Fretwork advice needed

[JessL]

I'm wanting to start a larger fretwork project, or large for me. Photo attached.  I have a lot of Alaska birch on my property and it is the wood I do all my wood working with.  Is this wood hard enough for fretwork when planed down to 1/8 inch? Or what thickness should it be? I'm guessing 1/2" would be too thick.  I was wondering if anyone has used this wood before. Also, which blades and sizes do you suggest for all the teeny tiny bits. The smallest I have is the Pegas MG #2/0 and the Pegas Spiral #2/0 (just came in the mail and so excited to try them).  I do have larger sizes in both.  Any tips and advice is much appreciated!

Pattern found on this site for those interested.

[Davevand]

When I cut patterns like this out of solid wood, I like to have a blank that is at least 3/8 up to 5/8 thick, so 1/2 inch would be perfect for me. Of course blade speed ,type and mfg also plays a big part.

[JessL]

7 minutes ago, Davevand said:

When I cut patterns like this out of solid wood, I like to have a blank that is at least 3/8 up to 5/8 thick, so 1/2 inch would be perfect for me. Of course blade speed ,type and mfg also plays a big part.

Good to know, thanks.  For some reason I was thinking fretwork needed to be on thin material. 

[Scrappile]

I think 1/4" is fine, of coarse, it is personal preference that counts.  I have done detailed patterns in 1/4" basswood with no problem, and it is softer, I think, than Birch.   You may find a #2/0 Pegas blade a little too flexible but again personal preference and what works for you is the real answer.

[JessL]

18 minutes ago, Scrappile said:

I think 1/4" is fine, of coarse, it is personal preference that counts.  I have done detailed patterns in 1/4" basswood with no problem, and it is softer, I think, than Birch.   You may find a #2/0 Pegas blade a little too flexible but again personal preference and what works for you is the real answer.

Thanks.  Trial and error it is then, with a smile.  Love your quote by the way!

[ChelCass]

For Fret work I use 1/4 inch and a FD 3 or 5  ultra-reverse.  This is just what works for me.

[Dan]

You could stack cut two 1/4" pieces. That way you get the support of 1/2" when cutting but have two 1/4" pieces when done.

[Bill WIlson]

On 3/25/2023 at 2:15 PM, JessL said:

Good to know, thanks.  For some reason I was thinking fretwork needed to be on thin material. 

I think that part of the reason for this is that narrow lines and fine detail can kind of get lost when cut in thicker material.  Thicker material creates more shadows, which can obscure some of the detail. 

I try to match up the pattern, blades and material.  If the pattern has a lot of really fine detail that necessitate cutting it with a very small blade, then I would prefer to cut it out of thinner stock.  If I can get away with using a larger blade, then I'm more likely to go with thicker material.  These aren't hard & fast rules though.  There is plenty of overlap within those parameters.

Our personal preferences are mainly derived from our experience (trial & error), which makes it a little tough to recommend a blade for someone else.  Knowing what blade you can use to cut a particular pattern is something best achieved via experience, as your circumstances and conditions will differ from mine.  For example, I use a #1 FDUR blade for a lot of stuff that it probably isn't recommended for.  I routinely cut 1/2" thick red oak with it and have no problems.  Many would use a larger blade, in a similar application. 

As for the pattern above, I wouldn't hesitate to cut that out of 1/2" birch.  It all depends on the final presentation.  Is this something you want to mount onto a backer or in a frame?  If so, then I think thinner stock is a better look.  If it will stand alone, then I think thicker material generally looks better.  I think a lighter colored species will help mitigate the shadow problem.  I would likely use my go-to FDUR #1 for that pattern in 1/4" - 1/2" thick stock.  I rarely use anything smaller these days, unless it's a spiral blade on a really intricate portrait pattern. 

[OCtoolguy]

After watching that video done by Fiona Higdon (sp) that was recently posted by Steve Good, I was amazed at her artwork using 3/4" stock. I really think it is the scrollers choice and only achieved through trial & error.

[JessL]

3 hours ago, Bill WIlson said:

I think that part of the reason for this is that narrow lines and fine detail can kind of get lost when cut in thicker material.  Thicker material creates more shadows, which can obscure some of the detail. 

I try to match up the pattern, blades and material.  If the pattern has a lot of really fine detail that necessitate cutting it with a very small blade, then I would prefer to cut it out of thinner stock.  If I can get away with using a larger blade, then I'm more likely to go with thicker material.  These aren't hard & fast rules though.  There is plenty of overlap within those parameters.

Our personal preferences are mainly derived from our experience (trial & error), which makes it a little tough to recommend a blade for someone else.  Knowing what blade you can use to cut a particular pattern is something best achieved via experience, as your circumstances and conditions will differ from mine.  For example, I use a #1 FDUR blade for a lot of stuff that it probably isn't recommended for.  I routinely cut 1/2" thick red oak with it and have no problems.  Many would use a larger blade, in a similar application. 

As for the pattern above, I wouldn't hesitate to cut that out of 1/2" birch.  It all depends on the final presentation.  Is this something you want to mount onto a backer or in a frame?  If so, then I think thinner stock is a better look.  If it will stand alone, then I think thicker material generally looks better.  I think a lighter colored species will help mitigate the shadow problem.  I would likely use my go-to FDUR #1 for that pattern in 1/4" - 1/2" thick stock.  I rarely use anything smaller these days, unless it's a spiral blade on a really intricate portrait pattern. 

Thank you for all this.  Took me a minute to understand what FDUR meant, haha. I have some of those and really like them so far.  Just rec'd some MG's in the mail (I'm getting the acronyms down) and I like them too.  I tried the MG#5 on my project and it cut so good, it was getting away from me.  Went back to the FDUR#5 to finish the larger sections, probably because I was already used to how to control it.  

I don't have a finish plan for the project.  Wanted to practice on some fretwork cuts and had this piece of wood lying around.  Going to clean up the edges a bit and maybe just leave as is.  Put it on my shop wall as a reference for one of my first pieces.

Now that I have a variety of blades from different companies, I will start my trial and error to see what will fit for me.  The advice on this forum is so helpful. I really appreciate it.

 

[OCtoolguy]

5 hours ago, JessL said:

Thank you for all this.  Took me a minute to understand what FDUR meant, haha. I have some of those and really like them so far.  Just rec'd some MG's in the mail (I'm getting the acronyms down) and I like them too.  I tried the MG#5 on my project and it cut so good, it was getting away from me.  Went back to the FDUR#5 to finish the larger sections, probably because I was already used to how to control it.  

I don't have a finish plan for the project.  Wanted to practice on some fretwork cuts and had this piece of wood lying around.  Going to clean up the edges a bit and maybe just leave as is.  Put it on my shop wall as a reference for one of my first pieces.

Now that I have a variety of blades from different companies, I will start my trial and error to see what will fit for me.  The advice on this forum is so helpful. I really appreciate it.

 

Sign & date it. Check back in a year.

[barb.j.enders]

I won't chime in about blades because it is very much personal choice.  It looks like you have it on a piece with live edges. I would leave it with the live edge.  

[JessL]

Just realized I posted this on the wrong topic of mine.  Oops

 

Here it is finally all cut out.  I used multiple blades trying them out.  For the itty bitty cuts, I tended to use MG#3s but with 3/4" piece of wood it was challenging.  I tried the spiral blades but couldn't get the straight lines and sharp points of it so I nixed them on this project.  I did bend a few blades and broke one.  All in all it was a fun project to experiment on.  Now to sand and clean up all those little slots.  Some look real messy to me and want to see about limiting that.

barb.j.enders:  I think I will leave the live edge parts, clean them up a bit. 

Edited March 28, 2023 by JessL

[OCtoolguy]

4 hours ago, JessL said:

Just realized I posted this on the wrong topic of mine.  Oops

 

Here it is finally all cut out.  I used multiple blades trying them out.  For the itty bitty cuts, I tended to use MG#3s but with 3/4" piece of wood it was challenging.  I tried the spiral blades but couldn't get the straight lines and sharp points of it so I nixed them on this project.  I did bend a few blades and broke one.  All in all it was a fun project to experiment on.  Now to sand and clean up all those little slots.  Some look real messy to me and want to see about limiting that.

barb.j.enders:  I think I will leave the live edge parts, clean them up a bit. 

Looks pretty good to me. Far better than my first cut.