scrollsaw paper patterns

[Dennis Kotlowski]

Does anybody know here if you can scan and convert to a vector in Corel the patterns that you get in the woodworking magazines? I just bought a holiday issue and there are tons of nice ornaments designs but I am unsure if you can convert them to a vector. I am running Corel 12.


Dennis
JD Laser Gifts

[Bruce Volden]

Sure can!! this is what Corel Trace is for.


Bruce

[Kevin Huffman]

Yes you can, you just have to make sure you bitmap/jpeg is a black and white (monochrome) bitmap.

[Joe Pelonio]

And remember that when you run trace on a line you will get two lines, the outlines of the line. One of those will have to be deleted before cutting. Also, you will have to spend some time "cleaning up" the vector artwork before cutting because Corel Trace will not do a perfect job.

[Dennis Kotlowski]

I am having a problem where the lines are real jagged in Corel Trace. Does X3 do a better job without the cleanup?


Dennis

[Bruce Volden]

Dennis,


Once you have things "traced" you save the file as vector. Then open it up in Draw, ungroup the file and start editing the nodes-this is where things "smooth" out. Also I always set to view in wireframe so I can see all the nodes. Keep playing~~~~you're almost there!!!!


Bruce

[Joe Pelonio]

Everyone thinks the X3 version of trace is a lot better than 12, and requires less cleanup time but it's never going to be perfect.

[Tom Majewski]

I've been converting scrollsaw patterns all morning to make a bunch of Christmas gifts. Between scanning and laser ready it takes me about 10 minutes per pic. I found a better way than cleaning out every little dot was to highlight the curves I want to keep, then copy and paste them in a new drawing, leaving the trash behind. Well... it works for me, maybe I'm slow. I'm using Corel Trace.

Here's a scrollsaw pattern I just did today. A fast and dirty assembly and stain to see how it looks so I can make a batch for the local gift shop. A candle lantern about 4x4x6. I glued parchment paper on the insides and will make a copper top.

Tom

[Stanley Waldrup]

Can you tell me more about your method of converting scrollsaw patterns.
Stanley