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Grain direction for silhouette portrait cutting


tford

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Hi Everyone

Compliments of the Season!!  I hope 2018 is your best year yet.

I hope I am not opening a can of worms by asking a question that may invoke a split of opinion.  However, I would like to know the "best" way to have the grain direction of plywood 9or any wood), when cutting silhouette portrait style cutting.  I cannot decide what will be best.

Thank you for the input.

Kind regards

Tyrone

Edited by tford
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Hi Tyrone:

To answer your question, you can always try a few small pieces of whatever wood you're using and see what works best for you
but I always found that going with the grain is much easier and looks better once done
Just like a lot of things we do, it becomes a personal choice as to what you are trying to achieve

Good Luck 
Fab4

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I also use Wayne's description with the grain going in the longest direction of the stock EXCEPT
if I want a particular area of the grain to help simulate water or clouds or something like that.
In that case, I try to use the wood grain to best represent or enhance the cutting.

Thanks for an interesting question for the group to ponder.

God Bless! Spirithorse

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Tyrone, I run the grain in either direction on portrait type cuttings. For me, it all depends on how the piece is to be framed. If the cutting is to be framed so that the long side of the frame is on the left or right hand side of the piece, then the grain usually runs up and down. If the cutting is to be framed so that the long side of the frame is going to be positioned on the top or bottom of the piece, then the grain usually runs from side to side. Now you should have noticed that I used the word usually in my explanation, the reason for that is that there is NO steadfast rules on how the grain has to run. It can depend on many things, one of which is the person doing the cutting. And the pattern itself could be a major factor in determining grain direction, some just don't fit within the norms.

Len

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On 1/2/2018 at 5:04 AM, tford said:

Hi Everyone

Compliments of the Season!!  I hope 2018 is your best year yet.

I hope I am not opening a can of worms by asking a question that may invoke a split of opinion.  However, I would like to know the "best" way to have the grain direction of plywood 9or any wood), when cutting silhouette portrait style cutting.  I cannot decide what will be best.

Thank you for the input.

Kind regards

Tyrone

Its a matter of personal preference i think,What ever looks good to you!!!!

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On 1/2/2018 at 5:04 AM, tford said:

, I would like to know the "best" way to have the grain direction of plywood 9or any wood), when cutting silhouette portrait style cutting.  I cannot decide what will be best.

Thank you for the input.

 

for me theres beena  few variables. first one being practice. theres been times after cutting ive thought i should have had the grain direction differently. theres times when im doing something like an eagle, i try and get the grain to flow with the feathers. 

basically i try and envision the work completed and how it would look. ill take the pattern and set it on the wood and  move it around.

sometimes i really complicate it and end up putting a pattern away for a bit. :)

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