Olson PGT Blades, Animals!

[PeteG]

I thought I'd try some different blades from the Hobbies and ordered PGT's in No5, 7 and 9, I also ordered a pack each of Olson Mach Speed in 3's and 5's
but they were so bent and twisted I'll have to wait for replacements next week.
To try the PGT's I thought I'd make our lass one of Steve Goods keyrings in 1" Ash, I popped a No5 in and good God what an animal these blades are. I had to slow the machine
down as the blade was running away, and I really had to grip the work piece to stop it jumping, whilst trying to hold it back so I could follow the line. I appreciate I have limited
experience but this was a completely new experience in comparison to using the Hobby blades. I had a little trouble keeping them in the blade holders saw too and really had to tighten up,
the first blade lasted 12-15 minutes at most! The other very noticeable difference was the waste material, the blower on the Sealey isn't brilliant but it's worked fine so far, but there
seems to be more waste/saw dust and the particals look at lot bigger in size.
I'm not knocking them by any means, just wasn't expecting such a BIG difference, probably a blade for the more experienced

 

[Claymore]

Pete I bought some the same and had same results so stuck with my Pegas blades, your right about speed cutting! way to quick for a beginner like myself having said that I think Geoff has used them ok but he's been scrolling since Noah and the Ark lol (sorry Geoff)

 

[Chippygeoff]

The blades from the various manufacturers have their own characteristics and they take some getting used to. I did a test report on the Olsen blades and found the mach speed to be perfect for the type of scroll saw work that I do. However, even the same blades can behave differently. When I did my test I ordered a dozen of each type of blade. As I wrote at the time I was very impressed with the Olsen mach spped blades and orderd 2 gross of 5s and 7s but sadly when the order arrived the 5s behaved differently to the dozen I had bought previously and yet the 7s remained the same, super fast and very accurate.

Whenever new blades are bought that have not been used before the best thing to do would be to practice on some offcuts, This will show you how the blade behaves and if you make a mistake then it does not matter and when you are ready to cut your first project with the new blades you will know what to look out for as you progress with the cutting.

 

[PeteG]

Pete I bought some the same and had same results so stuck with my Pegas blades, your right about speed cutting! way to quick for a beginner like myself having said that I think Geoff has used them ok but he's been scrolling since Noah and the Ark lol (sorry Geoff)

I'm glad it wasn't just me Brian . I can see they would be perfect for some external cuts at the moment but as Geoff said, think I'll practise on some off cuts first until I'm in control! :lol:
I thought I'd give them a go after reading this article, number 6: http://www.toymakingplans.com/website/how-to/scrollsaw-blade-how-to.html?p=1

The blades from the various manufacturers have their own characteristics and they take some getting used to. I did a test report on the Olsen blades and found the mach speed to be perfect for the type of scroll saw work that I do. However, even the same blades can behave differently. When I did my test I ordered a dozen of each type of blade. As I wrote at the time I was very impressed with the Olsen mach spped blades and orderd 2 gross of 5s and 7s but sadly when the order arrived the 5s behaved differently to the dozen I had bought previously and yet the 7s remained the same, super fast and very accurate.

Whenever new blades are bought that have not been used before the best thing to do would be to practice on some offcuts, This will show you how the blade behaves and if you make a mistake then it does not matter and when you are ready to cut your first project with the new blades you will know what to look out for as you progress with the cutting.

Hello Geoff I was looking forward to trying the Mach Speed blades but as mentioned, the No3's are very twisted and bent and most of the No5's too. I'll check the No5's again tomorrow, see if any are usable.

 

[gilljc]

I think the efficiency of the cutting is one of the reasons I like the olsen blades, it allows me to use finer blades and so cut finer patterns.
I would suggest that you try maybe using the mach 3 blade in your thicker wood, and only move up to the more aggressive blades if you need more speed. I only tend to use the pgt blades for thick hardwoods in longer outside cuts, usually only on long curves or straight lines.
My blade of choice for internal cuts, especially very detailed patterns with very fine lines is the 2/0 reverse tooth blade, I will use this in most woods up to about 14mm oak, although then I would need to tape it to prevent burning, and will usually change to a no2 for this.
I do use a lot of the mach speed no 3, but find that the reverse tooth blade gives me a slightly cleaner cut on internal cuts.
I have tried pegas blades and find they cut ok but I find them difficult to keep on line, and have tried a number of FD blades, and found they broke all the time, and left a LOT of fuzzies on the back of the work, who wants to sand internal cuts? :roll:

I have some pegas and fd blades, and if anyone would use them let me know and I will post them to you.

Basically I always try to use as fine a blade as I can, and I would suggest that maybe you just started with too aggressive a blade, as to them wearing out, I don't find they wear any quicker than any of the other blades I have tried, give them another go, you might as well try them as you have paid for them I don't think you need to be more experienced to use them as I have found them the easiest blades to use so far, but they do cut very well

 

[gilljc]

PS
you are right the pgt blades ARE animals and cut very aggressively, thick blade = needs more clamping/tension, and difficult to turn, big wide teeth = big sawdust

 

[PeteG]

I think the efficiency of the cutting is one of the reasons I like the olsen blades, it allows me to use finer blades and so cut finer patterns.
I would suggest that you try maybe using the mach 3 blade in your thicker wood, and only move up to the more aggressive blades if you need more speed. I only tend to use the pgt blades for thick hardwoods in longer outside cuts, usually only on long curves or straight lines.
My blade of choice for internal cuts, especially very detailed patterns with very fine lines is the 2/0 reverse tooth blade, I will use this in most woods up to about 14mm oak, although then I would need to tape it to prevent burning, and will usually change to a no2 for this.
I do use a lot of the mach speed no 3, but find that the reverse tooth blade gives me a slightly cleaner cut on internal cuts.
I have tried pegas blades and find they cut ok but I find them difficult to keep on line, and have tried a number of FD blades, and found they broke all the time, and left a LOT of fuzzies on the back of the work, who wants to sand internal cuts? :roll:

I have some pegas and fd blades, and if anyone would use them let me know and I will post them to you.

Basically I always try to use as fine a blade as I can, and I would suggest that maybe you just started with too aggressive a blade, as to them wearing out, I don't find they wear any quicker than any of the other blades I have tried, give them another go, you might as well try them as you have paid for them I don't think you need to be more experienced to use them as I have found them the easiest blades to use so far, but they do cut very well

Hello Jill The replacement Mach Speed 3 and 5's turned up today and sadly they are just as bad as the first ones, no doubt they have a bad batch! My favourite blade so far has been a Hobbies No3 for internal cuts, I found
I have more control with this blade, granted it is a little big for some of the cuts but no doubt as my confidence grows I'll try thinner blades. I've also found the back of the work piece needs cleaning up more than the No5 reverse cut blades I bought.