This fossil scroll saw pattern is cut from a single board using the bevel cut technique. The bevel cut keeps the grain of the wood continuous to make the piece look carved instead of applied.
This book has this pattern in two sizes. Let me say upfront that the smaller one is difficult to cut because of the bevel. There is barely enough room for the bevel without cutting off parts you want to keep. The picture above is my cutting of the smaller pattern. As you can see it did work but I had to be precise in the cuts. Any blade over a #1 will probably not work. The larger pattern should not be a problem.
Prepare the wood and pattern.
Make the interior cuts first. Next cut the exterior of the rock. Save the bevel cut for last.
Make test cuts in the same material with the same blade to get the bevel correct.
You want about a 50% rise. I used a #1 blade and 1/2" thick wood. My angle was ~ 3 degrees.
Find a good spot to drill the bevel cut starter hole. I started near the bottom of the tail. My wood was thin enough that I did not have to angle the drill to drill the starter hole. If you use thicker wood you may need to angle the drill to match the angle of the bevel cut.
I use hot glue to hold the piece extruded from the background. A few dabs of hot glue on the back will keep the fossil in place.
