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What is your wood of choice for scrolling?


Dave Monk

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I am new to scrolling and today was the first time cutting Mahogany. I planed it to 1/2" thick. Seems to me that the cut edges were quite rough and needs quit a bit of sanding.  I had a tough time trying to cut straight. dave

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Dave, chances are you have African Mahogany, which is very grainy. It can leave rough edges. I prefer genuine Honduras Mahogany. It will leave a very smooth, almost shiny cut edge with absolutely no sanding necessary.

I use mainly hardwoods like genuine Mahogany, Cherry, Maple, Red Oak, and Maple. I also use Sapele, which is a good substitute for genuine Mahogany. All of these woods mentioned will leave very smooth cut edges.

 

I do use Baltic birch plywood for portraits and such.

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I am new to scrolling and today was the first time cutting Mahogany. I planed it to 1/2" thick. Seems to me that the cut edges were quite rough and needs quit a bit of sanding.  I had a tough time trying to cut straight. dave

Dave are you sure it was Mahogany.  There are lots of woods passed off as Mahogany.  Real Mahogany is reddish brown.  It is smooth grain and should cut like butter. 

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Dave, Experience will tell you more than any of us. 

The 'right' blade for you ain't the one for me. :D   Too many variables.

Buy a variety of blades.

Don't like how a blade is cutting, switch to another.

One that is a little bigger, more teeth or less teeth, just change blades and see how each cuts.

Most scrollers (IMO) go by #'s. #2, #5,...etc ... I go by width and depth and TPI.

All #2's are not the same. There are reverse tooth, skip tooth, crown... all can be #2's.

Go to " Sloanswoodshop.com " and see how many #2 blades there are and look at the width/thickness.

With the right blade, most wood cuts very nice.

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Dave, Experience will tell you more than any of us. 

The 'right' blade for you ain't the one for me. :D   Too many variables.

Buy a variety of blades.

Don't like how a blade is cutting, switch to another.

One that is a little bigger, more teeth or less teeth, just change blades and see how each cuts.

Most scrollers (IMO) go by #'s. #2, #5,...etc ... I go by width and depth and TPI.

All #2's are not the same. There are reverse tooth, skip tooth, crown... all can be #2's.

Go to " Sloanswoodshop.com " and see how many #2 blades there are and look at the width/thickness.

With the right blade, most wood cuts very nice.

Great Advice!  

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I too think that Larry EA has the best piece of advice I would follow that, if it were me . I have found that using too small a blade does make it difficult to follow the line because they do not have the strength to always follow a turn and tend to want to go the straight path. The thicker blades are easier to change direction with due to their stiffness but at the same time, because of their thickness it takes a little more wood with it as it turns, so one needs to find the one that works best for the project, the wood and most importantly the sawyer. My take

 

Dick

heppnerguy

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As a general rule the denser the wood the harder it cuts.   For example white oak is denser than red oak.   My favorite kinds of wood for my scroll saw are those that are relatively easy to cut.   I use quite a bit of red oak, walnut, and some white ash primarily because they are readily available and finish well.   I generally prefer hardwoods for their durability but it also depends on the project,     

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