Choosing a Blade
Many different scroll saw blades exist on the market; therefore, it is not always easy to know which blade to use. When deciding, you want to consider the following three questions:
- Material Type
Are you going to use hard or soft wood, plastic, etc? - Material Thickness
Are you planning to cut thin sheets or thick boards? - Project Type
What are you going to make? Simple scroll sawing or more detailed work with many inside cuts (also called fretwork)? Just outside cutting that can no longer be done by a bandsaw (called scrolling)?
Most companies use a number system from 3/0 to 12. (The "/0" is pronounced "ott" and indicates "below zero." So 3/0 means "3 below zero.") Metal and jewelry blades might start as low as 10/0. The lower the number the finer the blade. For softer, thin wood, use the lower numbers and a low feed rate. Due to the finer nature of these smaller blades, it's good to remember that they will have a tendency to break more often. For harder, thick wood, use higher blade numbers. The blades with less TPI (teeth per inch) will cut more aggressively. For example, a blade with 8 TPI cuts faster than a blade with 12 TPI, however there is generally more control with a blade that has 12 TPI when compared to 8 TPI. The blades sizes can also be looked as if they were a sliding scale of intricacy. The smallest sizes can be used to cut very intricate and detailed projects, while the largest sizes are great at straight lines and long sweeping curves. Mixing both perspectives together can be the key to finding the perfect size blade for whatever project you find yourself preparing for.
Regular teeth blades are almost always considered to be metal cutting blades. Iron Man (IM), Aluminum Cutter (AC), and Jeweler (J) fall under this category. One big variance to that is Marquetry. Cutting those really thin veneers can be done amazingly well with the J5/0 & J8/0 blades.
Straight teeth blades—most of which are called skip-tooth blades because it's as though every other tooth is missing—are preferred by some. It is up to what folks get used to. Straight teeth blades may follow the line more easily while sawing and they clean the cut well, leaving less chance of burning. However, they will tend to leave enough fuzz or splintering on the bottom of the wood so that the project requires sanding. This can also vary quite a bit depending on the type of wood or other material used, how sharp the blade is, or the size of blade. Polar (P), XL, Heavy Duty (HD), and Superior Puzzle (SP) fall into this category.
Some skip tooth scroll saw blades have several reverse (rev.) teeth at the bottom. Those few upturned teeth help to directly counteract the fuzz and splintering left by the rest of the blade. Blades with too many rev. teeth will burn the wood more easily and do not clean the kerf as well as blades with less rev. teeth. They create friction and heat the blade; therefore, shortening the life of the blades. The height of your cutting surface can also affect how many of those rev. teeth do (or don't) touch the bottom your wood. Scroll Reverse (SR) is our reverse tooth blade.
Double teeth blades—with and without rev. teeth—are generally considered to be best for those harder and/or thicker woods. The extra gap can be much better at removing all that sawdust as it gets created, instead of the blade getting gummed up and quickly overheating. They are also preferred by some over single teeth blades as they believe the double teeth give them a little more control. These would be our Penguin Silver (PS), and Penguin Silver Reverse (PSR) blades.
Blades with two teeth down and one up are maybe the best for splinter-free cutting. They work throughout the full downstroke and the full upstroke. The Ultra Reverse (UR) and 2-Way Cut (TC) blades are both designed this way. UR blades cut nice and fast, whereas the TC blades will cut slower giving that extra sense of control.
The last blade style to touch on is spiral teeth blades--blades that cut in any direction. The basic concept is that it's either a regular tooth or a skip tooth style blade that has then been twisted, allowing the teeth to be on all sides of the blade. The obvious benefit is that you don't have to try and turn your wood while you carefully cut your project. We have 4 different options of spiral blades, the first being our regular Spiral blade. It provides the most size options and is great all around (pun intended). Some people prefer the ease that our Flat End Spiral blades provide for getting them clamped into their saw. Some prefer the smoothness of the cut that our New Spiral blades provide because it has teeth milled into the front edge and the back edge of the blade before it gets twisted. Lastly, our Spiral Reverse blades leave a cleaner finish on the backside of your wood, especially if cutting 1/8” or 1/4” plywoods, meaning less cleanup sanding.
Essentially, everything depends on the level of experience and the type of project you are making. Whether you plan to do any stack-cutting also makes a difference. The best way is to experiment with some different blades. When beginning something new, you might start with a #3 SR and then find that a #5 or #7 does just as good a job for that project, or better, because being a larger blade means it should last longer.
FLYING DUTCHMAN scroll saw blades are made in Germany from very high quality steel and some blades are made of hardened steel. SR is comparable to PGT blades but are finer and don't burn as fast; therefore, they will last longer. All these blades are 5 inches long and pinless. You can mix and match in the same blade category and choose from many popular sizes. We do recommend using 2" clear packaging tape over the pattern for burn-free cutting. They also work well with plastic (acrylic); however, make sure to use cast plastics as extruded plastics will melt back together while cutting.
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