Everything came through as one compound path - I released the compound paths and it actually cut line by line, like I was hoping (I also changed the strokes on the rows, columns and border, so I could order them separately)! The other generator I used creates compound paths out of line segments - and the Glowforge picks up on this (from the SVG code) and it sporadically jumps around.
Moderately unique (and it also has some options to play with). I don’t know how much uniqueness you’ll get out of a generator, honestly. I think it would work quite well for smaller piece counts/easier puzzles.
Ultimately, from a design stand point, hand drawn is going to get you further along from a uniqueness perspective than generated. It’s just significantly more work.
It would. I don’t have a stand-alone ruler/square/straight edge large enough though the sheets I buy are 35x46”. And the x-acto will definitely work - it is basically the same thing as the straight-edge cutter. The straight-edge cutter just uses a standard razor blade.
The circular saw produced edges that weren’t as nice as with the mat cutter - but I also had the blade a bit deep, IIRC. While this isn’t real important - I use the cut sheet as a jig against the left rail of the crumbtray. So having a clean, flat edge just makes it easier for me to know that it’s squared up to the rail well.
The mat cutter works well to hold the piece because it has the bottom rail to keep one location and then the guide bar that swings down on the material helps hold it in place. I don’t have a great set up for holding the material in place using a circular saw.
A panel saw set up might be nice for doing stuff like this. Or, what would be really nice is just having a frame to drop the material into that used a large die and would just be done with the sheet
I have the same size stock I use but I use a wallboard aluminum T-square that’s 4’ long. They’re not that expensive and store flat.
I also use a rotary cutter because I get a better cut than when I use a utility knife or xacto but that’s because my fine motor skills in keeping the blade tight against the straightedge aren’t as good as when I was more coordinated
Cutting the thick stuff like that, it’s very hard to keep the blade aligned to the edge. A rotary cutter would be perfect. I use my rotary to trim pieces for other purposes. Now I wonder if I could find a rotary that could ride the mat cutter rail… hmm.
I already had the mat cutter so it wasn’t an additional expense to me. A long t-square like you mention would definitely be cheaper.
this is one of those times where working at an architecture firm has it’s perks. i have a 36" table cutter and a 60" standing rotary cutter available to me. not sure if that rotary is heavy enough to cut the chipboard (but i’m going to test that). i’ve definitely cut heavy illustration board on the table cutter.
Thank you for all the help on cutting the chipboard. I’m a 90-year old known as the “Pilot Error Guy”.
Now collecting the materials needed for a try at photo-jigsaw puzzling. I found a site that makes templates for boxes of most any shape: https://www.templatemaker.nl/ Plan to use a rectangular box for the puzzle parts. Now if I can figure out how to use the Pass Through for some larger puzzles …
If you make a pair of holes the shape of a hold down pin and break off the head they can be a key that each cut can make two more holes 11" down from the ones above. The result is not perfect but as close as you might get presently. I tend to make things that overlap but are not connected so I get tight packing and less waste. But millimeter accuracy is not needed.
the sheets I buy are 35x46”. And the x-acto will definitely work - it is basically the same thing as the straight-edge cutter. The straight-edge cutter just uses a standard razor blade.
