Replies

1. 
   papanick | Jan 23, 2006 11:02pm | #1

   Depends where they're coming from.

   I've had good results with a pounce wheel, or by scribing through the pattern (if it's single use).

   For letters or some other shapes, I print them backwards on my Laser printer and iron them onto the wood.

   A lot of other times, you have to use an awl or something to get the key points, and then draw the rest in by hand.

   A lot of times, it doesn't really matter, since you cut the pattern away pretty quickly once you start.

   The older I get, the better I was....

1. 
   Jimma | Jan 23, 2006 11:54pm | #2

   Thanks, Papa! I guess you've figured out how to get those letters backwards on your computer. It would sure save a lot of time, even if they didn't transfer all that completely onto the wood. So -- how do you get 'em backwards? (I don't have a laser printer, but I do have a laser copier.)

1. 
   papanick | Jan 24, 2006 12:24am | #3

   When you print, there's sometimes (often) an option to print backwards or mirrored.

   MS Word doesn't do it automatically. Sometimes if I have to, I'll make a mirrored PDF and print that. Otherwise, you have to resort to transparencies.The older I get, the better I was....

1. 
   Jimma | Jan 24, 2006 12:43am | #4

   OK, I'll look around for how to make it work. I'm a Mac user, but I have Word for the Mac and may also be able to use other software. I guess I just never thought about doing it before. Anyway, thanks for the suggestion. It's the kind of information I was hoping to get. Jim

1. 
   pzgren | Jan 25, 2006 02:22am | #6

   One way you can get the letters reversed is to save them as a .jpg or another graphics format, and then do a horizontal flip on the pic in your draw/paint/photo software or in powerpoint. The you can print them out "backward."

   Edited 1/24/2006 6:24 pm ET by pzgren

2. 
   Jimma | Jan 26, 2006 06:09pm | #7

   Haven't been able to follow your "horizontal flip" suggestion as yet, but am going to keep trying. I've tried three of my software programs and none has worked so far. Maybe I'm just too damn old for this? Ha! Will let you know... Jim

3. 
   pzgren | Jan 28, 2006 04:49am | #8

   If you have powerpoint, open a new blank slide and select WordArt; type your letters in, with the style and size you want. When you've got your letters typed, select the WordArt object and then go to the drawing menu and do a horizontal flip. That will reverse the letters to "backward."BTW, I'm also a Mac user. (Great joke: What does "IBM" stand for? I Bought McIntosh!)James

4. 
   withthegrain | Feb 06, 2006 07:51pm | #14

   Not sure if this method has been mentioned yet. Most art supply stores sell a graphite paper that is like carbon paper but it leaves pencil like lines(graphite). I usually pin the paper down with the pattern on top of it and then outline the pattern. Looks like I just drew the pattern straight onto the wood using a pencil.

   Dennis

2. 
   stantheman | Jan 24, 2006 04:18am | #5

   Jimma

   Not my idea but saw it in a recent tips column in ww magazine.  there is a kind of self-sticking transparent plastic food-wrap whihc will stick pretty tightly to wood.  You can write on it with a marker and then stick it to the workpiece.  Worked in the phots anyway.  I've been using graphite transfer paper from the hobby store. 

3. 
   jacki2 | Jan 28, 2006 09:14pm | #9

   A cheaper way to transfer your design is draw it on paper, then turn the paper over and shade the back of the image area with a graphite stick, making your own carbon paper. A graphite stick is about a half of an inch wide by a quarter inch thick and about 3" long. It is fast, although you still have to trace over the design to transfer. Graphite sticks are available where they sell art supplies. You could also use a carpenter's pencil or any soft lead pencil, but this takes longer.

1. 
   Jimma | Jan 28, 2006 11:53pm | #10

   Thanks to all of you for responding. I'm just back from the art supply store with a brand new (as far as I know) way to transfer type to the workpiece. It's a marker-like pen that you rub on the back side of the paper after flipping the image and printing it on the "front" side of the paper. You just lay the paper down on the workpiece, image side down, and rub over it. The pen has some kind of fluid in it that passes through the paper and carries the image with it onto the workpiece. Then you just carve the letters away as always, but no tracing required. When I've tried it I'll post the details. Thanks for all your suggestions.

4. 
   woodman1549 | Feb 01, 2006 02:39am | #11

   Hi Jimma 3M makes a a spray adhesive that u u spray on a photocopy and just cut it out.

1. 
   Jimma | Feb 01, 2006 04:26am | #12

   I have some, but that's not really a high-tech solution. I was wondering if anybody had a novel way to do it.

5. 
   MrWilson | Feb 01, 2006 08:05pm | #13

   Here's one way to get the text to print backwards:

    

   -Open the Windows Paint app. (Usually in Accessories)

   -Select 'Text' from left hand tool bar (A)

   -Type in the text you want.

   -Size the box.

   -Highlight your text, then:

   -Select the font and font size from the floating fonts tool bar

   -Select Image from the menu bar at top then:

   -Select Flip/Rotate

   -Select Flip Horizontal

   -Print the page on a laser printer

   -At this point you can iron the back of the page to make a transfer.

   Hope this helps

    

6. 
   Miami | Feb 12, 2006 10:05pm | #15

   Once you have the image reversed, and starting with either a photocopy or a laser-printer page (same technology), I have found that I can get a much better transfer by using Citra-sel instead of an iron.  (I'm not 100% sure of the spelling, I finally found it in a hardware store.  No other citrus cleaners that I found locally worked -- I stood in the markets with my test photocopies, spraying with each brand, one by one.)  I remember doing this during a woodworking class I was taking, it got lots of oooohs and ahhhhs, and even the teachers took notes!

   Something in the cleanser releases the 'ink' from the paper, and it leaves a sharp, crisp image on the wood - much more ink seems to get transferred this way than with an iron.  The images transfer so crisply that I have used it not just for patterns and carving and jigs and such, but for permanent decoration, and sprayed shellac right over it.  Just lay the paper image-down and spray the BACK of the paper with the solvent.  Someone told me that xylene will also work, but that's nasty stuff, if I recall.  A Google search for 'image transfer' and 'citrus' will probably reveal a lot of info.

   Haven't tried it with color copies yet, though I'm told it also works, just takes a little longer.  And, someone told me that the cheaper the paper you start with, the better the result.  I guess it makes some sense that some cheaper paper might not grip onto the image as well.

   Here's a link to a couple of artist's pieces done with this technique, on birch panels.

   http://www.lolabrown.com/artists/cindybennett/images/05.jpg

   http://www.lolabrown.com/artists/cindybennett/images/06.jpg

   Good luck!

   Clay

   
   

   ---

   Edited 2/12/2006 2:10 pm ET by Miami

1. 
   Jimma | Feb 12, 2006 11:15pm | #16

   Interesting! Thanks for the info. I'll definitely give the process some attention when I'm through with a current project in which I'm tracing letters that are about 10 inches high onto a basswood glued-up panel with incised letters. It's a long story, but when I'm done I'll post pictures. Meanwhile, the reversing of letters on my computer is on hold. I followed your instructions, but got to certain step (can't remember exactly what it was just now) after which things wouldn't continue. I'm sure I just left out something. Meanwhile, the project goes on with the old way of doing letters. I notice Nora Hall does the same thing, by the way, not having been apprenticed to a traditional European carver with a computer probably. I appreciate your help. Do you live in Miami? I was raised there.

1. 
   Miami | Feb 13, 2006 01:09am | #17

   "Do you live in Miami? I was raised there."

   Yep, I'm in Miami (well, Miami Beach) 

   (Brrrrrrrrr!   55 degrees today, South Beach is utterly empty!  Visitors just arrived from Myrtle Beach, and they are NOT happy.)

   What part of town are you from?

   Clay

   PS - It wasn't me with the 'reversing' directions - I haven't tried that yet -- all my images have been reversible, and I haven't tackled lettering.  One favorite was an image of brain coral - I put it on the wood, then carved the hills-and-valleys appropriately -- came out with a pretty nice pattern-texture!  Certainly once you have it as an 'image,' Irfanview or Picasa or any photo program will do a horizontal flip.  I like those photos-on-wood I linked above, but I can see how the method could get tacky pretty quickly in the wrong hands.

1. 
   Jimma | Feb 13, 2006 02:16am | #18

   I'm in Maitland next to Orlando. Grew up on the west side of the Gables. There's a freeze warning for us tonight. I work on a Mac, so not all the ways to flip images are approprate. But that's more of a down-the-road issue at the moment as I mentioned above. I don't really like that image-on-wood effect, by the way, although I'm sure it has its place. What strikes me as a goal to reach for is designing and making art nouveau carvings. That's next!