Scroll Saw Corner

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     Working on a scroll saw is one of those things that if you have experienced it, you love it and if you haven’t experienced it, you are missing out. For the 28+ years that I have been scrolling, I have always stated that hands down, it is the most relaxing form of woodworking and that nothing else really compares to it. Think about this now; you have a pint-sized machine that takes up very little real estate in your shop, that can cut mitres, bevels, exquisite exterior cuts and an infinite number of highly detailed interior cuts, all rolled into one machine. You can work on a scroll saw for hours at a time and never have a concern about losing a finger in the machine’s blade. What other tool can you work at in your shop, while being seated and comfortable for the entire time that you are using it? I can’t think of any, can you? You are also not limited to cutting wood on your scroll saw and depending on what blade you choose, cutting wood, plastic, metal or even some stones is not out of reach for the saw or its operator. 

     With a tool that has an infinite amount of possibility and potential, driven by the imagination of its operator, it has always confused me why this tool is quite often considered as an outcast by the woodworking community. There are plenty of folks out there that regard this tool as nothing more than a glorified sewing machine and as far as they are concerned, it has no place in the woodworking world. An entire host of hand tool gurus and power tool junkies alike, feel that if you work on a scroll saw, you aren’t really a woodworker. This train of thought is nothing more than false and I get the feeling that the people that have these views of the saw, are in the category of “haven’t experienced it” and really don’t know the saw’s full potential. Although I am not exclusively a scroll saw woodworker, I would categorize it as one of my favourite activities in the shop and it is without a doubt, one of the most versatile tools in my arsenal. For that reason, for years I fought the stigma that if I worked on a scroll saw, I was not a woodworker, but rather a “crafter” and that just doesn’t sit well with me. Anyone who cuts, shapes, or glues together wood to construct something that is not the wood’s original shape or design, is a woodworker and no matter what you think of the scroll saw or those who use it, there is no changing that definition; with that in mind, in this article, I will attempt to touch on some of the pros and cons of scrolling and how it can enhance your woodworking experience.

     The scroll saw can be an infinite source of enjoyment in your shop, or it can be an infinite source of frustration. Your attitude going into this scroll saw adventure has a lot to do with the type of experience you will have. While scrolling isn’t exactly rocket science, it can take quite a bit of practice in order to gain adequate control of your cuts. There are very few people in this world, that can sit down at a scroll saw for the first time and cut a mind-blowing masterpiece so don’t expect to be great at it right from the beginning. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the learning curve for scrolling is not a steep one and you will quickly see progress and positive improvements in your quality of work in a very short, period of time. The fact that you are having fun while learning the skill makes it that much easier to accomplish your scrolling goals. When I first started in scrolling, there was no internet. There was no YouTube and there definitely wasn’t a way to punch in a name on a computer and have someone walk you through how to use your scroll saw. I had to learn through reading books on the subject and through trial and error and I think that because of that, I was able to excel at scrolling in a way that just isn’t possible by today’s standards.  

     A lot of YouTube videos that are posted about the subject of scroll saw work, provide a very unrealistic representation of what it takes to be a scroller and what you can expect in the beginning stages of learning. Video clips of perfectly cut lines, played at 8X the original speed of the scrolling provides a very poor representation of what scrolling is about. Scrolling isn’t about cutting something quickly or even about cutting something perfectly and while perfectly cut lines is the goal of practice, loving what you do and enjoying the learning process is the ultimate goal of the beginner. Having a solid scrolling foundation in the beginning stages is far more important than being a pro right from the start. If you haven’t already, you can view my Scrolling for Beginners Part 1 and Part 2 on my YouTube channel and it will give you a pretty good start in the basics of scrolling.  

One of the key points to acknowledge and accept right from the beginning, is that first you get good and then you might get fast. Scrolling isn’t about speed and those who think that their talent is measured in terms of how fast they can cut a piece are only setting themselves up for disappointment. Scrolling is about patience and skill and control of your work. When you think about it, a scroll saw piece is nothing more than a bunch of specifically shaped holes, that are grouped in close proximity to each other, in order to form a picture, pattern or shape. Some if these cuts can number in the thousands to form one image in the wood and anyone who thinks that they won’t need some patience and time to complete that is going to have some very poor results come from their scroll saw; so sit back, relax and take your time.

     One of the most important decisions you will make when cutting a scroll saw project is the decision of what blade to use. There are many factors that control the type and size of blade that you will be using. Material thickness and hardness, what material you are cutting and how intricate your pattern is, are all factors you should consider. Choosing a blade that is too small for your stock will end up with an overheated and brittle blade as well as burn marks on the edges of your cuts. Choosing a blade that it too aggressive for your stock will cause poor control, jagged cut lines and the inability to follow a pattern line, especially on tight curves. Again, I will point you to my tutorial video on Scroll Saw Blade Selection and while the video is long and a bit wordy, it will give you a good general knowledge of the blades that are available, their sizes and what they are used for. It is not, by any means a collection of every blade and every size but it will definitely cover all the basics that you need to know and that basic knowledge can save you a lot of frustration as you are learning. While you may not be able to grab the right blade immediately when you first start scrolling, there will come a time, through experience and practice, where choosing the correct blade will become second nature and just by utilizing what you have learned through practical experience, you will instinctively know what blade will work best for both you style of cutting, and the project you are working on.

     I don’t ever suggest that you purchase a variety of blades, being sure to have every size and style available at the beginning. That would be an incredible waste of money. What I do suggest is that you think about what projects you want to learn in the beginning and think about the thickness of stock and the intricacy of the design and purchase the blades that you think you will need for that project. You may want to purchase some blades that are one size up and one size down from that project as well, just in case you are having issues with the blade size that you chose. You will find in time, that about 90% of your projects will be able to be cut, using a blade arsenal of about 3 different sizes or styles. For me, I gravitate to a #2, #3 or a #7 blade and it is pretty rare that I deviate from that. If you have watched any of my scrolling videos or tutorials, those are most likely the blades that you saw me use. There are some projects that I cut that I will use spiral blades but those are far and few between and I don’t have an abundance of those blades in stock. So don’t go out and buy every blade on the market, hoping to get lucky with your blade selection. You will end up with a lot of spare, unused blades and a lot of spent money that could have been used for other things for your hobby.

     Another thing to keep in mind when it comes to blades for a scroll saw, is the fact that they are a consumable. Simply put, that means they are an item or accessory to a tool that is meant to be used up and eventually end up as trash. Unlike table saw blades that can be sharpened repeatedly, once a scroll saw blade is dull, it is considered to be trash. Attempting to continue cutting with a dull blade, all in the name of saving that blade and getting the most use out of it that you can is a fools game and will most likely end badly. A dull blade is harder to control and you will find that following the lines becomes a more of a chore than if you were cutting with a fresh, sharp blade. Due to the fact that the blade is cutting more slowly, you will instinctively apply more pressure on your stock in an attempt to speed up the cutting process. This weakens the blade and causes it to break eventually but even if your blade doesn’t break, the extra applied force will cause the blade to wander and make following a pattern next to impossible. Don’t fall into the trap of using a dull blade because you don’t want to “waste” it. Cutting with a dull blade is never a good idea and the sooner you accept the idea that you can’t scroll without using up blades, the more positive experience you will have. Remember; blades are consumables. They are essentially bought to throw away.

     If your scroll saw is equipped with variable speed (which I strongly suggest having) you may think that having the saw cranked up to its maximum speed is the preferred setting for cutting material. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Cutting a thick piece at full speed will most certainly cause overheating of the blade. While the blade may be able to cut the piece at full speed just fine and you may be able to control the blade at this speed, the gullets of the blade might not be able to clear the sawdust from the kerf with enough efficiency to keep the blade running cool. For thinner stock, you may run into an issue of the blade cutting too aggressively at higher speeds and this can ruin your workpiece by exchanging speed for control. So what is the rule of thumb for speed control? To be as straight forward as I can, there isn’t one. There are some scrollers with many years experience that will try to explain it in a formula or judge it by the thickness of stock. But I will tell you as honestly as I can, that the only gauge when it comes to speed and control, is how you feel personally and how comfortable you are with your cutting ability.  

     If you are comfortable with cutting thicker pieces at full speed and have the ability to alter your feed rate to allow for the blade’s gullets to clear the sawdust from the kerf while still maintaining control of your work and your blade, then by all means, run the saw at full speed. If you are having problems with the blade burning your project, or wandering from your cut lines, there is no shame in reducing the speed of your saw and the speed in which you feed your stock into the blade in order to gain control and reduce the burning. I have always had a rule in my shop, and it has never steered me wrong when it comes to any form of woodworking. The rule is simple, “if it doesn’t feel good, don’t do it".                      Generally, if something doesn’t feel good, there’s a reason for that. You need to trust your instincts and if you are uncomfortable with doing something then you shouldn’t be doing it. Look into why you are uncomfortable and correct it if you can. If you are losing control with your scrolling and it doesn’t feel good, stop and assess why it doesn’t feel good. Is your saw running to quickly, is it running to slowly, is your blade dull, is there enough table support of your piece while cutting, or maybe it’s something as simple as there isn’t enough light in your scrolling area and you can’t clearly see the pattern that you are cutting. Whatever the reason, you need to feel at ease when working on a scroll saw and you need to run the saw at a speed that you are comfortable with. Don’t let the unrealistic representation of scrolling that is portrayed on the internet, bully you into doing something that you don’t feel right about doing. Use your scroll the way you want to and make adjustments accordingly, as your style changes and your skill improves.

     Whether you are a novice or a seasoned pro at scroll saw work, I am hoping that you will find this section of the website to be useful. I’m hoping to continually add new content, including videos, tutorials and free patterns so the goal is to have something for everyone in this section. If at any point in time, you have any questions at all, you can always contact me through the contact form of the website or via email at kenny@acutabovewoodworkings.com.

Thanks for stopping by the site.