Two Patterns Today
Second Pattern Today
The Welcome Gnome is almost 12" tall. The pattern calls for 1/2" and 1/4" thick wood.
The Farm pattern is 9.5" wide and has three 1/4" thick wood layers.
Choosing a Scroll Saw Blade for a Project
Many of my emails from readers ask about choosing a scroll saw blade for a particular wood.
I am probably the wrong person to ask because I rarely choose a blade for the wood. I choose the blade based on the pattern. If I am cutting 3/4" thick hardwood but the pattern has very small interior cuts I use a #3 or whatever blade I need to get into the small interior holes. It will cut slowly but it will make the cut.
When you see people talking about using a #9 blade to cut thicker/harder wood or a #3 for thinner/softer wood, they are talking about the efficiency of the cut. A #9 blade will cut thicker harder wood faster and break fewer blades but if the #9 blade won't allow you to get into the interior hole or make the tight turns then it does not work. As a scroller, I rarely care about the efficiency of the cut. I care about making accurate cuts even if they are slow.
95% of the time I use a #5 scroll reverse or a #3 scroll reverse. Occasionally if I have a rough cut to make I will grab a larger blade. I own just about every blade made and many of them rarely get used unless I run into a special project. I use spiral blades for portrait-style patterns or when a cut it too large to make the turn on the saw.
Some materials require special blades. Metal and Corian are two that come to mind.
Another similar question is about setting the speed on a variable-speed scroll saw. When I get a new saw I determine the maximum speed that the saw cuts without too much vibration. This is often just slightly below full speed.
I run at that maximum speed unless I am cutting very thin wood. 1/8" or thinner. The thin wood gives little resistance to the blade and it is easy to make miscuts. If that is what I am cutting I do one of two things. I slow the speed of the saw down or if possible I stack cut to add resistance.
None of the above advice is an unbreakable rule. Saws are different, people get a different feel from the cuts, and blades are different. My best advice to a new scroller is to try different techniques and use what feels best to you.
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Welcome Gnome Pattern
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