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!