Now let's talk about blades, this is a topic that can be debated to death as to which blades are the best, so I am just going to address the types of blades and which ones I use.

Blades come in two basic types – flat and spiral. There are several types of both styles of blades, with different teeth configurations.

Spiral blades are a round blade that when it is manufactured it is actually twisted causing to have teeth all the way around it, therefore cutting in all directions. They can be very frustrating to use, because all you have to do is move the wood in any direction and it is cut. They tend to leave a lot of fuzz on the backside of your project. Also they have a thicker kerf than a flat blade, which is not good on patterns that have a lot of fine detail. They also tend to be harder to get in the blade clamps because of the twist in them. If you plan to use them I highly recommend getting the flat end type, they are much easier to mount in the blade clamps. Also before using them on a project, make some cuts in some scrap wood to get used to them. The biggest advantage of spirals is that if you are cutting a project that is to big to turn completely around on your saw, you can make the cuts without turning your workpiece.

Flat blades are just that a flat blade that cuts in one direction only. The advantages of flats to me are that they provide better control and cleaner cuts. Again these blades come in several different tooth configurations. I use a couple different types myself depending on what I am cutting. For thicker wood (3/4” or thicker) I use a basic skip tooth blade , by skip tooth it means that every other tooth is missing which allows for better chip removal. I also use a reverse tooth blade, which has the teeth on the bottom 1/2” or so reversed, which gives a smoother edge and less fuzz on the backside.

Blades come in a variety of sizes, basically the higher the number the thicker the blade. I typically use # 3 and # 5's, however I do keep some 2's and 2/0's on hand too. It will take some trial with various blades to settle on a type that you like and are comfortable with.

A couple tricks that I use for my blades are – when I receive new blades I soak them in mineral spirits to remove any oils that might remain from the manufacturing process.

I store my blades in plastic test tubes that I purchased here

And also a lot of scrollers will take a small pocket honing stone and round over the back edges of the blades which will allow you to make tighter corners.

Lastly when you mount the blade in the saw you need to make sure the teeth are pointing in the right direction, a good way to do this since the blades are rather small is to pull the blade against your finger and if it catches a little the teeth are going in the right direction, in other words you want the teeth pointing down.

The two most popular blade manufactures are Olson and Flying Dutchman, I use Flying Dutchman blades myself, in my opinion they are the best and are comparable in price to the others.

Any comments or questions are welcome.

Links :

This where I get my blades, Mike has customer service second to none and has a wealth of knowledge about blades.

http://www.mikesworkshop.com/blades.htm

This is where I got the test tubes that I store my blades in.

.http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/product/1673

Here is a blade chart showing different blade types.

http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/yhst-16765698503918/ScrollChart.pdf

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This video was produced by one of our members http://www.thepatriotwoodworker.com/profile/KarlTaylor Karl has several other videos posted here on our site, or visit his website at  http://scrollsawvideo.com/