How Scroll Saw Blades Are Made
While each scroll saw blade factory has its own proprietary methods for manufacturing their blades, here is a description of the general process involved.
To begin, a big roll of wire—about four to five feet in diameter—is set up in front of a press. The press makes the wire flat and also sets the desired thickness of the blade being produced.
There is typically a small table right behind the press where the teeth are milled.
The now flattened steel wire is moved forward five inches at a time and a cylinder moves into the steel to cut the teeth for each blade. This cylinder is about four inches in diameter and has very sharp edges that cut the teeth of the new saw blade. A different cylinder is needed for each type/size of blade. As the cylinder moves back out of the way, the steel wire moves forward another five inches so the next blade can be milled.
There is typically a small table right behind the press where the teeth are milled.
The now flattened steel wire is moved forward five inches at a time and a cylinder moves into the steel to cut the teeth for each blade. This cylinder is about four inches in diameter and has very sharp edges that cut the teeth of the new saw blade. A different cylinder is needed for each type/size of blade. As the cylinder moves back out of the way, the steel wire moves forward another five inches so the next blade can be milled.
When the wire leaves the table, it is rolled up again on a big spool. This spool is then moved to a different location in the plant where the steel is hardened by heating the wire and then moving the wire through a bath of oil that is kept at the proper temperature for getting the perfect hardness. A computer controls the temperature of the oil so there is no variation and the proper hardening can take place at all times.
The next machine cuts the roll of hardened steel into five-inch pieces. The blades have now been produced and are checked for quality before being packaged.
Blades are inspected and hand counted by workers. The majority of these workers are women as the companies have found that most women have better feeling in their fingers than men do. To see how well you could do at this job, take a dozen or more blades in your right hand, move them with your thumb and index finger around a little and then count a dozen blades by 3s. You will need to use your thumb and index finger to help with the counting: 3, 6, 9, and 12.
The inspectors/counters sit at a big round table that has tubes about two inches from the outside edge. The workers grab a quantity of blades and then count out a dozen to place in the appropriate tube. The table slowly turn in about three-inch intervals, giving them enough time to fill the tubes as they moves to the next part of the operation.
Above this table is a machine with an arm that moves down and picks up groupings of 12 blades. This machine then spins the grouping while very thin wire is wrapped around the blades. This package is then dropped into a container. Workers then count and gather 12 of these packages of 12 together.
The next machine places this combination of 12 packets of 12 blades each into poly bags. These bags are labeled with the company name, blade size and measurements of the particular blade being made in that run.
Now that you know how scroll saw blades are made, visit our SHOP to purchase your very own.
The next machine cuts the roll of hardened steel into five-inch pieces. The blades have now been produced and are checked for quality before being packaged.
Blades are inspected and hand counted by workers. The majority of these workers are women as the companies have found that most women have better feeling in their fingers than men do. To see how well you could do at this job, take a dozen or more blades in your right hand, move them with your thumb and index finger around a little and then count a dozen blades by 3s. You will need to use your thumb and index finger to help with the counting: 3, 6, 9, and 12.
The inspectors/counters sit at a big round table that has tubes about two inches from the outside edge. The workers grab a quantity of blades and then count out a dozen to place in the appropriate tube. The table slowly turn in about three-inch intervals, giving them enough time to fill the tubes as they moves to the next part of the operation.
Above this table is a machine with an arm that moves down and picks up groupings of 12 blades. This machine then spins the grouping while very thin wire is wrapped around the blades. This package is then dropped into a container. Workers then count and gather 12 of these packages of 12 together.
The next machine places this combination of 12 packets of 12 blades each into poly bags. These bags are labeled with the company name, blade size and measurements of the particular blade being made in that run.
Now that you know how scroll saw blades are made, visit our SHOP to purchase your very own.
