Wood most suited to machining

Assuming no knots, what variety of wood is the most suitable for milling? Easy on the cutter, cleanest result, good detail?

I live in a country with lots of pine, aspen, birch, oak, maple, rowan and juniper.

I’ve cut a lot of cherry hardwood, and have engraved on hard maple - both were very suitable for milling, although I’m not sure if they were the easiest on the cutter (?)

Regarding woods, I would think that the hardness would be correlated to its machinability. Pine is softer, oak is harder - but I’m not sure if it makes a considerable difference.

Check out this image - it may give you some insight

janka hardness scale

I would suggest poplar for decent detail retention and economy pricepoint :wink: You can also soak it with cyanoacrylate super-glue when you’re done and it soaks in well to harden the parts nicely, prior to a final sanding/top-coat.

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Poplar = aspen, I assume :slight_smile: Makes sense, it’s also a very nice wood to carve.

Is it considered a hardwood? Again, trying to figure out the feed and speed settings.