Cutting Luan

[Makingtoothpicks]

Does anyone have any experience using Luan for doing relief. About .250 deep. I would mate it to some MDF to give it some body. The Luan would be 1/4 and mate it to 1/4 MDF . I would also use this for doing etching.I would seal it first with shellac .

Thank You
Don

[zeeway]

My experience with luan is that it is soft and splinters easily, which are not good characteristics for carving.

Angie

[Makingtoothpicks]

Thank you. I think I have a scrap piece laying about I will test.

Don

[adze_cnc]

Don,

I'll second zeeway's notes about 3D carving lauan.

My thoughts on lauan are:

- 2.5mm doorskin: best used for skinning doors (although see image)
- 1/4" lauan (with or without poplar core): could be acceptable for 2D if you take care
- thicker: not so bad for cut-through shapes but cheaper panels can have huge voids, inclusions, and skins that splinter or run-away tear horribly

A stack-laminated half-sphere cut out of lauan I did once would have looked better if I had used a chainsaw.

Steven

1/8" down-cut spiral bit for pockets