Scroll Saw for patterns

[farleyre]

I never hear anyone mention cutting patterns with a scroll saw, on the surface it seems you could get some very good lines with a scroll saw.....

I was cutting some head patterns today on my bandsaw with a 1/4" blade and there were some radii that I could just not cut....

Just a thought...

[Coker]

I mostly use a band saw to cut out patterns, But some times I use a scroll saw if the wood stock is under 2 inches. Though only if there is a lot of tight turns.

[Old Scout]

I use both, but like my 14" band saw best, try3/16 blades,4or 6 skiptooth blades. You need 3 teeth in the wood. most of my cuts are in 3/4 " or thicker wood.

[Midnight Carver]

When I was just starting I tried to cut real close to the line of the pattern, now I prefer to leave some extra wood on. This gives you some room for adjustments and to carve all the saw marks off. Since I leave extra wood anyways, I don't worry as much about how accurate the cut is (as long as I don't go into the pattern) so a band saw works great for me.
I recently switched from 1/4" blade to a 3/16- 4 skip tooth blade and couldn't believe the difference in how tight I could turn, and how much easier it cut with less teeth, wish I had done it awhile ago.

Eric

[Robson Valley]

My bandsaw is little (Ryobi 9") but it works well for most parts of most patterns. If I can see that there are going to be some very tight turns, I do those first, with Forstner bits in the drill press.

[arfer1943]

I use mine for spoons with complex handles, but with care. They can make or break your work.

[Inadv]

Farleyre,

I also use both. The cutting capacity of the scroll saw is seriously limited, but works OK for some things like relief boards. For in the round stuff under two inches I usually use a rotary tool to rough out as it seems quicker in the long run. I also use the drill press to take care of the really tight turns on thicker stock. I can vouch for the maneuverability of the thinner 3/16 4TPI skip tooth blade too.

L.P.