Lesson 10 - Cutting Negative Designs.wmv 

I am glad it was useful. :) Thank you so much.

You are welcome. :)

You are very welcome. :)

You really don't need a lot of pressure with a small blade and thinner pieces of wood. I suppose a loose idea would be that the bigger the blade and the thicker the wood, the more pressure will be needed to keep it from "chattering" (or catching on the blade as it moves up and down.) Usually, if one has 'chatter' I suggest either decreasing the size of the blade, if possible or speeding up the saw. Chatter also occurs when the saw speed is too slow and the teeth of the blade have a chance to 'grab' the wood instead of cutting through it. It is scary when this happens to new sawyers and can startle you. But increasing the speed of the saw helps pull the blade through the wood faster and it is less likely to catch if you have the proper size blade for the thickness of the wood. There are no set and fast rules for blade size and speed in regard to thickness or type of wood. This comes with experience. You can have two pieces of wood (say, maple) and one can be much harder or denser than the other and react differently when cutting. But you do kind of get to know the general requirements as you do more cutting and it is easy to adjust as you go along. I hope this helps you a bit. Thank you for your kind comments. I appreciate them a great deal. :)

Thank you, I will experiment with what you have advised. Thanks again.

You are very welcome. :)

+oldman719 I attach the top of the blade first, and then it kind of falls into place and it is much easier to guide it into the bottom holder. Once the bottom is tightened, you can then re-tighten the top of the blade in the top holder and then set the tension. This is how I do it, as I also find it difficult to set properly in the bottom holder. I hope this helps you. :)

Wilfredo Yusti I am sorry, I don't understand your question. :(

We have a variety of tutorials and articles on our website for free. I think they will help you decide. Thank you for your kind words. :) www.sheilalandrydesigns.com/free-pattern

Thank you, Dave: I use Olson Scroll Saw Blades and get them from The Wooden Teddy Bear online. They have the best prices and you can mix and match sizes for the best discounts. Here is the link to them: woodenteddybear.com/collections/blades/olson-scroll-saw-blades?sort_by=title-ascending I hope it helps. :) Sheila

I don't know, Tim. I never measured.

+tayf baghdady Well - since selling patterns is my living, of course I would like to direct you to my own site, http:www.sheilalandrydesigns.com. On it we have a free pattern, as well as articles, videos and loads of patterns. All patterns can be sent PDF which saves on shipping and gets you started fast. We also ship paper patterns for the same price plus postage. Besides us, you can inquire at some of the woodworking forums. Some people love to offer free patterns as a hobby. Some of them are wonderful but many are not optimal for new cutters, as they can be difficult to cut 'as is'. You need to know where to adjust them so pieces don't fall out. Thanks for your nice comment. :)

LOL, Chris! Yes - you don't have to have short nails to do woodworking. I just don't muss with mine very much. Trick is to keep your fingers far enough away from the blade so you don't nick the end off. (Yes - I have done that!) I often assimilate scroll sawing to using a sewing machine. You know where the needle is and you don't shove your finger in there. Same with the scroll saw blade. You just "know" your limits and there are very few injuries really. :) Glad you liked the video.

Hi, Yvonne: A "Negative" design is a design where the focus of the picture is removed from the piece, as the one that I am using in this video. The images of the butterfly and plant are depicted by voids in the background. A "Positive" design would be done by removing the background area and leaving the focus parts (such as the butterfly and plants) as the picture. I hope that clarifies. :)

@@SheilaLandry thank you so much for explaining this to me.

The 21" Excalibur scroll saw. :)