Creative Woodworks & Crafts-059-1998-Fall, страница 35

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(4) Jeweler s/mclal-cutting blades— As shown in Fig. 1, these blades are very fine and have a high teelh-pcr-inch ratio. As their name implies, they are used primarily for cutting metal and other relatively hard materials. Jeweler's blades are available in very small sizes, down lo 8/0, which is the finest blade imaginable—size 8/0 has been described as being "the thickness of a fat hair." it should be noLed that there is a subtle difference between jeweler's and metal cutting blades. Jeweler's blades are not intended to cut ferrous metals and should only be used on variable speed scroll saws, capable of operating at extremely slow speeds. Some sawyers routinely use the 2/0, 3/0 and 4/0 (still very fine blades, but considerably thicker than the 8/0) for culling very thin wood, such as fragile veneers used for marquetry. When we have used jeweler's/metal-cutting blades for cutting wood, we found that the teeth fill up very quickly with sawdust, thus rendering them somewhat ineffective.

And then there are the relatively new blades on the market:

Precision Ground Tooth (PGT) scroll/fret blades—These are also arranged in lhe "skip-tooth" design as well as having the reverse teeth on the lower end of the blade. In the manufacturing of these blades, they arc ground twice to produce an extra sharp edge all around the blade. This grinding process leaves no burr edge, so these blades will cut a straight line without angling the work piece into the blade. They also leave a very smooth cut in the wood. Compared to other scroll/fret blades, PGT blades are the most aggressive cutting and also remain sharper for a longer time. As with the regular reverse tooth blades, you may notice that the blades heat up when cutting solid wood and can leave burn marks. Two solutions for this are to use a larger size blade and to slow down your speed. These blades do an excellent job of preventing bottom side splintering

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Crown Tooth blades—These are lhe newest addition to the scroll/fret blade category. As the name implies, they have a unique crown-shaped tooth design that allows them lo cut on bolh the upstroke and down-stroke of your saw. Unlike other blades, Crown Toolh blades don't have a top or bottom to the blade—they can be installed in your saw with either end at the

top and the teeth facing forward. Since you only use a small portion of the blade while sawing, you can flip lhe blade over when it begins to get dull to use a fresh set of teeth on the olher end of the blade. However, lhe blades do have a burr on one edge thai you need to be aware of. Determine which side of the blade has the burr by running two fingers lightly down opposite sides of the blade (not down the "front" and "back" as

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