What is the best way to attach your paper scroll saw pattern to your wood besides tracing it? I have heard of using carpet tape. Are there any better ways?
Michael Dresdner: Yep. Buy a can of 3M 77 spray adhesive. Spray the back side of the paper and wait until it gets tacky, then stick it down onto the wood. When you are done cutting, peel it off. If there is any glue residue, wash it off with mineral spirits or naphtha.
Rick White: There are a variety of ways to afix the pattern to the wood, e.g. double-sided tape, spray adhesive, etc. But then you have the issue of getting the adhesive off the wood. Though I haven’t tried it, I’ve heard you can make a copy of the pattern on a copy machine and then put the copy face down on the wood. Run a hot iron over the paper (without igniting it) and it will transfer some of the ink from the pattern to the wood. In fact, Patrick Spielman has written about this process often in his books and articles on scrollsawing, so I’m pretty sure it would work.
Ian Kirby: You could use photo dry mount film. It may be more difficult to get the pattern off than to get it on, but maybe you could put it on the underside of the work and just leave it on. Talk to a photo shop about it. Spray adhesive would be another possibility and you can wash off any residue with thinner.
