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Transfer Pattern to Wood
Transferring your pattern to the wood you intend to cut is a key skill for even the beginner scroll sawer. So lets look at a few objectives before we actually discuss the options for pattern transfer.
- Retain the original pattern:
Whatever we do we don't want to destroy the only copy we have of this particular pattern or if we create firewood with one wrong cut we'll have no back up plan.
So, at the very least the pattern transfer technique you choose must leave the original pattern in some form so it can be reused in the case of an emergency.
- What ever method we use must create clean clear lines.
Many cheap patterns and especially ones from a magazine are printed in grey-blue ink and do NOT photo copy well. Thus when you actually get down to the cutting it is hard to see the line and this can lead to significant eye strain.
You can also find some patterns where the lines are so thick that you can't decide where exactly on the line you should be cutting.
If you are creating sophisticated geometric patterns where precision is obvious, cutting lines that waver from one side of the stroke to the other will NOT result in the quality of work that you wish.
In both of these cases it is almost easier to trace with paper and a stylus to recreate clean dark "THIN" lines than to try and guess in the scrolling process where exactly you should be cutting. Copying and pasting a pattern to the surface may be faster but not necessarily give you the precision you are looking for.
- Exact Sizing?
In most portraiture work the exact size of the pattern piece is not critical, BUT if you are cutting pieces of balsa wood for a model aircraft or thin strips to create an elaborate 3D clock or intarsia cat, then it is best that you know photocopy machines do NOT always recreate copies that are the EXACT same size as the original.
Thus if exact measurements are important, check! Measure the size of the copy against the size of the original to verify it is what you need.
If you are doing an intarsia picture the exact size is rarely critical, BUT ALL PIECES must be larger or smaller than the original or they won't fit together... so make all the copies you need at the same time with the same photocopier and they should all turn out to be proportionally larger or smaller by the same amount.
In the next article we'll touch on a few tips for using the old traditional carbon paper and tracing method so read on...
More Information:
Learn more, read our other scroll saw tips and information articles on just about anything related to scrolling and woodworking in general.
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