portrait wood

[john shankel]

question ,, what do most people cut as far as wood and thickness go , when doing a portrait of people? ....

i have been using 1/4 inch Baltic birch with good success depending on the pattern, some times thicker wood but it has to be a stright forward pattern ,,,  but i just wanted to ask the question  .

[ike]

When cutting Portraits I use oak Plywood I just like the grain Feature . I use oak when it calls for 1/4 thickness if I use plywood sometimes I use walnut or oak solid woods. For others I prefer 1/2 inch wood is my preference.

IKE

[LarryEA]

For Portraits I prefer BB in any thickness. 

But usually 1/8" so I can stack and it is thin enough to put in a frame.

[amazingkevin]

I just use the best piece of wood i can spare for the project,but it all depends on the project,plywood has been my mainstay,but mdf gives quite a nice look to the cutting and finishing of it.

[edward]

I use 1/8 Baltic Birch, on occassions I have used !/4 0ak.  edward

[heppnerguy]

I don't cut a lot of portraits but when i do I usually cut with 1/8 or 1/4 inch BB ply. love to see some of your  work. any problems let us know because everyone can learn something new when someone give some information. Often I discover something I have never realized was even a problem for me until someone ask a question and another person gives them an answer. I find myself saying, "I didn't know that" , many times

 

Dick

heppnerguy

[spirithorse]

Hi, John,

I started using 1/4" Baltic Birch but, it became harder to find store bought frames that will accomodate the 1/4" so I

switched to 1/8". If it is not something that I can stack cut and have use for the extra portraits I just use some form

of scrap like old paneling to keep the 1/8" material from chipping.

God Bless! Spirithorse

[john shankel]

thanks guys , never thought of MDF , i was just woundering so i asked ...

[Fish]

For the most part I've used 1/4" BB

[Scrappile]

I'm pretty new at scrolling, but so far I have used 1/4" BB.  I don't sell what I cut so I have not used 1/8" "stacked.  I plan on giving it a try one of these days as well as trying some hardwoods.

[Phantom Scroller]

I steer well clear of MDF and use 1/4" bb ply just my preference. Roly 

[Wilson's Woodworking]

I don't like the dust that MDF makes. It is ultra-fine and goes everywhere.

 

[Travis]

I prefer the look of 1/8" BB ply, but cut 1/4" as well.  I don't think I would go much larger than 1/4", though.  If it's thicker, I think you lose some of the detail since the edge of the wood would cover the backer at certain angles (the backer really makes the portrait stand out so you can see the details).  The real trick with cutting 1/8" ply is to stack cut 2 or 3 pieces.  It gives you a lot more control over the blade.  Plus, you get 3 copies.  Even if you don't want the extra copies, I'd still stack cut just for the extra control.  It may seem wasteful, but the end product is well worth it.

[Clayton717]

I prefer 1/8" Baltic birch for my portraits