WOLF MAIDEN, designed by Kevin Daly, is cut in a beautiful slab of Osage orange.
Osage Orange
Osage orange is readily recognized by its distinct yellow
color. Unfortunately, the vibrant color usually turns
a light brown when the wood is exposed to oxygen
and sunlight. You can take steps to preserve or at least
prolong the vivid yellow color, and despite being a
relatively hard wood, it's a joy to cut on the scroll saw.
A relative of the mulberry tree, Osage orange, also
known as bodark, horse apple, and bois d'arc, is native
to the central United States, but it has been planted
throughout the United States and Canada as a hedge row
or wind break tree. Most people consider it a shrub, since
it tends to stay small, but Osage orange trees can grow up
to 60' tall. The sapwood is usually white.
Osage orange is popular with intarsia artists, but
most of my scroll work is done in the portrait style.
To give my projects more character, I prefer to use
hardwoods instead of traditional Baltic birch plywood. I
have cut projects in a variety of hardwoods, ranging from
spalted mahogany to Brazilian cherry (jatoba).
Osage orange costs between $6 and $8 per board foot,
depending on the thickness and width of the board. I
purchased several slabs from Cutting Edge Wood Works,
www.cuttingedgewoodworksonline.com, 254-968-4724.
Working with Osage orange
Osage orange is rated at 2040 on the Janka hardness
scale. This is close to the tropical hardwood goncalo
alves (2160). It is one of the hardest domestic hardwoods,
even harder than hickory (1820).
The design I cut required me to drill 251 blade-entry
holes. I didn't break a single #63 drill bit. By contrast,
when I cut Brazilian cherry, I am lucky to drill 30 holes
without breaking a bit.
I was surprised how easy the ¼"-thick wood was to
cut on the scroll saw. I have heard horror stories about
how difficult Osage orange is to cut, but I found that it
cut well with the #1 reverse-tooth blades that I use for
90% of my portraits. I actually had to reduce the speed of
my saw so I could control it. It is a bit tougher to cut than
mahogany, but much easier than Brazilian cherry.
The hard, straight grain makes it an ideal wood for
cutting intricate portraits. I was able to cut the entire
portrait without any breakage. While the wood is hard, it
sands and shapes well, which makes it a good choice for
intarsia artists.
Finishing Osage orange
I recommend sanding the completed project with
progressively finer grits of sandpaper, up to 220 grit,
before applying a water-based lacquer finish. This results
in a beautiful, glass-like finish.
I chose a clear water-based lacquer finish to preserve
the color as much as possible. The water-based lacquer
does darken the wood a little bit, but it provides some
protection from sunlight and ultraviolet (UV) rays. For
best results, sand with 400-grit sandpaper between coats
of lacquer and try to keep the piece out of direct sunlight.
If you are willing to sacrifice a bit of the color, use
an exterior spar varnish, which is designed to provide
additional protection from UV rays.
Summary
Osage orange is a hard wood, but it is easy to cut on the
scroll saw. I suggest using relatively thin wood to cut
intricate fretwork. The grain promotes a smooth cut
without a lot of tear-out or breakage. The bright yellow
color may darken over time, but the proper finish can
slow or stop this reaction.
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