Blade Selection Basics: 4 Questions For the Right Blade

Scroll Saw Blade Selection Basics

One of the top questions we receive at Bear Woods is: 

Which scroll saw blades should I choose? 

Scroll Saw Blade Selection 101 free PDF download

Our simplest possible answer is this: Pegas Modified Geometry blades are consistently the most popular and most frequently repurchased blades.

What that doesn't account for is which of the 7 Modified Geometry blade sizes will work best and why another tooth configuration might be preferred in certain situations. 

There is more to it, but we can start with 4 main questions when choosing blades. 

For in-depth information on blades and materials, check out the full guide.

1. How thick is the material being cut? 

Thicker Materials 

Choose a blade with a higher number and lower TPI (teeth per inch). The blade will have less teeth overall, but the teeth will be larger.

Thinner Materials 

Choose a blade with a lower number and higher TPI. The blade will have more, smaller teeth overall.

The lower the number, the thinner the blade.

Tip: If you are using blades that are too thin for the material you are cutting, you will likely see more blade breakage.

2. What material is being cut? 

• Hardwoods 
• Medium Hardwoods 
• Soft Woods 
• Plywood 
• Corian/Plastics 
• Aluminum/Brass/Copper 
• Ferrous Metals 

Certain blade styles are better for each individual wood / material classification. The blade selection chart on our website details the suitability of blade style and number vs material & material thickness.

3. How thin/tight do the cut lines need to be? 

Thinner blades and spirals allow for tighter, more intricate cuts. Cut lines themselves are important when making puzzles or intarsia pieces. For these types of projects, you want next to not cut lines showing. 

The technical blade selection chart on our website outlines how thin cut lines will be and how intricate the blades will cut. A simplified version of the technical sheet with the most popular Pegas blades can be found at the end of this document.

4. Flat or spiral, regular or pinned?

Flat Blades

Flat blades are the most popular scroll saw blade type. All the teeth are lined up on one side. The scroller turns the wood to follow the pattern and always pushes forward to cut. (The above image is an example of flat blades).

Spiral Blades

Spiral Blades have teeth around 360° of these blades allowing them to cut in every direction. The work does not have to be turned to make cuts which allows sharp inside corners to be created. This also allows working longer pieces which typically can't be turned on a 16" or 21" scroll saw. Tip: If you are using blades that are too thin for the material you are cutting, you will likely see more blade breakage. (See image below for a close-up of spiral blades!) 

Pinned End Blades

Pinned end blades have good performance for use with 15" and 16" power scroll saws such as Sears Craftsman, Delta, and Ryobi. Most scroll saws take plain or flat end blades, though some models take 5" or 3" pinned end blades. Choosing pinned end blades is different than flat end, TPI and wood thickness recommendations being the most important factors. Pinned blade specs based on dimensions where flat blades are based on numbers.

Note: Pinned blades are not available with a spiral tooth configuration. To use spiral blades with your pinned blade saw, look into a flat blade adapter kit (available very soon from Bear Woods).

Pegas Blade Selection Guide + Scrollers Essentials from Bear Woods

Follow the links (in red on the PDF) to read more on each specific blade!

Special Note for Printing the Guide: On the first page, the top (red) link has a black and white option to save printer ink if you want to print the guide, otherwise the guide is in full color!

Need scroll saw blades or essentials? Bearwood.com for all your scroller needs!

The Workshop Legacy: Carl Posz

New Patterns & the Catalogue

It's been a couple weeks, and we've gotten many messages about a) new patterns and b) making the pattern catalogue easier to search. We have exciting announcements about both coming very soon, so keep an eye out!

The Workshop Legacy

We asked the Scroll Saw Workshop community to share about how Steve Good's blog and patterns have impacted you. Carl Posz wrote in and shared his story about his journey with the scroll saw and the impact the Scroll Saw Workshop and the blog has had. From little jokes to charity work, Carl's story is an example of what Steve's blog, the scroll saw, is to so many.

(And if you're looking for something fun to cut, Carl shares many of his personal favorite Steve Good patterns!)

Carl Posz

Hello Scroll Saw Workshop & Bear Woods team,

It's wonderful to hear that the legacy of Steve Good now has a new home at Bear Woods. I started my Scroll Saw journey in 2008 after I got frustrated making Christmas projects on my Band saw. While I was in one of our local Minnesota woodworking stores I heard about Scroll Saws and bought a Dewalt DW788. In November of 2024 I upgraded to the 21" Pegas saw. I had multiple opportunities to try a variety of high end saws but decided on the Pegas.

I started buying pattern books and making a lot of Christmas ornaments and projects. At first BIG fret work, eventually working to more and more detailed projects. I heard about Steve Good when I joined the Northstar Scrollers, a Minnesota Twin Cities Scroll saw group, in early 2020. I'm not sure but I probably have made over 30-40 different patterns of Steve's. Most of them as gifts to friends and family. I started subscribing to Steve's daily blog (daily!!! Amazing) in January of 2021.

I'm attaching a few pictures, just the ones with stories behind them.

One of the 1st patterns I made was the Phone Stand (image below). I mean, who doesn't sit at the kitchen table with their phone? My first was right out of Steve's pattern with the single letter "C" on the 2019 Phone Stand Pattern. Steve, in his blog often talked about the tools he used to make the patterns. He used CorelDraw, but talked about Inkscape, a free vector graphics tools. He put out some video tutorials on how to make stencil fonts. I then started making the phone stand with people's names on them instead of just the single letter. I have probably made 20-30 of these alone. In 2022 I saw the Octo-Basket with 4 different patterns for the sides Octo Basket Pattern and I pulled that pattern into Inkscape along with the phone stand and then merged those patterns into the stand (second photo below).

I love the boxes Steve created for blade storage. I've made several "2023 Scroll Saw blade storage" pieces. 

 Blade Storage Caddy Pattern (left) & the Scroll Saw Blades Lid Box Pattern (right).

Another Inkscape project was I had some live edge wood and took his pattern "Roses and Hummers" rose and humming bird pattern, and modified it to fit on the live edge wood.

The 2021 Cuddling Cats has often been one of the most requested patterns to make for someone. 

Cat Cuddle Pattern

Steve, on more than one occasion, would talk about how his humor was sometimes not appreciated by his wife Patty. Well, I found out the same thing at home when I made "2023 Best Seat in the House Pattern" I thought it was hilarious. Once I finished it I put it in our basement bathroom next to the toilet for when my football buddies would come over to my place. Well, a month or so latter my son was over visiting and he told me "Mom doesn't like that Scroll saw piece in the basement bathroom". She had never said a thing to me about it. Okay, I removed it from the bathroom. It sat in my office for a few months and when the Northstar Scrollers had an opportunity to sell at a church holiday fair. We all made pieces to sell and proceeds went to the group. I brought my "Best Seat in the House" to the sale thinking it wouldn't be sold. Well a mother came in and bought it to give to her son for his office. He was a colorectal surgeon.

A little about the The Northstar Scrollers. While our mission is 'to develop interest in and increase knowledge of scroll sawing', including the techniques of intarsia, fretwork, marquetry, pyrography as well as a variety of related crafts. During the meeting we have a program. In March of 2023 Steve presented to the group. When we offered to pay him he refused. In return, at the end of the presentation, he raffled off multiple very nice gifts. Amazing.

One of the other things the group is involved with is making toys and paintable's for a local organization called TLC Toys | Tender Loving Care Toys. In fact, outside a few volunteers at the TLC warehouse, Northstar Scrollers is the only other group cutting these patterns. They provide us with wood and then we cut them. Many of the patterns we cut have been modified patterns of Steve's (with his permission). TLC toys take the projects we cut and donate them to a variety of non-profit organizations as well as Police and Fire Departments.  A lot of other people have benefited from these Steve Good patterns.

Thank you Bear Woods for maintaining the Steve Good legacy.

Carl Posz

When Steve Turned an Idea Into a Pattern

When Steve Turned an Idea Into a Pattern

Not every reader who wrote to Steve could draw a pattern, but they often knew exactly what they needed. Steve listened to those ideas and used his own ability to give them a physical form that others could build.

In January 2024, Jarva Dodge suggested a rack for drying wet winter gloves. On January 19, Steve shared the finished pattern—a practical stand that holds two pairs of gloves over a floor vent so warm air can pass through, drying and warming them for the next trip outside.

Jarva recently wrote to us about that exchange:

In January 2024, I asked him about an idea for a winter glove-drying rack, and he made it into a pattern for us subscribers on January 19, 2024. I miss Steve a lot and learned of his work in 2014. Thank you for continuing his site and work.

—Jarva

This small exchange captures something Steve did again and again. He listened, replied, and used his skills to carry someone else’s idea the rest of the way. The result was a reader who felt heard and a useful project that the entire Scroll Saw Workshop community could enjoy.

Download Steve Good’s free Glove Drying Rack pattern!

10 Years Ago: Steve's 9/11 Tribute

10 Years Ago

Let’s just let Steve’s voice be heard here… we can title this, “10 years ago today…” and allow his words to speak to his audience as true now as they were then. Repost the same pattern.

Steve's Post, September 11, 2016

“On this 15th anniversary of the terrible event that changed the world.
Never forget the almost 3,000 victims who lost their lives.
Never forget the 6,000 plus victims who were injured.
Never forget the hundreds of first responders who risked and lost their lives to help save so many.
Never forget the nurses, hospital staff and doctors who worked through the weeks to help survivors.
Never forget the thousands who still suffer health effects from the exposure at ground zero.

If you are old enough to remember September 11, 2001, the day is probably burned into your mind forever. Of course we will never forget. Will we?

It's not hate, it's resolve.
It's not anger, it's determination.
It's not revenge, it's justice.
It's not forgotten, it's remembered!

When I sat down to do this pattern tonight I had all these ideas of elaborate designs, graphics and slogans. It dawned on me that none of that mattered. It needed to be very simple. It's the meaning behind the pattern that matters. Anything more adds no more value to that meaning.

At 8:45am Eastern time on Sunday September 11th 2016 I will pause and take a few minutes to pay my respects to the victims and honor the heroes of that day.

Download Steve's 9/11 Pattern

A Workshop That Started with Steve

A Workshop That Started with Steve

Steve made the scroll saw feel approachable by giving beginners the patterns, instruction, and encouragement they needed to try. Craig’s story shows how one video and an inexpensive first saw grew into seven years of scrolling, tubs of finished projects, and a complete woodworking shop.

Here is Craig’s story:

I was scrolling the internet one day and looking at something on Etsy when I ran across a design Steve had put out there. I didn’t own any woodworking tools at that time.

I clicked on one of his videos on how to use the scroll saw, and I said, “I am going to try.” I bought a cheap one at Harbor Freight and realized I could do this—and it was fun. I went and bought a DeWalt seven years ago and have been scrolling Steve’s patterns and other designs from the web. I have tubs and tubs of finished products. I usually hand projects out as gifts to friends, family, and coworkers.

It was Steve and his website that got me going, and I appreciate all of his teachings and patterns. Super nice guy.

I buy all my blades from Bear Woods and bought my Marathon rotary from them. Now I have a complete woodworking shop that all started with Steve.

— Craig

Building Workshops

Thank you for continuing to share your stories with us as we create a living tribute and continue the work of a man who loved all of you, and scrolling, so dearly. 

Steve is known for his clever, inventive, FREE scroll saw patterns. As we work with our team to create new patterns, we would love to include you, Steve's community. If you have a pattern you've made and would be happy to share on the blog like Steve did, a story, or a piece of Steve's you cut, email ssworkshop@bearwood.com !

10 Years Ago (Yesterday)

10 Years Ago (Yesterday): From the Steve Good Collection

The People Behind the Patterns

On this day ten years ago, Steve Good released a new dragon pattern. But when he sat down to write that day’s blog post, the pattern was not what he focused on. Instead, he shared an email and video from a 16-year-old scroller named Logan McEniry.

The patterns Steve created were free, but the work brought its own kind of return. Readers wrote to him, shared their finished projects, asked questions, and invited him into their workshops through photographs and videos. Seeing someone learn, gain confidence, and carry the hobby forward was what made the work worthwhile for Steve.

That is what makes this post such a unique tribute. Long before we began trying to put Steve’s impact into words, he had already shown us how he measured it. The patterns may have opened the door, but the people who downloaded them, made them, and shared what they learned were always at the heart of the Scroll Saw Workshop.

Download Steve's Dragon Pattern from 2016!

Here is what Steve wrote:

Steve's Post from September 8, 2016

Working on this blog makes me happy. Every once in a while I am reminded why it makes me so happy. Today I received an email from a 16 year old reader named Logan McEniry. Here is a quote from his email. “I have learned all that I have from you and I love waking up in the morning and reading your emails. They make my day.” Logan, you made my day. My favorite part of writing this blog is helping new people get started in the hobby.

Logan sent me a link to a video he posted on YouTube. He is clearly a very skilled scroller. Make sure you watch the video. You can go watch it on YouTube by clicking the link under the embedded video. That way you can leave a comment and let him know how nice it is to see the future of our hobby.

Thank you Logan for your kind words and allowing me to see your skills in action. You are proof that our hobby is in good hands for the present and future. I look forward to seeing more from you in the future.

Logan McEniry's YouTube Video from September, 2016:

Celebrating the Work: A Labor Day Pattern from Steve Good

Celebrating the Work: A Labor Day Pattern from Steve Good

Labor Day is more than the unofficial end of summer. It is a day set aside to recognize the people whose work has built our communities, supported our families, and kept our country moving forward.

That celebration feels especially fitting in a workshop. Makers understand the time, skill, and steady effort behind something made well. Steve Good captured that spirit in this layered Labor Day project, featuring a waving American flag, working hands and tools, and a bold tribute to the American worker.

The pattern is designed for 1/4-inch-thick material and can be finished in patriotic colors like Steve’s example or adapted to fit your own style.

From the Archives

Download Steve Good’s free Labor Day pattern and make one for your home, workshop, or workplace.

https://www.stevedgood.com/laborday.pdf

Friday Night Lights: Six Football Patterns for the Season

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Friday Night Lights: Six Football Patterns for the Season

There comes a point near the end of summer when the weather begins to turn. The mornings feel a little different, the scent of freshly cut grass hangs in the air, and stadium lights begin glowing against the evening sky.

Friday night lights have a way of making an ordinary football field feel like the center of the world. For a few hours, a kid can become the hero of his team—and families, friends, and entire communities can share in the moment from a row of aluminum bleachers.

Steve built some really cool patterns around the sport, including clocks, plaques, keychains, player figures, and other projects that can be personalized with a favorite number or team colors. Here are six football-themed patterns from Steve’s collection, ready to cut for the season.

To find even more football projects, visit the Scroll Saw Workshop Pattern Catalog and enter football into the search box.

https://www.stevedgood.com/qb.pdf

https://www.stevedgood.com/jerseys.pdf

https://www.stevedgood.com/footballdesign.pdf

https://www.stevedgood.com/footballclock.pdf

https://www.stevedgood.com/footballplaque.pdf

https://www.stevedgood.com/footballart.pdf

Steve's Impact Reached Many People & Places

Steve's Impact Reached Many People & Places

Steve had a way of telling the truth about the work—and about himself—that built a quiet trust between him and his readers. His observations were often simple and offered with humor, yet they carried a gentle invitation: to look honestly at our own work, accept where we were, and keep going.

Steve understood that growth required patience, perseverance, humility, and practice. Somehow, he tucked those lessons into each blog post and pattern without ever making them feel like lessons at all.

Tom’s story reflects this is such a beautiful way… as always, thanks you for writing in and sharing your stories.

What Steve meant to a Canadian Guy

"Steve was my first point of contact when I was beginning in this craft. His honesty and integrity were on full display every time I got to hear Steve’s thoughts and comments. I would like to thank him for all he gave to me. Through his words I learned and became more confident in his projects. Never asking for anything but, “ don’t sell my patterns “lol. He became my trusted source and although we never met…a trusted friend. Steve had no way of knowing how much he influenced me and how his words still echo in my mind today. With tears in my eyes I still can’t believe my friend, who I never met, is really gone.

I have received lots of praise for projects that Steve designed. He taught me patience and perseverance, both things I have taught my son as Steve taught me. Lots of Steve’s projects have been donated to people and organizations or charities free of charge as I never felt charging them was right. I think Steve would have liked that. I like to offer scrollsaw gifts to people at different holidays. I know their reactions are worth more than store bought “stuff”. My new workshop has a Scroll saw and Steve’s patterns are scattered throughout. There is one pattern I have hanging above all the others and I have enclosed a picture of it here.

Thanks again Bear woods for allowing me to share these words with you and Steve, I know you can see all now but look a little north and see just how far you’re influenced stretched.

From Canada with love and respect.

Thank you,"
Tom Bragg
Collingwood, Ontario, Canada

Which Steve Good Pattern Challenged You Most?

With more than 5,000 patterns in the Scroll Saw Workshop collection, Steve created something for nearly every kind of scroller. Puzzles, clocks, keychains, portraits, animals, seasonal projects—and just about everything in between.

Some patterns could be finished in an afternoon. Others tested our patience, sharpened our skills, and made us wonder whether we had taken on more than we could handle. Those are often the projects we remember most.

For an upcoming community feature, we want to hear about the most difficult Steve Good pattern you have ever cut.

Which pattern challenged you?

What made it difficult?

And how did it feel when you finally made that last cut?

Send your story to ssworkshop@bearwood.com, and please include a photograph of your finished scroll work if you have one. We would love to share the projects that challenged you, taught you, and helped you grow as a scroller.

Steve gave us the patterns and you brought them to life… we can’t wait to hear from you all on which gave you the biggest challenge.

Made By You

Made By You

Over the past several weeks, so many of you have shared what Steve and Scroll Saw Workshop have meant to you—not only through your stories, but through the projects you’ve made from his free pattern library. “Made by You” is a recurring celebration of that work. Each installment will feature five projects sent in by friends of Scroll Saw Workshop—perhaps a favorite pattern, a meaningful gift, a piece you’re especially proud of, or even one that became a bestseller. Keep sharing your work and the stories behind it with us by emailing ssworkshop@bearwood.com.

We want to see the patterns you’ve loved, the pieces you’ve sold, and the projects that have found a special place in your home or someone else’s. Thank you for sharing it with us—and thank you for scrolling with Steve.

Projects shared by Steve's Readers: 

Andy Ogden

Good day folks. This is 1 of 2 pictures of the projects that I made over the last 10-12 yrs.  As I am in a 0 exertion lifestyle. This was a great way to spend my time. I gave away a lot of them. Have a great day. God bless. Be safe.

Steve Good's "Strength" Pattern

Tim Green

When I was just starting my scroll saw journey I found the scrollsaw workshop blog and began to explore the vast library of patterns. Over the years I've learned how to cut more advanced patterns and have even entered a few pieces in the local county exhibition (and won first place!). I did this this segmented rose pattern in 2024 for my wife and decided to try to do it 3d and as an oval box just to make it a little more difficult.

Steve Good's "Segmented Rose" Pattern

Andy Ogden

(Second Project Photo)

Steve Good's "Covered Wagon" Pattern

Wmgreg

Steve it seems to me , was always giving, scroll saw patterns of course, but of himself. And so even though I never actually met him, I did grow to know him in a wonderful way. What I have been able to make, is entirely thanks to Steve.

Steve Good's "Snake Jigsaw Puzzle" Pattern

John Cowley - Toys for charity

I've used many of Steve's patterns over the years and made a lot of kids happy. I give all of my toys away. Was nice to have a resource that allows me to do so. I have over 800 patterns now and still accumulating (not all from Steve). Hope you are able to continue Steve's work. I have donated to him modestly for his work. Good luck.

Steve Good's "Crayon Truck" Pattern