Wood for Portraits

[RichB]

My wife and I have gone through all of Travis's classes and we are not ready to try our hand at scrollsawing one of our grandkids portraits. My question is what thickness of Ply,BB or other wood should we use? We want to show as much detail as possible. I plan on using #3 and #5 blades from FD. I have been practicing on some 3/16th BB and the blades have a mind of there own in some places. Some people use 1/8 and 1/4. Do they both cut with a lot of detail showing through to the black background? Does one cut with more control then the other? I have read so many threads on some of this I am a little confused. Please Help if you can. Thanks Rich

[Barry5180]

Hi Rich,

 

Glad to hear you're ready to try cutting.

With most blades, and especially with Mike's blades, the thinner the wood you are cutting, the more aggressively the blade cuts. If your blade is cutting very aggressively you will find it somewhat difficult to control. I typically cut with 1/8" BB Ply for my portraits. I find it allows me to use most store bought frames with no trouble. 1/4" can sometimes be a little thick and I will need to make a custom frame.

 

When cutting 1/8" material, you will soon realize that your blades move through it like a knife through butter. I usually turn my saw speed way down if I'm cutting a single piece. Normally I stack cut 4 to 6 pieces giving me a 1/2" to 3/4" piece of wood to cut through. This allows me to maintain very fine control on the straight blades. With spiral blades I do not have this problem.

 

As for the background showing through, as a general rule it is easier to see if it is closer to the surface of the cutting, so on 1/8" material it will be very easy to see. You will need to determine just how three dimensional you want the piece to appear. If I'm framing a piece I go with 1/8". If it's a wall hanging I will use up to 3/4" material to give it a little more dimension.

 

Hope this helps. Barry

[RichB]

Thanks Barry this does help. I figured the thicker would hide the see through. Then I thought I could cut the single lines wider but that will leave some very thin pieces left. I did try the spiral 3 and 5. They left a lot of fuzzes, the control was pretty good but I liked the straight blade best. It cut with almost no fuzzes. If anyone has more information on this feel free. Is it possible for the kind of wood, and thickness be posted with portraits, puzzles, and other projects? Thanks Rich

[Travis]

When cutting portraits, I use both 1/8" and 1/4". I found the thicker you cut, the eaiser it is to control (up to a certain point) and you have a lot more support in delicate areas. So if I was cutting 1/8", I'll stack cut 3 at a time to give me the thickness I need for control and support. This is nice too since I get 3 copies to give away. If I cut 1/4", I usually just cut one. I personally like the look of 1/4", but if you have a lot of thin lines/line drawings or a pointalism type of pattern, it may not be as effective because you don't see the backer as well.

 

Barry's right about finding frames for 1/8". It'll be much easier. 1/8" works really well, especially if it's behind glass (the glass keeps the wood pressed against the backer). If you won't have glass, I'd suggest 1/4", unless you decide to glue the ply to the backer.

[RichB]

Thanks you so much. I plan on making my frames because I have quite a wood shop that is just begging to be used for more than pens and scrolling. I do understand the thickness issue for frames. When stacking say 2 or 3 1/8 pieces do you use two sided tape in some places or cover each surface with adhesive? I would think when using tape it should be put in the delicate places, am I thinking right? Thanks Again. More ideas are always welcome.

[Travis]

I wouldn't use doublesided tape. You end up having to pry it off and could break some delicate areas. The way I do it, is to squeeze together the stack as tight as you can (a clamp makes it nice), then use painters tape to tape all of the edges (wrapping it from front to back). That works pretty well for me. You could also put a small brad in the corner or in some waste area if you want extra protection. It basically keeps the wood from shifting. But I find the tape method is more than enough. You can check out this wiki article that may give you some ideas too.

[RichB]

Thanks Travis I just read the Wiki link and that answered some questions. I think I will stack two 1/8 and use the 3 and 5 FD-TC . I plan on posting the pattern but I haven't studied the posting picture sequnce yet. I am used to posting pictures from my computer resized. Wish me luck. Thanks Again. Rich

[juvy]

Can you believe I have never scrolled a protrait on any kind of ply?

Over here we usually use whatever timber we can get our hands on... I usually use anything from 1/8" to 1 1/4" timber. The thicker it is the more depths you get.... and if the piece has an interesting shape you can leave it natural and don't need to worry about framing it.

 

When I do use 1/4" or less I put a piece of 3- 4 mm MDF or pine under it.... usually I scroll family portraits so stack cutting serveral would give me too many, but having one on good timber and the other on mdf or pine still gives a customer one to keep and one to give away. I find doing this gives me much more control and supports tiny pieces while cutting.

 

Juvy

[RichB]

Thanks Juvy. After reading your help I like the idea of MDF . I think Hard Board might work also. I hate to ruin a good piece of BB or other with break out on the back side when MDF and maybe hard board might help stop this. Thanks Rich

[Barry5180]

Rich, just be aware, the hardboard and MDF are going to create much more really fine dust than regular plywood. Make sure you are wearing some type of dust protection.

 

Barry

[RichB]

Thanks Barry I didn't think of that. I have cut some on my big saw and I remember that. Nasty

[c_lang]

My favorite thickness is 1/2". I like the way it shows depth. I then use a 1/4" for a backing. I usually stain the backer dark and either leave the portrait natural or use a light finish. I use to use oak up until I found I was going through a lot of blades, so now I use birch or other soft woods, I also found poplar to have a good finish when stained.

[Sublime4life40]

Your rite about thin material cutting fast.I cut alot of inlayed family portraits.I use either 1/4" or 1/2" birch plywood.I use alot of Olson #2 skiptooth blades too.It sounds crazy using a thin blade on thicker blanks.I do it because,I like the way the lines look.Plus its great for tight radius and detail.I may use 10 of the 12 blades that come with the package for one portrait,but results are good.Thicker blanks are good to cut,because your portrait will hold together better.Thats my opinion.I place all the cutout pieces back into the portrait too.I like to color stain them or paint them too.I use a hard board for the backing.I really like the effect of staining the cuttout pieces,because its like a real painting portrait.The way the colors come together really add something to the picture and with the grain pattern matching back up from the cuttout pieces is cool too.[attachment=0]Rob & Joyce.jpg[/attachment]