Grizzly G0537 Straight Cuts Curved Cuts, To make a straight cut, To make a curved cut

Straight Cuts Curved Cuts

Miter gauges and fences are not effective on scroll saws because most scroll saw blades are narrow and tend to follow the grain of the wood. Freehand cutting allows the operator to compen- sate for blade drift.

To make a straight cut:

1.Draw a straight line on your workpiece.

2.Turn the power ON and allow the motor to reach full speed.

3.Feed the workpiece slowly and steadily into the blade, keeping your hands to either side of the cutting line while pushing down. Make sure the blade is cutting on the waste side of the line (Figure 12).

Figure 12. Straight cut.

4.Scroll saw blades will have a tendency to drift. Compensate by adjusting the feed direction.

Note—The variation of hard and soft grain in wood will cause the scroll saw blade to deflect. If you are approaching hard grain at an angle, the feed rate must be slowed and pressure should be applied toward the side with the hard grain.

When cutting curves, preplan your cuts and leave tight inside curves for a second pass to minimize backing out. Cut sharp outside curves by cutting past the curve and looping around to cut from a different angle.

To make a curved cut:

1.Draw a pattern on your workpiece.

2.Choose a blade size based on the tightest curve in the workpiece. Smaller blades can cut tighter curves.

3.Rough cut the board down to a workable size.

4.Feed the workpiece into the blade with a slow and even pressure. Use your fingers to hold it down and thumbs to steer as shown in Figure 13.

Figure 13. Making a curved cut.

Note—When approaching a tight radius, slow down your feed rate, but do not stop. Give the teeth time to make the cut. Forcing the workpiece through the curve will cause the blade to twist or break. If your cut pro- duces waste in the curve’s interior, turn the power off and wait until all motion stops before removing the waste.

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