Mother's Day is not too far off so I thought I would start designing a few patterns early for the big day.
This pattern looks more fragile than it really is. The only tip is to make sure your blade is square because of the interior cuts in the roses are pretty thin. Don't push too the blade too hard so you get square cuts. You should also choose a wood with a tight grain so it's not so prone to breaking. Red Oak would be a bad choice because of its open grain. It would almost certainly break.
What are my favorite woods to cut with the scroll saw?
I get asked this question quite often. It's a tough question to answer because I have many species that I enjoy cutting. There are woods that are easy to cut and there are woods that are hard to cut but so beautiful that they are worth the effort.
Of course, I also have to take cost into consideration. Some projects are more special than others and I will spend a few more dollars on wood for those projects. I'll also put up with them being difficult to cut if they are beautiful to look at.
Let me start with one of my least favorite woods. Red Oak is just a nightmare to use on the scroll saw. I guess it's okay for rough projects but for fine detail, it is a poor choice. The grain is so corse that the blade tends to try to follow the grain. It also breaks easily. I'm not a fan.
There are also species like pine and poplar that are boring but can be perfect for some projects. Poplar is perfect for word art and other casual types of projects. They are also inexpensive and easy to find.
If I had to choose two species I would probably give the slight edge to Soft Maple and Walnut.
Soft Maple is very easy to work and it holds up well to fine fretwork. It does not have the most exotic grain but when finished it looks okay. The primary reason that I select it as one of the two choices is that it contrasts so well with Walnut. These two species make each other pop.
Walnut is close to a perfect wood for scrolling. The only downside is that it has become expensive over the last few years. It can get close to $10bf. Soft maple is closer to $5bf. I love almost everything about Walnut. It cuts easy. It has an attractive color and grain. The deep dark chocolate color gives it a high-end look.
A close third place would be cherry. It does not cut quite as well as walnut but it is a beautiful wood. Cherry also cost almost half of what Walnut costs. The primary downside to cherry is that it wants to scorch on the edges from blade heat. You can minimize this issue with blue painters tape under the pattern and u