# cutting thick oak



## pitch pine (1 Nov 2010)

Just wondering if anyone has any experience of cutting thick hardwood on a scollsaw. I am cutting a silhouette of an oak tree from 1.25 inch english oak. The trees stand about 8 inches high and involve about 24 inches of cutting in total with 6 tight turns. After lots of experimenting I ended up using the slowest speed on the saw and a blade that I think is a 9. (Not sure as there was an assortment of unmarked blades when I bought the saw). Sometimes I seem to manage OK going slowly, sometimes the wood burns and sometimes the blades snap. Today I received some Flying Dutchman blades thinking they would be the answer, and they are OK but I am still having similar problems (though no breakages with these). I know it is alot to ask of a blade and I am not trying to feed the wood too fast.......any thoughts

Thanks


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## puzzler (2 Nov 2010)

Hi Pitch Pine
The one difference Iwould do is use a faster speed around 1200 strokes per minute with a slow feed The blade you are using (no9)should cope with it ok
The thickest oak I have cut was 22mm using a no6 blade at the speed and feed as suggested this was for a puzzle
Good luck lets know how you get on
Regards Puzzler


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## chrispuzzle (3 Nov 2010)

If the wood is burning, you could try using clear packing tape over the pattern which will tend to melt and lubricate the blade, reducing the risk of charring.

An inch and a quarter of oak is serious work for a scrollsaw, so yes, you will need to do it slowly.


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## pitch pine (3 Nov 2010)

Thanks for the comments. I might give the tape trick a go.

The FD blades (9) have very small teeth compared to the original blades that came with the saw.....


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## pixy (4 Nov 2010)

Hi I use 1" thick oak to cut puzzles and use a no 5 but theses are the best blades you will buy.Go to mikes workshop in the us Very cheap and a good guy always willing to help you. Mal


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