Blade selection?

[draken]

Being new to scrolling, I'm breaking a fair number of blades. Broke two pin end on my first project (photos coming in the next day to two) and had a regular end pop out of the blade holder twice. So I'm quickly going to run through the 12 blades which were included with my saw. I'm looking to purchase a gross of FD blades, and wanted to know which type I should get. I thing I'm leaning to the skip blades in various sizes, but wanted to know if there was a better choice. I know blade selection depends on wood, thickness, etc, so most projects would be pine or BB plywood, from 1/4" to at most 1" during the learning process.

Cheers and thanks,
Draken
Edited to adjust number of broken blades.

[Carter-Johnson]

The range of wood thicknesses you will be cutting will require different types of blades. I suggest you give Mike at Flying Dutchman a call or email. He'll be happy to suggest a range and provide you with different blades to try.

But....you shouldn't be breaking that many blades. Don't push too hard. Let the saw do the work.....

And above all, have phun.....Carter

[draken]

The first two were certainly my fault. I was doing some practice lines (wavey, curved, inside and outside corners) and after completing the line, went to finish cutting through the wood to separate the pieces and went too fast. Now that I think about it, I didn't break the regular end, it just came out of the blade clamp (twice) and bent. I got about 2/3 of the way through my first project when the blade just wouldn't cut anymore, assumed it was dull and tossed it. Any way to tell a blade is dull before getting to that point? Project was 1/4" BB plywood, I used packing tape, so I didn't have any burning.

Cheers and thanks,
Draken

[Dusty Buffalo]

I learned something new the other day.

Make sure you're blade is put in in the right direction. Couldn't figure out for the life of me why in the world the piece kept wanting to jump off the cutting deck.

Duh! The blade was in upside down and was pulling it up. I'll make sure not to make that mistake again.

[Carter-Johnson]

The two ways to tell if a blade is getting dull are: 1) it's noticeably harder to push and 2) there is noticeable more flaying of the wood on the underside of the cuts,

(Another way, of course, is to suddenly say to yourself "My god, I've been cutting a long time with this blade".....and then be delighted when a new blade cuts so easily.)

Carter

[GrayBeard Phil]

Draken:

Be sure the ends of your blades are clean of any mfg oils or finish. Small file or dip in Mineral spirits.

Use lots of tension on your blades. Your blades and your blade chuck system must not let the blades slip in the chuck.

New blade in good chuck, with lots of tension, should run by itself for way more than 10 minutes by itself with no wood. If blade breaks with no wood after just 5 minutes, something is wrong.

Avoid any sideways pressure. Heat is enemy of blades. Too much sawdust in kerf, sideway pressure, or feeding project too fast will add to friction, which causes heat......

Phil

[lucky788scroller]

Id suggest either calling Mike, or ordering his sampler pack of blades, and try each . We all try to squeeze a little more out of a blade then we should, it happens.a blade can last a long time, or a really short time, depending on many things, but again, it all boils down to patience and practice.just remember, its a teeny blade, not a big bandsaw blade, it needs a gentler touch, it will only cut as fast as you feed it. Dale