Why no blade guides on scroll saws?

[jm51]

I'm guessing there is a good reason as cheapo bandsaws have them and expensive scroll saws don't but I can't figure it out.

Seems to me that whatever carries the hold down could also carry the top guides.

[wood-n-things]

The blade needs to be free to flex and come round in tight corners. Nobody I know uses the hold down, it just gets in the way.

[tagordy]

i was told when i first started that the only thing the hold-down is good for, is a paperweight, mine’s been off and in the manual box ever since

[jm51]

Blade needs to flex. Obvious now I know.

[Gill]

I'm not so sure about this idea that blades need to flex; it's a new one on me!

Scroll saw blades have a natural bias to the right when cutting which makes any sort of guide redundant. The whole point of using a scroll saw is that you cut free-hand through mastering hand-eye co-ordination.

[ubgoofy2003]

All I can think of is the band saw blade is running on several wheels & needs the support of the guides. The Scrollsaw blade is short enough to support itself, besides the flexability of cutting some thicker wood without the obstructions of guides. My 2cents worth.

[wood-n-things]

I'm not so sure about this idea that blades need to flex; it's a new one on me!

[handibunny]

I assume that you're talking about the bearings surrounding the band saw blade, and not the fence. Since the blade is so short for the scroll saw, and the tension is so easy to adjust, there's really no place for it to go if you let it do the cutting and don't force it.

Band saw blades can flex, too, even with the bearings, especially when you're resawing wide boards. So the same rules apply--you need to have adjustments properly made, but you also need the correct technique. Actually, that applies to a whole lot of stuff!

[Gill]

I really don't understand what you're talking about, wood-n-things. I can cut much wider angles than 90 degrees without flexing the blade - it's all about technique. I would be astonished if the vast majority of scrollers on this forum didn't have this ability.

[wood-n-things]

[Gill]

Does it? Well, I never... I must have been doing something wrong all these years.

[NHokpic]

Returning to the original post - I thought it was asking about a fence or miter - which makes no sense to me. Thanks for clearing that up for me handibunny. Especially the fence - besides the lack of maneuverability, with the up and down motion of the blade, a fence would be dangerous.

[Tom J.]

[sawdustus]

Well said Tom. You hit the nail on the head and it's worth more than just 2 cents.

george

[evilbadger]

A scroll saw does have guides the top and bottom blade clamps. As long as they are aligned and you have good tension on the blade it can't go to far because the blade is only 5" long. It is the same principle on a coping saw or hacksaw.