James, Cannot give a definitive answer and most of the metal I have cut has been with a Piercing saw but the same blades are used in scroll saws.  I have used them in mine for thin metal but I find control is easier with a manual saw !

There seems to be lack of pinned blades and I don’t think they could be made fine enough ?  One thing I have learned — buy quality — Mums own are rubbish.  Vallorbe, Hegner etc I but from Cousins or similar jewellery suppliers.

Here are a couple of links I found that may be useful, if you can put up with the adverts ???

John

https://northernnester.com/can-scroll-saw-cut-metal/

https://shuntool.com/article/what-scroll-saw-blade-to-use-for-metal

Hi James,

I’ve only cut thin brass with my scroll saw but I would recommend Olson blades, they are well worth the money and superior to others I have tried.

Olson have a very informative website, have a look here :

https://www.olsonsaw.net/2024/07/scroll-saw-blades-for-metal/

Regards,

IanT

Useful link ^^^  Thank you Ian

… I have bookmarked this page for future reference:

https://www.olsonsaw.net/shop/scroll-saw-blades/pin-end-scroll-saw-blades-5-in-3-in-and-4-in/5-in-pin-end-blades-6-pack/

… now need to find a U.K. source.

MichaelG.

.

Edit: __ Their “scroll sanders” also look interesting !

I purchase mine on Amazon Michael but other UK hobby/model shops also sell them – ‘Hobbies’ for instance.

Regards,

Ian

On 10 November 2024 at 12:54 IanT Said:

I purchase mine on Amazon Michael but other UK hobby/model shops also sell them – ‘Hobbies’ for instance.

Thanks for that, Ian

MichaelG.

About 6 months ago I watched an interesting YouTube video on cutting with scrolling saws. Now I can’t find it or remember who made it.   So what follows comes from unreliable memory:

• Expensive blades outperform cheap ones, but still don’t last long!
• These blades are only intended to cut thin soft metal sheet.  Those cutting soft Brass less than 1mm thick last longer than the same blade put to mild-steel more than 1mm thick.
• The video was linked to a US firm selling a very expensive saw holder, and may have emphasised the difficulty caused by cheaper alternatives.  Anyway, their tool was much stiffer all round and able to fine adjust blade tension, both stated to be critical.  Certainly important, I believe, to get the blade tension right.   And I guess a floppy frame that doesn’t steer the blade adequately will also cause rapid wear.
• Main thing though was technique – these saws aren’t easy to use.  Practice required, lots of it.  Obviously necessary to place cuts where they need to be, but a less obvious skill is minimising wear and tear on the blades.   When I started home metalwork, I was amazed at how useless hacksaw blades were.  Reason turned out to be me. Hacksaws may be easier to drive than piercing saws, but there’s more to getting the best out of them than meets the eye.  My books advised ‘let the tool do the work’, meaning don’t force the pace.   What that means in practice varies with the metal and how thick it is, plus the angle of attack.  Also necessary to understand the number of teeth per inch needed on the blade.  Optimum cutting results from getting a mysterious balance of factors ‘just so’.  Operators can only get a feel for ‘let the tool do the work’, by practising.  It’s bad to take light cuts because they soon blunt the cutting edge without removing much metal.    Equally bad to take excessively heavy cuts because they overload the blade, blunting, bending and stripping teeth etc.  Whilst a few lucky fellows soon find the in between ‘sweet spot’ they must have natural talent.   Most of us have to practice, and during the learning phase we waste lots of blades.  Much easier to learn technique if a mentor is available because he quickly points out what learners are doing wrong.  Self-teaching takes much longer, and the pupil might never get it right.  Wish I had a mentor!

On the subject of technique and skills, forum members often blame disappointing results on the poor quality of metal and  tools.   Many seem to believe it’s necessary to own a tool-room lathe and jig borer, with a surface plate, tenths micrometer, and a store of the finest quality materials.  Not so!   Whilst having a well equipped workshop makes life easier, it really isn’t essential.  In the 19th century very few turners had good lathes – most work was done on inferior equipment supported by spring calipers, chalk marks and other simple aids.  Their output was well-made, but took far too long to make and was expensive.   Today, most hobby workshops still rely on 19th century methods rather than manufacturing practice, and it’s notable that skilled workers produce excellent work from both Far Eastern hobby and badly worn Western equipment.  Done by developing a feel for wonky tools, and being able to exploit what those tools do well whilst compensating for their shortcomings.  Ditto recognising and knowing what to do about difficult materials.  More about skills than equipment which is unfortunate because acquiring skills is always hard-work.

Provided the operator has skills the ‘quality’ of tools and materials is secondary.  I’m still working on my skills, and the painful process of acquiring them mostly explains the contents of my junk-box!

Dave

One of your problems could be the number of teeth in contact with the material at any one time, the recomendation is minimum 3 but says 5 is better so your blades need teeth about 0.6mm apart. Pretty fine!!

On 27 November 2024 at 07:57 James Alford Said:

On 26 November 2024 at 18:09 Emgee Said:

Are you cutting on the downward stroke ?

Emgee

To be honest, I have no idea. The blades are so fine that I cannot tell which way around the teeth are pointing.

James.

GENTLY stroking the blade with a finger will soon tell you

MichaelG.