Scrollsaw Wood Fractals

January 10, 2025

While making math-art on a computer screen is fun, sometimes you want an art piece that will hang on a wall. I've printed my fractal images on photo paper, aluminum panels, and canvas, but this time I decided to try something different. I took a fractal pattern, went into its code to split apart each layer separately, then converted those layers into a pattern to be cut from wood. Here's the result.

Fractal pattern cut from wood layers

Combining my love for computer-generated math art and for woodworking, I cut the pattern entirely by hand on a scroll saw. It was painted using diluted acrylic paint to act like a colored wood stain.

The original fractal looked like this:

Fractal image used to create scroll saw pattern

I also created a smaller version, partly as a prototype.

$Smaller fractal pattern cut from wood layers$

If you're a scroll-sawer, or are willing to tinker with the SVG pattern to work it with a laser cutter or CNC, you can purchase the patterns in my store: large pattern and small pattern.

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