Newbie question

[dwayne23]

What is the best thing to make ornaments out of and the best thickness to use?? I want to cut some things that are not very complex at this time.

[minowevie]

Hi dwayne23, I personaly like 1/8 ply . you can do them in 1/4 too. lots of folks do them in hard woods. but I like plywood. the small fradgil ones do great in 1/8th ply. easy to cut. and glue up. stacking 1/8th ply works great. then you have more than one to give out. your friend Evie

[Fremmed]

Hi, dwayne
Agree with Evie. Ply gives a very consistent grain. Try to use a hi quality ply like Baltic Birch. I've used 1/4" poplar, pretty easy to cut, just be careful choosing a good color wood as well as acrylic and I believe there's a thread in here about using old Compact Discs.
With 1/8" ply, you really should stack cut them, 3-6 thick. If you don't know how to stack cut, check out this threadhttp://www.scrollsawer.com/forum/beginners-scroll-saw/15727.htm?highlight=stack

[tomsteve]

same here with the 1/8 " stuff. i think i have made about 100 onraments so far this year to give out. i have done them many different ways, but always end up back at the 1/8" ply. it has a lot to do with being able to make 6 at once. i also plane down other solid wood to 3/16" and stack cut with these ( walnut, oak, poplar, birch, cherry, purpleheart,but wont cut purpleheart again!!!!!like i said the last time i cut it 2 years ago!!!LOLOL). like evie said, the ply is good for the fragile ones and i have made some fragile ones out of solid wood only to end up in the trash.

[Wood Dog]

I recently cut out 200 snowflakes out of a heavy weight white paper. Stacked 100 at a time. took about 1 hour with prep time included. No need to be perfect with a snowflake.
Stuck them on my porch windows. Looks cool if I say so myself.
The paper ornaments I'm posting a picture of are Arnold Volker designs. These took me a bit longer and I only stacked 12 each of these, but my point is you can use all kinds of medium to scroll things. Let your imagination wander.

[dwayne23]

Thanks for the help all and Wood Dog those look great.

[f250]

I have cut about 65 ornaments this year. Most of mine were done with 1/8" baltic birch plywood stacked 4 or 5 high. The rest were cut from various hardwoods with thickness between 1/4" and 1/8".

Really it all depends how you want them to look and how you want to finish them. I would never paint a hardwood ornament.

Tom

[lucky788scroller]

I prefer hardwood, planed and thickness sanded to roughly 3/16 inch thick. Baltic birch ply 1/8th inch is a good choice as well, and probably a better choice for some of the more fragile cuttings.

[Bill Wilson]

The great thing about ornaments is that you can make them out of just about anything. I prefer hardwoods, planed to 1/8" - 3/16" thick because I like to leave them natural, with just a clear finish. If I do intend to paint them or the pattern is very delicate, I will use baltic birch plywood. It's an excellent choice.

Most of the scroll saw supply stores also sell acrylic sheets in various colors. I haven't ever used them myself, but have been tempted to try it.

I think the thickness is primarily determined by how many you want to stack cut. The thinner the material (BB plywood being the best choice under 1/8") the more you can cut at one time. If you are only cutting a few, then I would use the material that gives you the best look that you want.

Good luck and have fun making sawdust!

[marshall]

dWayne : I've cut them using 1/4" Walnut and stacked them 5 at a time , it's been good practice for me . But I can tell you that it's easyier using 1/8" BB plywood stacking them 4 or 5 high , this is my findings ......... Good Luck !!! Marshall