Made a Big Mistake Today!!

[Okie]

Went to Lowes to pick up some stain and also bought a stick of 2" X 2" Red Oak. I had a idea of making a mini bird house like I saw some place.
I knew Oak was hard but didn't realize it was that hard. I started with a #3 blade and had smoke coming out of the cut, then changed to a #5 and it did a little better but still wasn't a pleasurable experience. I did get the project done but it took a lot of sanding (Which was tough also) to get rid of the burn marks.
Anyone need the left over stick of Red Oak. LOL
Paul (Okie)

[jowshu98]

Did you try using either clear packing tape or blue painter's tape? Either of these should help, the other thing would be to slow down your speed. If that doesn't work you can feel free to send it to me .

[Okie]

I didn't use any tape, I just layed it out onto the wood. I did slow the speed way down. It seemed to work better if I would cut a little wayse and then back up and then cut some more. Drop by the house and you can have the stick of wood. LOL

[Ron Standley]

I have used spiral blades on tough wood. They work but forget anything resembling a straight cut.

[NC Scroller]

I have used a lot of RO for scrollsaw work though none for bird houses. I would recommend a few things:

- Use a #7 blade or larger
- Cover the wood (top and bottom) with clear packing tape.
- SLOW DOWN your blade speed and feed rate.

[martzy]

I use red oak a lot and really like the look of it. Only time it burns is when I am trying to cut a bowl. Packing tape helps with that.

[Bill Wilson]

I'm presuming these are compound cut mini birdhouses? If so, cutting that 2" thick red oak is definitely a challenge for a #3 blade. The thing with compound cutting is that it's harder for the sawdust to make it's way out of the kerf, so a small, fine tooth blade, will struggle to make the cut, especially if it happens to be a reverse tooth.

Perhaps a skip tooth blade, maybe a #5 or so would work better. It clears the sawdust more effectively, resulting in less heat build up. Granted, red oak probably wouldn't be my first choice for compound cut projects, but it shouldn't be a total loss. Don't throw that stick away yet.

[ROBaUSA]

When I cut oak I use a 2.0 spiral blade. The thin kerf cuts much easier than the thick blades.

Rob

[Okie]

Never thought about using a spiral blade, I'll give that a try and I will hang on to the rest of it until I figure out a way to do something with it.