What is your wood of choice for scrolling?

[Dave Monk]

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

[Denny Knappen]

I use many different species of wood, especially with intarsia.  I have made several bowls with mahogany and it cuts and sands great.

[kywoodmaster]

I like several different woods including Cedar, Oak, Walnut, Maple and Poplar. I have found that Mahogany does leave a lot of fuzzies. To me the trick is to use the smallest blade possible to do the job. 2/0 is my favorite go to blade.

[WayneMahler]

Mine depends on the project . I like oak, maple and cherry, use baltic birch ply for portraits and ornaments. I also use pine for certain projects.

[EarltheScroller]

Any wood that works for the project. Mahogany is quite soft so you should have been fine. Maybe the wrong size or type of blade? For a lot of straight lines I would us at least a 5, maybe higher if it didn't have a lot of turns.

[dgman]

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

r

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.

[lawson56]

I have tried several types.Cedar.,Yellow Pine, Oak,I have found that White Pine is best for what I do.Unless a customer wants something else.

[NC Scroller]

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. 

[Dave Monk]

Scott, I bought it as Mahogany and it is a reddish brown. It does cut very easy...I guess everything else I have cut has been harder wood and seems to come out soo much smoother. dave  

[TripleJScroller]

I use a lot of Red Oak, mostly because its easy to get and I like the way it finishes.  For portraits and the like its Baltic Birch.  I keep telling myself that I need to try some different woods, but since none are available local I have to have it shipped to me and that can get a bit expensive. 

[Fish]

I use oak, cherry, walnut , bb, ash, Several different woods. My favorite is walnut and oak.

[LarryEA]

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

The 'right' blade for you ain't the one for me.   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.

[LarryEA]

Computer lied.......said my post had an error and to repost....so I did 

Then it posted both and laughed at me

Edited February 17, 2016 by LarryEA

[LarryEA]

My wood of choice is the piece that works with the pattern. 

Maple, Cherry, Oak are the most common.

I like Walnut, Mahogany, aromatic Cedar... when I can get them

[GrampaJim]

I use mostly red oak for solid wood projects.  I guess I am the odd one here and only use BB ply for backer boards, word art and portrait type projects use 1/8" oak if you can get it or 1/4".  Personally I like the way it looks finished better than BB.

[Montserrat]

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

The 'right' blade for you ain't the one for me.   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!  

[nrscroller]

I make a lot of ornaments etc, I use 1/8 inch BB plywood.

[bandaideman]

I use all differrent species but like oak, walnut and cherry more. use pine or popula. My favorite species is free

[Jim Finn]

I mostly cut cedar and maple with my scroll saws doing inlay work.  I have found that to avoid splintering of mahogany (while carving)  apply a coat or two of shellac or lacquer and this finish hardens the surface a bit.  Give it a try.

[Dave Monk]

Thank you for all the comments. I have a lot to learn. At least I am at the right place. dave

[ike]

any free wood.

[Clayton717]

I use many different types of wood especially with my intarsia. It all depends on the project I'm cutting. For portraits style I use 1/8" baltic birch plywood mostly.

[ike]

I use all  different kinds of harw woods, but My favorite is the free ones.

[heppnerguy]

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

[stoney]

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,