Newbie, it's not as easy as it looks!

[mac1012]

niqua for me I order from hegner cheap postage and here next day good selection well all I ever need olsen blades are good too

Bugbear any chance of you posting a video ?

mark

 

[bugbear]

niqua for me I order from hegner cheap postage and here next day good selection well all I ever need olsen blades are good too

Bugbear any chance of you posting a video ?

mark

Given my comparative ignorance, I would struggle to tell good advice from bad.

Trouble is, it seems reasonable that the people who DO know a lot don't normally watch beginner videos to form an opinion :-(

BugBear

 

[mac1012]

Also I find it is as easy as it looks :lol:

The first piece I ever cut I sold a few days later

I got a hegner looked at vids on internet then had a go like I said its not rocket science most of the work posted on here is within easy reach of most people.

good machine good blades machine bolted down = a good start, a poor machine poor blades and not bolted down = making it harder than it needs to be.

its just practice cut just clear of line and there is nothing that cannot be feckled with a sander needle file or a piece of sandpaper.

if you have a good machine and good blade clamping system and quick release then blade tensioning is easy and straight forward not something that causes you a load of hassle.

I could never pick up say life like woodcarving of a bird as easy as I have scroll sawing or accurate dovetail joints on a hand made box , scrolling is one of the easiest mediums with wood to work with and you can make good work out of cheap wood

lets not make it into a dark mysterious art because in my opinion it isn't

mark

 

[zodiac]

Blades from silverline are c**p. The best blades are Flyin Dutchman from Mikes workshop, especially the ultra reverse. If you were to use one of these blades you would not believe the difference to a silverline blade. It will transform your scroll sawing experience.

I thought they might be a bit pants maybe. FD only make pinless blades though if I remember rightly from Mike's workshop website, I need pins. I have a friend who uses draper blades and he says they don't bend or twist for him, he lives hundreds of miles away though so I can't try his blades on my saw or vice versa

 

[mac1012]

also there is loads of stuff on net for patterns the reindeer on scroll saw workshop is a good beginners project I did the adult one and tweaked it by putting a smile and red nose on it sold loads at Christmas

loads of stuff on here

(hammer)
http://fssp-arpop.blogspot.co.uk/
http://scrollsawworkshop.blogspot.co.uk/


print of the pattern get some prit stick extra strong (don't waste your money on mount spray which is messy expensive and has strong fumes) stick the pattern on and away you go

 

[mac1012]

Bugbear I not sure I understand your point but there is loads on the net that are far better than anything I could post

scroll saw workshop is excellent resource on youtube or on his site


mark

 

[Gill]

Scrolling is not a science, it's a craft. No matter how much advice an experienced scroller tries to pass on to a novice, improvements in technique will only come when new blades, different stroke speeds, different types and thicknesses of wood are attempted. I always think it's a bit like trying to use a potter's wheel - you need to stick your hands in the clay and get to know both your materials and tools by actually making something.

For what it's worth, as a general rule I like to tension my blades so there is about 1 - 2 mm of lateral movement if you gently press your finger against the side of the blade. But who is to say that my idea of what is 'gentle pressure' is the same as everyone else's? Moreover, I might prefer a tighter tension and a slow stroke speed if I know I shall be making tight turns in thin wood with even grain whereas I might like to have a looser tension if I'm cutting sweeping curves in a 'woolly' piece of thick wood. You get a better feel for these aspects of scrolling the more wood you cut and the more blades you break .

 

[Chippygeoff]

There is a world of difference between Niqua and FD blades. I have both. I have been using FD ultra reverse for about 3 years now and in my opinion are the best for the sort of things I make, they stay sharp for longer and I find it is easier to stay on the line than other blades I use. Some people just get used to a certain make or type of blade and stick with it. I have tried most makes, the worst blades I ever used were Olsens.

 

[martinka]

There is a world of difference between Niqua and FD blades. I have both. I have been using FD ultra reverse for about 3 years now and in my opinion are the best for the sort of things I make, they stay sharp for longer and I find it is easier to stay on the line than other blades I use. Some people just get used to a certain make or type of blade and stick with it. I have tried most makes, the worst blades I ever used were Olsens.

I wonder why there is a difference, when apparently the FD blades are simply the Niqua blades being sold under a different name? I think it unlikely that Niqua would make a completely different set of blades just for mikesworkshop to sell. Of course, I can't deny that what I think, and reality, are often very different. :mrgreen:

Out of interest, Geoff, have you ever tried the Olson PGT blades? There's a big difference between those and the standard Olson blades.

The blade differences aside, I couldn't agree more that you should use whichever blade suits you, for the work you are doing, and I have no doubt some use more than one particular make of blade.

Martin.

 

[Bryan Bennett]

Hi Martin I have used F/D blades and have praised the excellence of the blades,I am currently using a P'egas blade Ref No 90.428 which is a Rev Skip No 3 13 tpi priced at £2 71 a doz.
In my opinion is probably as equal to F/D blades and may just have the edge.They follow the line very well and can do tight turns.I was in the Axminster Shop in Warrington the other day and noticed that they sold P'egas blades.

Bryan

 

[Chippygeoff]

Hi Martin. When I first started I never knew about FD blades and bought a selection pack of Olsen blades. I ended up throwing them away. I then tried the Niqua blades from Hobbies and these were great. I then bought some FD ultra reverse blades from Mikes workshop and these were even better. 95% of my work is cutting 18mm thick hardwoods and the FD blades are just brilliant for this. I was making regular calls to Hegner about my saw some months ago and we spoke about blades a few times and they sent me some samples of a new blade they were importing that is very comparable to FD blades. What I like about the FD-UR blades is that they have an indentatiuon neart the top so its easy to tell what way up they go, its just so convenient.

 

[martinka]

Hi Geoff,

I'll certainly be giving the FD blades a go as soon as the piggy bank fills up again. I'd really like to be able to cut these old stool tops and only the Olson PGT blades will touch them so far. I just noticed you always type 'Olsen' with an 'e' and was beginning to wonder if they were different to Olson. I bought some packs of old new stock Eclipse blades from ebay before I knew any better. I was going to throw those away but they seem to work very well in the Jet saw for thinner stuff, so maybe I'll hang onto them. Using them in the Hegner is like using wet string.

Martin.