Patterns

[RMO]

It's been awhile since I've had a chance to be on this site, but I have what is probably a redundant question. My wife bought me some patterns of fish to carve, should I photo copy these pattens and try to glue them to the block of wood or try to trace the picture on it?????
I've never used patterns for carving before and this is a little weird to me.

[K Karver]

Hi RMO,

I would photocopy and then use rubber cement or one of the spray on glues. Goes much faster than tracing and keeps a clean copy for the next one.

John

[AlArchie]

I'll vote for the photocopy to keep the original crisp and clean, but I prefer tracing the pattern onto the block......just a matter of personal preference, not one method better than the other.

Al

[Nomad]

If you have a scanner, you can scan the images. Then you can crop them to the exact size you want in photo editing software, and print them out. You can also flip the image if you didn't have a right and left side to begin with. I glue graphite paper to them and use that to transfer the image to wood.

[Donna_T]

I would definitely photocopy the patterns to preserve the originals. One of the great things about photocopying is that you can make the pattern larger or smaller with the copier--giving you all sorts of possible sized projects.

Donna_T

[RMO]

Thanks folks. I like the idea of scanning and cropping but I may have to wait for one of the grand kids to come for a visit to get that to work properly.
Can spray glue be picked up at building supply stores?

[AlArchie]

Yes, you can find spray adhesive at most building supply places.

Al

[Claude]

Spray adhesive is also commonly found at craft stores such as Michaels or Hobby Lobby
I use rubber cement to glue a photocopy to the wood then just saw right through the paper to cut out the excess wood. I've tried the spray stuff, but don't care for it as I can't control where all the spray goes and find it all over the workbench, tools, etc. Rubber cement is easy to just brush on and then stick the paper to it.

Claude

[RMO]

Once again thanks folks.