Hardwood versus ply

[Jack Fish]

I was at a lumber store today looking for a piece of hardwood for a project I was going to attempt.. (Portrait cutting) and the sales person figured I would be better of with plywood instead of the solid oak I was asking for.

I have done a few practice portraits and have found that some of the ply would de-laminate in some areas.  The 1/4 BB I am using is only good one side and its the backside that has been splintering.  The sheet I am using is a few years old maybe that is the reason but I am not sure.

Is it okay to use hardwood to do a portrait or not?  Just a bit confused and would like some clarity.

Thanks,
Jack

[julief]

You can use hardwood for portrait work - but I don't recommend it.  It usually will crack or break along the grain.  Plywood is better because the layers of grain are rotated then laminated.  Are you sure you were using Baltic Birch?  It is generally sanded on both sides and has more layers than standard plywood.  I have never had a piece "de'laminate".  As for the splintering, you might try a different blade.  I usually use spirals on portraits and there is a bit of sanding involved with using them.  If that is the primary problem, you might go with a reverse tooth blade.  They cut on the up stroke and eliminate most of your sanding on the back side of the project.  Many people use a piece of scrap on the back of their cutting to eliminate having to sand the back at all.  A cheap piece of luan or even a piece of cardstock will help a bunch with that problem.

[Dan26]

You can use either ply or solid, but if you get plywood, get the good stuff. There are many sites online that offer great plywood for scrolling. Sloan's is one of them. If you want to stick to 1/4" or less, plywood is my suggestion. If you are doing something special in solid wood, go with something between 1/2" and 3/4".

[Rapid Roger]

There is a huge difference between the birch ply that you get at a home center and "real" baltic birch plywood. The real stuff has a lot more plys and is birch all the way though. Check out Steve Goods email today, he explains it very well.
I have used hardwood for portraits but, they need to be very simple without a lot of small cutouts and you want to use a very close grained wood to prevent breaking out along the grain. Red oak is NOT one of those hard woods.

Rog 

[GrayBeard]

I do mostly 'portraits' and never do less than a stack of THREE with the bottom one being basically a 'throw-away' piece. Most often I am able to sand the back of the bottom piece to make it usable.
Cutting a single layer of BB as a portrait is going to give you serious 'fuzzies' on the back when using spiral blades!
Also using a thicker piece to work with gives you much more control over the blade when cutting.

Spiral Blade Secrets!
1. Fast saw speed...as fast as you can work with
2. HIGH Tension...keep that blade TIGHT, virtually NO Flex
3. SLOW feed...don't actually FEED the wood...just GUIDE it
4. If you think your blade is getting dull it is already dull and should have been changed!!!

~~~GB~~~

[lennywin]

Last night I tried to do one of Steve's patterns using Pine....big mistake.  Live and learn.

In Steve's Em this morning he says:

"While BB ply is not my first pick for most scroll saw projects it has it's place. If you have never tried cutting BB ply you should buy a few sheets and give it a go. It cuts easy and it's not terribly expensive."

What is your first pick for SS projects?

[jerry1939]

When I buy 1/4" BB ply, I only buy "Good On Both Sides".  $1.05 difference in price for 12" X 12".  Gives me the option of choosing the best side for a small difference in price.

http://www.sloanswoodshop.com/plywoods.htm

jerry

[EIEIO]

I like cutting in solid hardwood but typically make it a smaller portrait - maybe a 5x7 - where good BB Ply can be as big as your saw can handle. Sounds like you don't actually have good Baltic Birch Plywood.

1/4" oak or poplar are readily available at Lowe's and Menard's. I have not had problems with them breaking, even in pretty tricky patterns, but I'm a slow cutter. Keep a little CA Gel glue (Loctite works well) on hand in case you do get a break - it will set in a few seconds so you can keep working.

Use good and sharp blades - they are cheap so start a new pattern with a new blade and change mid-way if needed.

Here's a fairly complex pattern (Einstein) in 1/4" oak, and a simpler one (my son) in 1/4" poplar as examples. Both are 5"x7"

[Jack Fish]

Thanks all,

I've been using the #5 FD-SR blades from the sample package of Flying Dutchman blades from Mikes Workshop.  I've just ordered a bulk of blades (#3, #5 blades and #3 and #5 spirals) from Mike last night.

I will be looking for the good 2 side in my next shopping trip.  Most likely birch again or maybe oak.  The plywood I had was not birch ply through out.  Appears to be a luan final layer.  I guess its obvious that I had some poor grade of ply.

Jack