This inspirational cross is a little over 9 inches tall. The round base has the message cut around the diameter. "Jesus will show you the way.". The base has a small round over applied to the edge to give it a more finished look. Most of the challenge of this pattern is in the base. The letters are around 1/2 inch tall so if you take your time you should be fine. The next challenge is cutting the circle. Remember all the tips I have shown in the past when cutting circles. Here is a link to my "Cutting Circles on the Scroll Saw" tutorial. Take a look and see if you can pick up some helpful tips.
I cut this cross from Red Oak. Once again I remember why I am not a fan of Red Oak. As a matter of fact it is one of my least favorite scroll saw woods. It's fine for furniture but not for delicate fretwork. The open grain has a tendency to want to split on the back side of the cut. I used a #3 Flying Dutchman Ultra Reverse blade. This is the best blade I have found to reduce this splitting on the back but even it had some trouble. In this case I plan to cover the back of the base with felt so it will never be seen. The fret work on the cross is large enough that there was no significant splitting so it's fine. On projects that will have the back side visible I just stay away from Red Oak.
Another issue with Red Oak is that the end grain really soaks up any finish applied to it. On furniture it's easy to hide end grain but that's not the case with many scroll saw projects. To help prevent a rough end gran finish make sure you sand through all the grits in areas where you can. Sand to at least 220 grit. When I pick up a wood project I like to feel a silky smooth finish. It's tough to get that on Red Oak without using a sanding sealer before you finish the project. Did I mention I don't like Red Oak.
