RE: transfering parts from plan to wood
Steve,
One method I’ve used is to trace the parts you plan to cutout onto paper then, using a spray-on adhesive, attach the template to the wood. 3M makes a good spray-on adhesive that can be removed usefully. Sometimes I leave the paper template attached to the wood and using centerlines, etc. help in positioning the parts. Of course remember to remove the paper template where a wood-to-wood glue bond is required.
An option to tracing the parts directly from the plans is to scan the plans to generate an electronic file and then print the parts and complete the process using the above described procedure. If you use this method, scanning, first check to see if there are any distortions introduced by either the scanning or printing process. Generally, I prefer the tracing method if I’m using a paper plan.
Laser cut parts is a good option if you have purchased a design where a “kit cutter” has access to cad drawings or a usable graphic image of the parts. Otherwise you or someone will have to produce these files. I’ve also produce my own cad drawings by measuring the paper plan. I think that’s the best method but not a very quick one.
I’m sure others here can offer some other methods.
Miles.