What wood to use for what..

[Brfreiburger17]

Hello. I'm just starting out scroll sawing and I'm having trouble figuring out what wood works best and looks best for different projects. I do not know anything about wood quality. I would like to get into mostly cutting wildlife pictures.

[pddesertrat]

Welcome to the forum.  Glad you are here.

I'm pretty new to scrolling and have been using Baltic Birch.  Baltic Birch is great plywood, with very little if any voids.  I get it in 5' X 5' sheets, usually use 1/4" thickness.  There are several places on the internet to purchase various wood, oak, maple, walnut in various thickness in smaller size sheets.

[julief]

If you are wanting to cut fretwork or portrait type work, stick with Baltic birch plywood.  It has more layers than ordinary ply and no voids.  If you are wanting to cut very thin layers of it, try stack cutting.  It is easier to cut 3/8 to 3/4 inches than trying to cut an 1/8 inch piece.  You have more control and will break the delicate cuts far less with a thicker piece or stack.  That being said, you can also use hardwood.  I have cut many wildlife pictures in poplar and walnut.

[Brfreiburger17]

Thank you so much! That's what I needed to know!