Scroll Saw

I had a scroll saw for Christmas one year and I am a little frightened of it, anyone done any Scroll Sawing?

Oh wow, I have no idea what that is Hawkwind. But I'd love to know. Saws scare me too.

Do you have a manual, or electric?

With a manual the work piece must be firmly attached to the work surface, either with a clamp or in a wood vice.

Take your time cutting, and never fore the blade, the blades break very easily, particularly if you are using a very thin blade. When going around particularly tight turns, you may have to speed up the cuts, but be careful.

The manual scroll saw has two positions for the blade. This is because of the limitations of the blade holder. It sometimes is necessary to remove the blade and re-position in order to make some cuts, only through practice and use will you know when this is necessary.

The manual scroll saw is a safe tool to use.

The electric scroll saw, will do exactly the same job as a Manual scroll saw, but it does it much faster. Again, some of the blades are thin and break easily so do not force the work through the blade. Be sure the safety guard is down and the air hose is pointing directly at the cut area. The safety guard not only protects your fingers, it also holds the work piece firmly in place. It is extremely unsafe to use an electric scroll saw without the safety guard down and tightend firmly.

There are different sized blades, be sure to use the right blade for the kinds of cuts you wish to make. If the piece has many turns, particularly tight ones, you will want to use a very thing blade, if the turns are gradual, you can use a thicker blade. Also, when putting in a blade make sure the teeth are pointing downward, scroll saws cut on the downward stroke, this is a safety feature. Placing the blades in with the teeth pointing upwards could lead to the entire work piece jumping up and the safety guard may not be strong enough to prevent the operator from getting injured.

Again, you should just practice a bit with scraps of wood until you feel confident about the machines use.

If your electric scroll saw came with an owners manual read it carefully.

Hope this helps.

Eaglefeather.

It is an electric one Bob, and yes we have the manual and books on what to do and cut.

I am also frightened of it too, as it was a joint pressie and wondering if I should wear a chain mail glove?

Thank you so much for your detailed reply, we are so blessed to have you here

Don't be afraid of it Skye, respect it and it will do a fabulous job for you. That little Briarcliff chair I sent you was made with my electric scroll saw. I have even made full sized human Briarcliff chair with it, but due to the size of the parts it is a bit tricky.

Once you have worked with it for a bit you will become quite comfortable using it.

While on the subject of saws, I received quite a few gift cards for the Home Depot last Christmas. The Home Depot is a kind of monstrous sized hardware store come lumberyeard chain here in North America. I went looking the other day to see if there was anything I might want. Well I have always wanted a good Bandsaw and they have one that would suit my purposes perfectly. All of those gift cards will pay for it and there will be enough left over for me to buy spare blades as well. Making my chairs will be a wiz with the Bandsaw. I can also use it for making my animal pull-a-longs. While the Scroll saw is great, a Bandsaw is even better.

Cheers,
Eaglefeather

"The elders say, "Man who walk rough road end up with sore feet."

Oh the little chair sits so happily on my fireplace, I love it, and the snow people I am going to take a picture of it once it is light for all to see what can be done with a scroll saw.

Bob, could you explain for Lisa in your expertise way what a Scroll Saw is

I really look forward to seeing more of you woodwork here very soon, I love wood

Bob, could you load up some photos of what you do with a Scroll Saw? No rush.

Oh I also love wood Skye.

A scroll saw is very similar to a sewing machine, it works pretty much on the same principle. Instead of a needle and bobbin, a saw blade, approximately 5 inches in length, is attached to the upper arm, (where a needle would go on a sewing machine) and attached at the bottom to a reciprocating holder, (where a bobbin goes on a sewing machine.)

All similarity to a sewing machine ends there.

When power is applied the blade moves up and down very quickly, making it very easy to cut a design into a piece of wood.

Unfortunately my Scroll Saw is at the lake and I do not have a photo of it here. I will see if I can find one on the internet and will post it to the Wood Craft Forum.

I also have some photos of my chairs and animals that I make from wood and will post them in the Wood Craft forum as well.