wooden chain - wood selection

[Mindy]

It just occurred to me that I have an almost infinite supply of blanks that are already exactly the right size to make scrolled chains--but they're hickory. Could I scroll hickory? What blade would I use?

(Although I've announced my intention to cut chain blanks with a hand saw, I would ask my neighbor to use his table saw on the hickory. It's so hard my axe barely makes a dent in it. OK, I got the axe at Walmart so it's not the sharpest blade ever, but still.)

Thanks!
Mindy

[wood-n-things]

You can scroll hickory but as you have noted it is extremely dense. Would not be my first choice especially for this project. If you decide to cut it I'd use a #7 Skip tooth blade or a #7 fd (flying dutchmen) UR (Ultra reverse). God luck and let us know how it comes out.

[Mindy]

Thanks, Mike. I'll think about that and let you know if I try it. I'm still burning...um, cutting...my way through the snowman tray puzzle. (Forgot tape.) I would like to try the chain, though. Maybe with something a little easier to cut, let alone sand...

[handibunny]

Mindy, hickory also has a very definite grain, which may pull your tools away from the line you're cutting on. Might be a better choice to use something less demanding, at least for the first chain.

[Mindy]

Thanks, Carole. It sounds like I should try something else. I thought of it because I have hundreds of 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" x 12"-ish pieces in my garage. (My neighbor knows an Amish buggy maker who sells us his scraps really cheap; we burn them in our fireplaces and chimineas. Burns hot and clean and smells nice.) But I'm not opposed to hacking up something else. We just did a similar chain project for the carving magazine and those pieces are finished so beautifully that I know I wouldn't be happy if I churned out something ugly just to save myself the effort of cutting a blank.

[DaveVanEss]

Basswood is an Ideal choice! Its the stuff that popcicle sticks are made of. It is fine grained and easy to carve. When I doing carving I make my blanks from it. Basswood also stains well as any kid wold know for eatting a popcicle.

Also it the wood cracks while craving, it can be glued with thin cynoacrilic (super) glue with no glue line visable. I would use Hot Shot Red.

After learning on Basswood and perfecting your techinques you could try a more challedging wood like Hickory, Jatoba, , or Purple Heart.

Dave

[Mindy]

Thanks, Dave!

[sawdustus]

I made 2 projects out of hickory and it is a bear to cut. It's used for baseball bats for a reason! #7 ST blades are the minimum size I would use and then you will go through a lot of them.

george

[lucky788scroller]

I guess my thoughts are different than the majority here.. but I think if you get a nice straight grained hickory blank with no knots in it, you shouldnt have any trouble cutting the wooden chains in it once your neighbor preps the blank for you (cuts the 4 corners like in step one ). For the majority of your cutting on the scrollsaw you will be cutting through a thickness of 1/2 inch, and 1/2 inch thick hickory cuts beautifully in my opinion. You will have a few places where you are cutting through the complete 1 1/2 inch thickness, but not a lot. I would try it in a heartbeat. As for blade, I would use a #5 or a #7 flying D Polar blade.
Perhaps one day we can talk a trade, maybe a bunch of your hickory blanks for something special from WI?????

[Mindy]

Food for thought. Thanks, Dale. And I'm absolutely willing to trade you some hickory. E-mail me and we'll work a deal.

[lakeside]

Hickory - Pecan

Well if you do not know better it works. JC, Mary and Joesph along with the lamp/sheppard are cut from Pecan using the FD #5UR.

As Mike said - let the blade do the work. Hickory and pecan in Texas are both the same hardness for my experience. If the chain is done - it will last. That wood is very stable. And it finishes out beautifully with tounge oil.

go for it