Wood Selection for Scrollsaw Patterns

[rfielder]

I see a huge number of great patterns here.  Most have a photo of the finished product.

At least, I think they are photos.  They may be images from SketchUp, or some similar product, with surface textures added.

None of the patterns have suggestions for wood or finishes to achieve what was used in the photos.  The images look great, but it is hard to guess what wood was used or how it was finished.

For those of us getting started, knowing what wood exist and what is available in our area can be a challenge.  Ideas of what to look for can be very helpful.

[DWSudekum]

That is one of the benefits of a pattern.  While it gives you something to cut to the type and thickness of the wood is basically your choice.  I can give you an example.  There is a particular stacking type bowl pattern that depending on how thick the wood it can look anything from a pie plate to a lamp shade, same patten just different thickness of wood being used.  A lot of the portrait type patterns tend to be cut using the 1/4 inch or 3 mm thick stock.  Bowls, Boxes, figures etc all can use much thicker stock.  Looking forward to seeing your work.

DW

[sawdust703]

Kinda what dw said. You can use any wood you choose for your project. The projects you're seein' that have been completed by other scrollers are done with wood of their choice. Sometimes, projects use more than one species of wood.

you can use from 1/8" in thickness up to an 1" thick. my personal suggestion would be to avoid plywood at all cost. The glue between the layers will destroy blades faster'n you can change'em.

1/4" is good practice wood, ornaments, etc. I don't use it myself, my bride insists.

I use all hard wood in my projects. mostly 1/2" in thickness down to 3/32" in thickness. if you start out with wood, even its pine, you'll get the feel of it agin' the blade. every wood species cuts different.

blade selection & speed begins to enter in all of this. the thicker the wood the more aggressive the blade you're goin' to want to use. which in turn means slower blade speed. the thinner the wood, the smaller the blade, the faster the blade speed. you just have to learn this yourself. but don't ever be afraid to ask questions.

[Norm Fengstad]

I use a lot of baltic birch plywood in 1/4 and 1/8 as it is strong and less prone to warping, pine and construction grade spruce is cheap, easy to cut but I find I have to be selective as knots can be a problem. Our area has several good sized lumber mills that produce pine and spruce. the annoying part is the real select wood is destined for export to other countries, I stay away from the MDF type as the fine dust does not enhance my COPD.

I have been using a lot of ash lately, expensive but beautiful grain but the best is walnut, maple, basswood is really my go to for handcarving and cuts good on the scroll saw. its all good and each species has unexpected challenges.

[rfielder]

Sorry, I may not have been as clear as possible in the first post.

I am asking about species of wood, not thickness.  Mostly as a starting point - knowing what wood was used, when you see a finished product, helps one learn how the different woods will look.

Knowing which wood to use is a puzzle when you don't have a lot of experience.  When I walk through the Exotic Woods store in Oakville, I see lots of of interesting stuff - but short of buying one of everything and experimenting, I have no idea what a finished product might look like in most of those woods.

As much as buying one of everything sounds like a great way to learn, that implies a MUCH higher income bracket than I inhabit....   

[sawdust703]

we've all been in your position, trust me. And unless you have extremely deep pockets when you go wood shoppin', decisions are tough to make.

You can go to the wood database & look up any species of wood you're considering. It will give you an informative idea of each species, including color & look.

Otherwise from there, the next best thing is research. Start readin' & lookin' up in information on the woods that interest ya, & once you see work done in those woods, then maybe you can make a decision.

Another suggestion is to get acquainted with the folks at your wood store. Sometimes you can take a rag w/a little mineral spirits on it & rub on on the wood. It will give you a close look of what it will look like finished

[Rockytime]

I don't have much experience with different hardwoods. But as a relatively new scroller I cut lots of pine and some poplar and oak. That is what is all that is available at Home Depot and Lowes. I have cut a few things from mystery hardwood salvaged from some freebie furniture, a good source for cheap hardwood. I cut mostly puzzles and some children's toys. I just finish most everything with 50/50 BLO and Mineral Spirits.

[Bill Wilson]

The choice of species is entirely up to the individual doing the cutting.  Factors that weigh in the decision will be; availability, cost, ease of cutting, appearance, etc.  You have total freedom to decide which of these factors carry the most weight and which you can disregard.  This is a good opportunity for you to familiarize yourself with various species of domestic woods (leave exotics out of the discussion for now, to simplify things).  You can cut most domestic hardwoods with only a little more effort than wood like pine.  Pine is OK to practice on, but I don't care for it for most fretwork type projects.  YMMV.

That said; red oak, white oak, cherry, walnut, birch, poplar & maple are the most commonly available domestic hardwoods.  They all cut fine, with some minor considerations for issues such as burning, but have much different appearances, grain & finishing characteristics.  My suggestion would be to pick a piece of wood that is available, affordable and has an appealing appearance (to you) and cut away.  You will learn the various qualities of each species, as you gain some experience, but don't let confusion over the choice of wood prevent you from gaining that experience.

Good luck and have fun making sawdust!