New Scroll sawer looking for wood samples

[Gary Buck]

Hello,
My name is Gary and am new to scroll saw art. My first project was cutting out the Grandkids names, which came out very well. From there I did a sea bird and painted it instead of using exotic woods. My next project will include exotic woods and am interested in finding where I can get samples at a reasonable cost. I don'[t want to invest too much at this time but would like to experiment with A) how different woods cuts, B) how different woods look, C) how different woods stain and D) is it really worth it to to use different woods or paint/ stain them. I know these are simple questions, but am just starting out & trying to teach myself. Thanks in advance for any information. I live in Rochester, NY. Also if anyone knows of any clubs I can join would be appreciated . Thanks.

[Gary Buck]

I've included photos of the two projects.
283246
283247

[Wayne Lovell]

You might call around to wood suppliers in your area and see if any of them sell shorts or split ends of boards. One of the Woodcraft stores in Houston has a bin of shorts etc. I have bought a lot of them cheap. The Woodcraft stores in the Dallas / Ft.Worth area don't sell their cutoff's so I would call your local suppliers before I wasted the gas to go look.

[michael nicholson]

Gary,
Welcome to the forum. Woodcraft is a good place to look at different woods for color, grain, etc. There is one listed in Rochester on their website.
I always keep an eye out on trash days for discarded furniture, especially dresser drawers. The bottoms are usually 1/4" ply and sides are 3/8 to 1/2", fronts 3/4 to 1 1/4". I have found mahogany, cherry, maple, oak and pine.
I use poplar for projects that I paint. I like maple or cherry to scroll and finish with shellac or waterlox.
I made reference boards (pine, maple, oak, etc) that I tested different stains on to get a rough idea how they would look.
Here is a link to Steve Good's (http://scrollsawworkshop.blogspot.com/) website. He has some good video's and lots of free patterns
Scrolling is a fun hobby, I hope you enjoy it.

[Gary Buck]

Thanks for the tips especially discarded furniture. Definitely not new to dumpster diving so no problem there. I will definitely check out Woodcraft also. Scrolling is like stained glass which I did a while ago. I have some ideas to incorporate glass and wood. Thanks again for the helpful advice.

[Gary Buck]

Thanks Wayne. I will definitely check them out. I will also peruse the internet and send for samples, too. Thanks again.

[Jim Underwood]

Check with millwork and cabinet shops for offcuts and drops they will discount or give away. I work in a cabinet shop and there's a lot of scrap that we just can't use. If we kept it we'd soon be buried in it.