Walnut

[lonepine]

Hello, Was scrolling some 3/4" walnut for a friend. He was making small stools, with fancy legs. I had a #3 reverse skip tooth in the saw, wasn't good. Switched to a # 5 that burned to. Went to a # 7 that was better. After that had to sand all edges. Never worked with walnut to that extent. Any suggestions...didn't want to go too big on the blades. The pattern wasn't all that fancy just inside and outside curves, no internal cuts. It was a family heirloom from the 1900's.Thanks Bob

[bearfretworks]

Lonepine,

A #7 sounds about right for 3/4 walnut. I'll use a #5 scroll reverse or Polar blade on small, tight internal frets, but a #7 for simple curves, and even a #9 for straight lines. Clear packaging tape works to reduce burning. I've also had the occasional piece of walnut that cut like stone and resisted everything. Sounds like a fun project.

[urband]

Hi Bob,
I just finished making four of John Nelson's hot plates (SSW #21) in 3/4" walnut. The cutting was fairly intricate for that thickness.

I tried several blades including #5 double tooth, #5 skip with reverse teeth, and a #9 modified geometry. They all did a good job, although the #9 had trouble turning corners. The best blade was the #5 double tooth. It gave me excellent control and I was able to cut at a good rate. I also tried a #5 regular tooth for a short time which cause some burning and moved through the wood in a jerky manner. I don't think it was able to clear the sawdust from the kerf fast enough.

The finish wasn't glass smooth for any of the blades, but it was certainly smooth enough, and there weren't any teeth marks.

Dan