Kris Martinson

These are terrific.

Here's a trick that I have used. Have someone hold the page of your book down very flat, then take a digital photograph of it.

I just tweeked your picture. I haven't cut this one. This is what yours would look like if back-lit.

I have often thought about posting my patterns. The only reason that I don't is that I am considering publishing a book of my patterns some day.The only thing keeping me from that is possible copyright infringements from the original pictures.

Looks like a very well-done project. Congratulations. Thanks for the tips on cutting. Have you thought about back-lighting this one? It might make it really pop.

About 20 hours to cut. Another hour for pattern design.

Here is my latest scroll saw wood art piece. Street Musicians in New Orleans(?). 11" x 14" This one took a LONG time to cut. From a painting by John Carroll Doyle called "Maintaining The Soul".

Great cutting of a great TV personality. Nice work.

Thanks for your kind comments. This is from a painting, and I don't have any information about the subject.

Y'all know that I can't get enough of the Old West themed pictures. Here's my latest. Pattern and cutting by me. Pegas 2/0 Spiral blades, 1/4" Baltic Ply, 8x10".

By far, what I wish that I had known as a newbie is that there is an incredible wealth of helpful information, tutorials, patterns and amazing, helpful people right here in Scroll Saw Village. I mean, really, everything you need to get going and keep going is all here. My best advice...explore this website! Then get a piece of plywood and start cutting. Don't forget to ask questions on here whenever you need help. You will get great answers by skilled crafts men and women.

Great job with pattern and cutting. I think your pattern captured the spirit of the man perfectly.

As far as I know, you should be able to "scale" your image to any size. The usual restriction comes from your printer. To scale your image, use the tool bar in GIMP. Click “Image” from the GIMP toolbar. Click “Scale Image”. In the pop-up window, put in the number 300 in “X resolution”, then click the little chain next to it on the right so the chain is connected. Next to the upper “Pixels” box, click the down arrow and choose “Inches”. Put in the width you want your pattern to be, then click the little chain next to it so the chain is not connected. In the lower "Pixels" box put in the height you want it to be. Then click “Scale” at the bottom of this window. If the image is now too large for your screen, click on “View” on the toolbar and choose “Zoom”, then choose “fit image to window".

Glad to help. I hope it works well for you.

Please see my reply to heppnerguy.

Please see my reply to heppnerguy.

Please see my reply to heppnerguy.

USING GIMP 2 TO MAKE SCROLL SAW PATTERNS Here is the method that I have been using with GIMP 2 to create most of my scroll saw patterns. It takes time and patience and practice. But it is well worth it, and it becomes easier as you do it repeatedly. 1. It helps to choose a photo with fairly high contrast. I often use the photo editing software built into my Windows operating system to improve the contrast of a photo, before I begin with GIMP. Then save it to a file you can access easily. 2. Open GIMP 2 and click “File” in upper left corner. Click “Open” from the drop-down menu. 3. Navigate to the file containing your photo and select it. Click “Open” at the bottom right corner. [If a pop-up window with “Convert to RGB working space?” opens up, click on “convert”.] 4. Click “Image” from the GIMP toolbar. Click “Scale Image”. In the pop-up window, put in the number 300 in “X resolution”, then click the little chain next to it on the right so the chain is connected. Next to the upper “Pixels” box, click the down arrow and choose “Inches”. Put in the width you want your pattern to be, then click the little chain next to it so the chain is connected. Then click “Scale” at the bottom of this window. If the image is now too large for your screen, click on “View” on the toolbar and choose “Zoom”, then choose “fit image to window". 5. Now that your photo is sized correctly, click “Colors” on the GIMP toolbar, then click “Desaturate”. Then click OK on the pop-up window that opens. This will make your photo black and white. 5a. Click on "Filters" on the upper toolbar. Then click on "Artistic" then "Cartoon" from the successive dropdown menus. Set Mask Radius at 50 and set Percent Black at 0.280. I use these settings to start with, but you can play around with them in the preview window. Then click "Apply". 6. Again click “Colors” on the toolbar, then click “Brightness-Contrast”. In the pop-up window, slide the contrast button to the far right. Then slide the brightness button left or right until you get the pattern as close as you can to the way you want it. I usually end up using a brightness in the 90s. 7. Click “OK” at the bottom of the pop-up window. 8. If you want to clean up your pattern, choose the Eraser icon from the toolbox on the left. If you double-click it, it will open a pop-up window where you can adjust the size of the eraser (the size controller is called Scale). Remember that when cutting, you must leave all the parts of wood connected to the “mother board”. The eraser tool lets you adjust your pattern for this requirement by removing “black” areas from the pattern, so that you have NO isolated islands of white that are not connected to the main white pattern background. This is extremely important. This is the step that will take the longest time. Be patient and make it count, and it will produce a good, usable pattern. 9. To print your pattern, click "File" at the top left corner of the main screen and then select “Print”. You can adjust the size of your image print-out by selecting “Image Settings” at the top of the pop-up window. 10. To save your pattern, click "File" at the top left corner of the main screen and then click “Save As”. In the pop-up window, rename your pattern so you won’t replace your original photo, then click the “Save” button twice. Then in the new pop-up window, slide the “Quality” tab to 100, then click “Save”. The pattern will be saved to the file where you kept your original photo, unless you tell it to save it elsewhere.

Do try it again. I know some good shortcuts that I could teach you.

Since I'm now living in KC, and I was already a big Chiefs fan, I felt compelled to cut this one to honor the new Superbowl Champions. About 12 hours of cutting time, and 2 hours of pattern design time. 11 x 14" Baltic birch ply, Pegas 2/0 Spiral blades.

Thanks, Tony. I use GIMP2 program to make all my patterns, and I have some shortcuts that help me make them..

I cut this portrait of my favorite actor today. Fairly simple pattern. This one took me about 3 hours of cutting and 1/2 hour to design pattern. How does that compare with all of you?

I love trains and great scenery. I found this copy of a Super Chief advertisement and knew I had to cut it. Pattern by me (using GIMP2). 11x14" Baltic Birch Ply. Pegas 2/0 spiral blades.

I like all of them. Very nice cutting on some delicate patterns.