scroll saw patterns

[dltccf]

I have been looking today at some of the many scroll saw patterns available on the web and was thinking I would like to try some and see how they come out. I imported a couple after applying a gaussian blur with radius 2 which seems to clean them up nicely and then placed them on a board, selected pierced and height of 999. It looks like something that will probably come out but take a lot of cleaning up afterward. I tried the cutout tool, but the results didn't look like they would come out as well.

Surely someone else has tried this already, any advice before I start making sawdust?

dave

[Dan-Woodman]

dave
It's my understanding , thats where the DXF software will help. I think you can take a line drawing and turn it into a cutout or line drawn vector paths.
later Daniel

[bjbethke]

I have been looking today at some of the many scroll saw patterns available on the web and was thinking I would like to try some and see how they come out. I imported a couple after applying a gaussian blur with radius 2 which seems to clean them up nicely and then placed them on a board, selected pierced and height of 999. It looks like something that will probably come out but take a lot of cleaning up afterward. I tried the cutout tool, but the results didn't look like they would come out as well.

Surely someone else has tried this already, any advice before I start making sawdust?

dave

There are several posts on the CW forum on how to use Scroll Saw Patterns with the CW unit.

If you do not have the DXF program, you can use the ai2mpc program. Both work great, make the pattern files with CorelDraw or Illustrator if you use ai2mpc you need to save the pattern in an AI-version 8 format.

To make puzzles I use the 60 degree “V” bit and cut out the lines with my Scroll Saw. The CW 1/16 and 1/8 bits are too large.
Steve Good - has a nice WEB site with download patterns. He works with donations.
http://scrollsawworkshop.blogspot.com/2009/03/tissue-box-cover-scroll-saw-pattern.html (http://scrollsawworkshop.blogspot.com/2009/03/tissue-box-cover-scroll-saw-pattern.html)

[dltccf]

OK, Now I see, What I was doing gives me a raster image, if I want a vector I need to go with AI or CD. I went and took a look at Illustrator and Corel Draw. As neither is inexpensive, is there one that you would recommend over the other? What are the features/drawbacks of each relative to what we want to do with the carvewright?

[bjbethke]

OK, Now I see, What I was doing gives me a raster image, if I want a vector I need to go with AI or CD. I went and took a look at Illustrator and Corel Draw. As neither is inexpensive, is there one that you would recommend over the other? What are the features/drawbacks of each relative to what we want to do with the carvewright?

I have both of those programs, it is hard to say which one is best, and I have used Illustrator and Photoshop for many years with my photo work (I still have my Horseman Press 970). Both programs work great and can save the image in an “ai. Format”

You need a program with a trace function to change a Raster image to a vector image. There is also an “Open Source” program that has a trace function to convert images to a Vector (Inkscape). It will save DXF files but not the “ai. Format”

There is also a program called Vector Magic to change raster to vector.

[dltccf]

Thanks, and BTW those are great pictures. It made me think, one day we will be posting pictures and saying "I still have my old original Carvewright"

[lawrence]

I like corel draw a lot and it makes it very easy to manipulate and then create DXF files for what you are describing

Lawrence