sawingexperts

[sawingexperts]

Converting a jigsaw to a scroll saw - this is how it works

A scroll saw offers a lot of advantages in certain areas of application. Since the extra purchase of a scroll saw is not worthwhile in many cases, it is advisable to convert the jigsaw into a scroll saw. 

You can also get jigsaw reviews from Saw Adviser.

How the scroll saw works

A scroll saw is essentially the electric version of the classic fretsaw. A fixed saw arm is fitted with a saw blade that is threaded through the workpiece and moves up and down.

Advantages of the scroll saw over classic jigsaws

The workpiece can be guided very precisely with both hands. This makes machining much more precise than with a jigsaw, which is guided over the workpiece with one hand. The scroll saw saws much more precisely than the jigsaw, especially when there are frequent changes of direction. The cuts are clean from the start and have to be reworked significantly less later.

Scroll saw costs

If you were to buy a scroll saw extra, you would have to reckon with costs from around 70 - 170 EUR. You can save yourself that if you convert the jigsaw into a scroll saw.

Convert the jigsaw into a scroll saw

The advantage of the jigsaw lies in the larger stroke, its disadvantage in the usually somewhat thicker saw blade (scroll saws use fretsaw blades or similarly narrow blades). For most purposes, however, these advantages and disadvantages are negligible.

Jigsaw tables

Tables on which you can permanently mount the jigsaw (from below) are available very inexpensively - prices usually start at around EUR 25-30. These tables are simply attached to the edge of any work table with a screw clamp.

Scroll saw attachment for jigsaws

In order to be able to work particularly precisely, and also precisely straight cuts are possible. Fretsaw blades can also be clamped into the jigsaw using adapters. Miter cuts and straight cuts are - as with the classic scroll saw - very precise.

The jigsaw is clamped in a special arm (suitable for all jigsaws with a shank holder from Bosch and Black + Decker). In terms of price, the system is definitely worthwhile with an acquisition cost of less than EUR 40.

TIPS & TRICKS

Table saw stations can also be of use in many ways - they are suitable for the precise sawing of many materials, including tiles or bricks. However, they are significantly more expensive than the tools otherwise intended for them and purchasing such a multi-saw station is not always worthwhile.

[sawingexperts]

Scroll Saw Blades

In addition to a good scroll saw, the saw blades are of course also decisive for the quality of your work. In the following, I'll show you what to look out for when buying.

Dimensions of the saw blade

It is in the nature of things that you can cut tighter curves and make more delicate cuts with a narrow scroll saw blade. Larger saw blades lie better in the cutting furrow, break out laterally and tear less often. Which one is ultimately more suitable for you depends very much on your project.

Every manufacturer therefore always specifies the width of the saw blade on the packaging. This is also important for choosing the right drill for internal cuts.

Number of teeth

If you look at saw blades for a scroll saw, you will notice that in addition to the width, the toothing is always specified. This is important in order to enjoy your scroll saw blade for a long time: because with thinner wood, the pressure point on the saw blade is much smaller and more intense. Manufacturers therefore recommend scroll saw blades of 2 to 3 and a moderate feed rate.

For thicker wood, on the other hand, scroll saw blades with a size of 4 or more are ideal. Correct, robust hacksaw blades then only start with larger numbers such as 8-14.

Scroll saw blades round

Round scroll saw blades

are basically just straight variants, which are twisted into each other several times. As a result of this strong “twisting”, it ultimately has saw teeth on all sides and in all directions - one speaks of all-round toothing.

This gives it enormous advantages when sawing precise curves and corners. You can virtually guide the saw blade through the workpiece in any direction. Filigree shapes such as small wooden figures or candle arches are otherwise very difficult to achieve without them.

However, this all-round toothing also means that the saw blade can accidentally break out of the way on straight stretches and cause wavy cuts. So you should really only use them for fine shapes, small corners and edges and of course curves and of course reduce your number of strokes accordingly.

Here I have put together a selection of round scroll saw blades for you on Amazon that I can recommend.

Scroll saw blades straight

In contrast, scroll saw just - as the name suggests - not twisted into each other and have their sawing edge only on one side. It is therefore important here how you clamp your saw blade into the machine. Make sure that the saw teeth always point in the cutting direction and lead downwards. Otherwise, with higher stroke rates, the workpiece may travel upwards. Special saw blades have what is known as counter-toothing, in which one of 3 or 4 teeth runs exactly in the opposite direction of all the others and is thus intended to prevent wood from being torn out at the lower cutting edge.

Scroll saw blades in particular are particularly suitable for straight cuts. Because of their shape, they run neatly in the kerf and do not break out sideways.

Scroll saw blades with pen

If you often have to switch between straight and round scroll saw blades or if you want to work on different materials with different teeth - in short: you will change the saw blade often, you should think about a scroll saw with a quick release.

Here, scroll saw blades with pen easily clamped by the scroll saw strap moves downwards and the pin are fixed. Changing, fixing and clamping will be significantly more time-saving and less fiddly for you than with conventional clamping.

I can also give you purchase recommendations for scroll saw blades with a pen. I 've put them together for you here .

[sawingexperts]

Features and technical terms for a saw blade

Tooth tip line, wedge angle, tooth back? If these or other terms on a saw blade are not really clear to you, then take a look at this advisory article. Here we use a drawing to explain all the important features of a scroll saw blade in more detail and explain how they affect your cutting result.

Below you will find an explanation of the individual terms from the graphic above and their effects on the sawing process.

The tip of the tooth on a saw blade

The tips of the teeth form those points on a saw blade that are the first to come into contact with the material to be processed. The main cutting edges are located at the tooth tips. These remove the chip at the base of the saw cut, the groove base. In order to prevent your saw blade from jamming, the saw cut must be wider than the saw blade itself. This is achieved using differently designed saw teeth. Teeth arranged in a wave shape, teeth offset to the left and right (set), or widened teeth (upset), such as those of circular saw blades, are common.

The tooth tip line on a saw blade

The tooth tip line is the imaginary line on the S # that connects the tooth tips with one another. Together with the tooth base line, it marks the tooth height and is one of the legs of the wedge angle. The tooth tip line therefore serves as an auxiliary dimension.

The back of the tooth on a saw blade

The back of the tooth is opposite the face of the tooth on the saw blade. He is jointly responsible for the development of the cutting wedge and tooth gap as well as the removal of the removed chip.

The tooth gap on a saw blade

The tooth gap is formed from the approximate triangle of tooth back, tooth spacing and tooth height. Tooth gaps serve as chip space on the saw blade and take up chips removed by the saw tooth. So that the chip spaces are not clogged, larger tooth gaps are advantageous for rather long kerfs and soft materials.

The tooth height on a saw blade

The tooth height is measured from the tooth base line to the tooth tip on the saw blade. With otherwise the same geometry of the saw tooth, an increase in the tooth height ensures a coarser tooth gap and an increase in the distance between the tooth tips, which is also referred to as the tooth pitch.

The wedge angle on a saw blade

The wedge angle is spanned by the face and back of the tooth. In general, hard and brittle materials require larger wedge angles in order to obtain more stable wedges. With softer and more ductile materials, a smaller wedge angle is sufficient, accompanied by an enlargement of the tooth gap. With a conventional saw blade, wedge angles are between 30 ° (precision saw) and 60 °.

The cutting angle on a saw blade

The cutting angle on the saw blade is the angle between the face of the tooth and the line of the tooth tip. At a cutting angle of around 100 °, the saw works weakly butt joint. You get a clean cut with a small cutting performance and little effort. Fine saws are examples of such saws. When cutting on butt joint (cutting angle 90 °), with medium effort and medium cutting performance, longitudinal cuts are obtained that tear less strongly than when sawing strongly on buttocks, where the cutting angle is about 80 °. A saw blade with a high cutting performance requires a lot of effort. The use is primarily reserved for machine saws (circular and band saws). Saws that work on both sides for fine cuts have a cutting angle of 120 °. The statements apply equally to sawing on pull.

The direction of sawing from a saw blade

When it comes to sawing direction, a distinction is made between pulling and pushing cuts. Pulling sawing allows a comparatively thin saw blade, as it stabilizes itself when pulled. Pulling sawing enables thin and fine cuts. Smaller chips are produced and the force required for sawing is lower. Japanese saws are an example. When sawing under pressure, a thin saw blade would compress and bend. Thicker saw blades are therefore used. The foxtail, for example, tends to produce wider and rougher cuts.

[sawingexperts]

8 advantages and disadvantages of a scroll saw

Scroll saws aren't the only tools used to cleanly cut wood. For example there are also jigsaws, band saws or jigsaws on the market. In the following I will explain in which cases a scroll saw has decisive advantages.

Benefits of a scroll saw

Filigree shapes

Sure, Grandpa always used the good old fretsaw for the filigree shapes. This is still done today, for example, in the Ore Mountains region, where swing arches are handcrafted. The scroll saw is a good alternative for woodworking to the millimeter and fine contours. Because with their thin saw blade and high maneuverability, you can work out fine and round shapes from your workpiece.

Better results with two-handed guidance

In contrast to fretwork, with a scroll saw you can concentrate completely on the workpiece. You have both hands free - so you can guide the wood all the more precisely. The result is clean cuts and accurate shapes. Various special equipment such as a pedal also simplify work on the scroll saw.

You can also convert a jigsaw into scroll saw as I described here.

Efficiency and time savings

This maximum precision just mentioned reduces possible reworking, such as regrinding, rounding or straightening. This increases efficiency and ultimately saves time. Some scroll saws, such as the Scheppach SD1600 F , even have separate tools included to do delicate reworking.

Less effort and physical strain

Of course, the motor drives the saw blade and does the sweaty sawing work for you. The physical strain is then limited to guiding the workpiece and is - with the correct table height and machine setting - minimal. Fortunately, most of the machines I tested have various functions and settings to set up the workplace according to your requirements and also to secure it well before starting the sawing. In my tests I will go into this in more detail and in more detail.

Disadvantages of a scroll saw

Low stroke

One of the biggest drawbacks is the short stroke. Because the full length of the saw blade is never really exhausted. One-sided wear is the result. Remedy: Edge areas of the saw blade can also be used with height-adjustable saw tables.

Limited thickness of the workpiece

The passage height also results from the stroke. This tells you how thick your wood can be which you can saw. With a smaller stroke it can also happen that chips are not completely removed from the cutting surface and obstruct the view. This could make your cut inaccurate. Fortunately, there are so-called suction or blowing devices that remove chips and dust from the work table in a controlled manner.

Inside sawing in work pieces

Another disadvantage becomes noticeable with cuts that have to be made in the middle of the workpiece. As with normal fretwork, a hole must be drilled. The saw blade is then threaded through this. For standard saw blades with a locking pin, the hole must be at least as large as the pin. This can be a problem, especially with smaller or filigree holes. Tip: With a special adapter, you can also clamp pinless saw blades on some scroll saws. A good example of this is the DecoFlex. Otherwise, jigsaws are better suited for such projects.

Large wooden elements

A scroll saw shines at woodwork with small workpieces. Due to a limited overhang / passage depth (most scroll saws have a distance of 30 - 40 cm from the saw blade to the machine) you will otherwise quickly hit the machine body when turning the workpiece.