Which blade for a young scroller

[owler]

I am fairly new to scrolling but have a lot of woodworking experience. My 12 year old daughter has recently expressed interest in scrolling some Christmas ornaments.

I use skip tooth blades. She was getting frustrated with staying on the line with these blades. They seem way to agressive for her.

I think a less agressive blade and slow cuttng speed would be less frustrating for her. Any suggestions.

[BobD (Archive)]

It may be worth it to drop down to a regular-tooth blade and slow the saw down. But as frustrating to a pre-teen as it may be, practice is the only way to consistantly stay on the line. Scrolling guru John Nelson reccomends that beginners start with skip-tooth blades...

It might also be worth dropping down to a smaller-sized blade, which will also cut slower.

Bob Duncan
Scroll Saw Workshop

[bmwbob]

Your ideas plus put two of more pieces of BB together and then cut. I started out doing single sheet projects years ago and found only the Hegner scrolls saw would let me do it.

[owler]

I sorry bmwbob. What is "BB"?

[BobD (Archive)]

it's an abbreviation for Baltic Birch, the standard plywood many scrollers use.
Bob

[Mick Walker]

Owler, try a 2/0 28 t.p.i (teeth per inch) reverse tooth blade and run the saw at a slow or medium speed. Tell your daughter that staying on the line comes with practice, if she goes off the line come back to the line gradually rather than abruptly. Mick.

[Gill]

I'm a bit worried that too fine a blade might lead to breakages which could be very disconcerting for a 12 year old girl and might scare her. I like the idea of using a decent thickness of plywood and a slow speed. Patterns which don't have tight turns would probably be easier for her to cut successfully.

Gill

[jttheclockman]

Practice like Bob said is paramount when it comes to new scrollers. My blade choice would be a double skip tooth in the #5 or 7 range. You can slow the speed down which will help. The thing I would not do is build the layers up too much because then the tendency will be to put sideward pressure on the blade. A begginer needs to learn the movements needed to scroll straight or curved lines and it just takes practice.

[Woodbutcher68]

Get John Nelson's Scrollsaw Workbook and use it as the learning tool it is. I've used the first exercise to teach a couple of people how get control.

[owler]

Thank you all for your comments! I am truly impressed by the number of replies in such a short time.

[PiALaModem]

A crown tooth blade might also be a good choice, as they cut a little more slowly than the equivalent skip. And definitely starting with thicker wood (or double-stacked wood) keeps the wandering from getting out of control, since the cutting is slower and there's more time to correct. Is she cutting in 3/4-inch pine? That would be the best for a beginner to get the feel.