The Dale C. Maley Family Web Site

I recently made several puzzles from 3/4" thick pine for my grandkids.  I got frustrated because I had to do a lot of sanding and fitting, so the pieces were easy to remove and put back in.  I even trying adjusting the scroll saw table angle to the blade, and that did not help.  The biggest pinless blades I had in stock were No. 5's.

I  did the standard alignment test where you start to saw a piece of 2x4 [1.5 inches tall], then rotate the piece 180 degrees and see if the back of the blade fits in the saw mark.  It fit fine, and there was no difference if I put in 3 cardboard shims under the table also.

I ordered some No. 7's and some No. 9's, which I just received.

I decided to do a study and see if I can figure out the right combo for making future puzzles.

I took a segment from one of my puzzles, and that became my test fit piece for the study. The study variables were:

-Blade No. (7 or 9)
-any shims under that scroll saw table, which changes the angle to the blade.
-direction of scroll sawing (either clockwise or counter-clockwise)

The output was if the piece was free and would easily fit in and can be removed easily.

Even with shimming the table to change the angle, using a No. 5 blade does not give enough clearance between the pieces to paint the sides.  On future puzzles, I should just use a No. 9 Blade and I should have no more issues.