts of single layers of thin stock though it is easy top fix. Just cut more then one thickness.

 

[LeftyTom]

Not a slump, but merely a ripple in your lake of placidity.

 

[sawduster]

Not a slump, but merely a ripple in your lake of placidity.

ya know, it don't sound so bad when you put it that way :gar-La;

 

[MagGeorge]

Amazing scroll work on that excellent portrait. It looks really spot on.