Treasures at Derrymore

The Scrollsaw and its abilities

Have you used or even heard of the scrollsaw? They are not a common tool or used in many workshops.

The scrollsaw actually dates way back to the 1700s but was first patented in 1829. Fret saw work which is very similar and where the idea of a scrollsaw probably came about, is a lot older but uses a handheld saw.

There are early examples of the delicate fret work found on Greek, Roman and Egyptian relics.

I have used a scrollsaw for many years and made many scrollsaw projects. When my interest was first piqued, I bought a cheap one to see if I liked it. It wasn't long before I realised that this basic machine didn't do what I liked to do and that was fretwork. The art of piercing wood many times to make a design.

There was nothing wrong with this basic machine, as it taught me so much but it was frustrating to use.

Consistently undoing and threading the blade into another hole to cut and repeat several times while the entire blade always drops out of its holder.

collection of scrollsaw work

If you don't know anything about scrollsaws, there are two types of blades - pinned and plain end. It correlates to the very end of the saw blade and how it is held in the machine.

As you can see in the picture, the ends are very different and the pinned blades require a much larger hole to be able to insert the blade compared to the plain end blades.

Which means the hole required for the plain end blade can be smaller than the pinned and need only be as wide as the saw blade itself to be able to pass through.

Also some machines that use the plain end blade also have a quick release for the top end of the blade, which makes reinserting time after time much quicker and less frustrating as the bottom end is kept in place.

As I wanted to do a lot of fine cutting in my scrollsaw projects, similar to fretwork and cut many holes I moved onto a better-quality machine.

I used the scrollsaw for many years and worked on many fretwork pieces.

It was very therapeutic and relaxing, sitting there in your own space, cutting holes and creating art with wood and holes.

I experimented a lot and played around making scrollsaw boxes and decorating mirrors, etc, with the cut-out designs. Some are pictured in the slideshow.

When I started to carve, the scrollsaw was ideal to cut out the initial pattern and then carve it.

The comfort crosses and hearts are a good example of that. They are pictured above in the slideshow with other scrollsaw projects.

Decorative wooden leaf in wooden frame cut out on the scrollsaw

Framed leaf art work

A couple of years ago I tried to live without a scrollsaw as the one I had stopped working.

I had two bandsaws, ( 1 large and 1 small) and I thought they would suffice. However, it just wasn't the same as using the scrollsaw. So, after much deliberation I bought another top end machine.

And I haven't regretted the outlay at all. It has been so instrumental in the workings of my workshop.

Not only do I use the scrollsaw for cutting out the basic shapes before carving themit has been great to remove some unwanted areas within carvings.

This picture is to show you the front of the carving and the holes in the back.

you can see down the bottom left area where I have yet to use the scrollsaw and cut the holes but have only just drilled them in preparation.

It's not only wood that you can cut on the scrollsaw but thin metal sheets and some plastics. You need to find the correct blade for what you are cutting as they are quite a few to choose from.

For example, the finer blades won't cut the thick wood and the less tpi the blade has makes it difficult to cut around tight curves.

Once mastered the scrollsaw is a great all-around tool, especially in my workshop!