Compound Cut Christmas Angels

Each year I make many compound cut Christmas ornaments for sale at the various craft fairs I attend.  Because many of my customers are intrigued about how I make these ornaments, I thought I would document the process I follow to make the angels I sell at the fairs and on my website.

The pattern I use to make the angel is from Diana Thompson’s book entitled Compound Christmas Ornaments for the Scroll Saw.  You will also find instructions and patterns on her website:  www.scrollsawinspirations.com.

The first step in the process is to select and cut to size the wood I will use to make them.  I make the body of the angel out of pine (because it is light weight), and I make the wings out of cherry (because the wings are fragile, and therefore need to be made from a strong hardwood).  The patterns for the body and the wings contain two views; a front view and a side view.

 The photo above shows the pattern for the body attached to the pine stock. One side of the pine stock has the front view of the body, and the adjacent surface has the side view.  A hole is drilled through the stock just outside the pattern lines on each side to allow me to feed the scroll saw blade through the stock.

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This photo shows the stock on the scroll saw ready to be cut.  The blade has been fed through the hole in one side of the stock, and is cutting along the pattern line.  The two pieces of plywood clamped to the stock are used to help stabilize the piece during the cutting process. The magnifying glass is there to help the old man see where he is cutting.

 This photo above is a close-up of the body being cut on the saw.  I must cut completely around the perimeter on each view; front and side.  After the side view has been cut, the cut-out piece must remain in the stock.  Then the stock (with the cutout piece) is rotated and the front view is cut.  Then I remove the two plywood support pieces and cut from the outside of the stock to the perimeter cuts that I had previously made.  I take away the scrap and what remains is the body of the angel cut to the correct shape.

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The two photos above show the front view (actually the back surface in this case, as you can see the groove cut in the neck area for mounting the wings) and side view of the angel body after it has been cut out of the stock.  Sometimes the grain of the wood can create a striking pattern on the body.
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​The wings are cut in the same manner as the body.  The photos above show the pattern attached to the cherry wood.


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I often attach two or three copies of the pattern to the wood to make the process easier, but it does not seem to make it go faster!  

The photos above show the pieces that are left after I have completed cutting both views of the wings, and a close-up of the piece that I will use (the wings).  As you can see from the photo on the left, there is a lot of scrap material (waste) that is produced during this process.

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Now I take the two component parts, glue the wings into the slot cut in the back of the body, and end up with the completed angle.

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I drill a very small hole in the top of the head, and install a small eyelet to allow the customer to hang the angel on the Christmas tree.  Then comes the sanding and finishing.  I usually apply two coats of wipe-on polyurethane, sanding between coats.  I usually will do a few of these angels at one time, and apply the finish to all of them at the same time, so I end up with a “flock” of angels hanging out to dry!
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After all this ​work, I end up with a lot of scrap wood from the process.  Thank God I have friends that burn wood to heat their home, so I give them my scraps for kindling!
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​I hope you have enjoyed my documentation of the process I follow to make these Christmas angels.