I'm with Pete, what ever I have laying around. I have cut mini birdhouses out of Maple, Birch, Cherry, Mahogany, Pine, Walnut, spruce, Red Oak, Alder and even Cocobolo, Redheart, Yellowheart and Puurpleheart, all without burning! The trick is applying clear packing tape to all sides of the blank and using the right blade. For these I use an FD Polar #5 or #7. The Polar blades have a slight set to the teeth that help clear the sawdust from the curf, which helps when cutting thick wood.