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I am a semi-pro photographer and I frame my photos with mat board. Would like to know if anyone has used a scroll saw to cut designs in a mat board and if so, what size/type blade would you use?
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Last edited by joevm; 07-09-2012, 11:42 AM. -
I'm not a photographer, nor have I ever used mat board, but I'll take a stab at this one anyway.
From what I know about mat board, compared to wood or plywood, it would be pretty soft and offer little resistance to a blade, so I would probably use the smallest, least aggressive blade I had. The most common would be a 2/0 reverse tooth blade. This would allow you to easily cut very fine detail, but may be a little more difficult to follow long straight lines than a larger blade. If the design wasn't all that intricate or detailed, then a larger blade, perhaps a #3 reverse tooth, would work well, but would be somewhat more aggressive, thus a little harder to control, so you will want to turn the speed down (presuming the saw is variable speed) pretty low.
Hope this helps.Homer : "Oh, and how is education supposed to make me feel smarter. Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain." -
I might give the Flying Dutchmen superior puzzle blade a try. It is very small and not very aggressive."Still Montana Mike"
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I am not sure how soft it is because when you cut it with a knife it has a nice cleanfinish.
I would put a backer under it for support and give it a shot with you favorite blade that gives you the best finish. I think being a cardboard base it will kill the blades.Rolf
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I use a matt cutter. Straight lines or ovals only. I am interested to see how you do with a scroll saw since a matt cut to match elements in the picture might be interesting. Holding a bevel might be a challenge.Comment
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I have cut some paper before--not too detailed an image--but had very good luck with the puzzle blade previously mentioned and when I was doing stacks of stuff (3/4" of copy paper for a school project) I got by with a FD#3 Ultra Reverse.
I might try using a sacrificial piece of think cardboard or even thin plywood on top and bottom to reduce fuzzies and give a little better control.Jim
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My thought would be the same as Jim's. Sandwich the mat between two pieces of something solid like plywood or hardboard.Comment
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