Jim, that is a beautifully executed work of art. I have done a number of Sheila Landry's plaques and they are so well designed.
I have avoided oak as, early on, I found that with 3/8" thick stock it was more inclined to break at those critically thin "drop-out bridges". I have settled on cherry but in doing so the cost of the work has ramped up. I suspect that early-on in scrolling, my rather ham-fisted technique was more the problem than the wood......
By the way, I played around with designing a plaque featuring the Bretons Fisherman's Prayer and could not come up with a design that pleased me. I sent the text to their website and Keith came up with this:
As a Naval Aviator catapulted off the ship in a blue water (no land in sight horizon-to-horizon and no land within reach of your fuel capacity) I experienced first hand the sobering reality behind that piece.
Keep cutting!!!!!
Bruce