Using more of your scroll saw blades

Scroll saw blades have teeth along about 10 cm of their length. A scroll saw's stroke is typically only about 2 cm back and forth, and wood to cut is often only about 1 cm thick. That means only 3 cm of the scroll saw's blade actually ever gets used. But a typical scroll saw blade has teeth along 10 cm of its length. Less than half of that ever gets used.

It would be good if the whole blade mechanism could somehow be offset to move it further up or down so that other parts of the blade could be used. I don't know of any scroll saw with that sort of capability.

So instead, you can raise the table of your saw by putting a thick piece of plywood on it. That way you are using the blade in a region that is 2 cm further up. Of course, there are limitations - your saw may only allow you to have an effective stock thickness that is so high.

A side-advantage, at least with my scroll saw, is that the thick piece of wood on the table makes for a better table than the saw's own table. My saw's aluminium table tends to get very loud, and the little plastic insert in the middle doesn't provide good support. Putting the thick piece of wood on the table makes for a better support near the blade and also quietens the saw a fair bit too.

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