The way that I got my start in the scrolling world, happened when, after seeing a demonstration of a Dremel scroll saw in my local home improvement store. Since I was retired and looking for something to keep me busy, both at home and while on the road with our RV, scrolling designs looked to fit the bill for me. I have always enjoyed working with wood and the size of the scroll saw would make this possible because it would fit in a lower bay of our RV. That is the day I bought my scroll saw.
I thought that I would be able to take the scroll saw home, unpack it and start cutting scrolling designs as intricate as the ones I have seen at craft fairs and swap meets. Boy was I wrong about that. Now don't get me wrong, using a scroll saw is not difficult, it just helps if you are aware of a few of the basics that help make the learning process more enjoyable. After all, why make the same mistakes and have to learn the hard way when others have already made the mistakes and are willing to help so you do not repeat the same ones.
The best thing I did was to go to a class that taught the basics of working with a scroll saw and doing scrolling designs. These types of classes are generally available through your local Adult Education classes or possibly your local craft or woodworking store has classes. There are sometimes people that are willing to teach you the basics of scrolling designs. In my case, the person doing the demo I saw, did have classes for anyone who purchased the Dremel scroll saw. However you learn the basics is up to you but learning the basics will help prevent a lot of frustration and will help you enjoy doing scrolling designs.
The basics I learned helped me be able to then use my scroll saw with more confidence. I learned how to hold and guide the work piece when doing the basic cuts such as curves, corners, circles and straight lines. As an example, when cutting a straight line you need to feed your scrolling designs work piece at a slight angle because of the way the scroll saw blades are produced. The blades have a slight burr on one side that will cause it to drift to the right as you make are cutting.
Information that was not covered was all the different types of blades available for a scroll saw. By using the internet, I found information that helped me have general ideas of what types and sizes of blades are best used for different types and thickness of your work piece, be it wood, metal or plastic. Blade selection ends up being the preference of each of you and what you prefer. By seeing what some others opinions are will help you decide which you prefer. The type of blade I like for wood is one with a reverse tooth pattern. I like the reverse tooth because it helps eliminate the fraying you usually will get on the bottom of the scrolling designs you are cutting.
In future articles, I will be supplying more information concerning doing scrolling designs.
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