Quote:
Originally Posted by family wagon
Keep in mind when tracing with a spacer like the block of wood that if you're copying anything but a straight line, then you're actually going to get a reduced copy. Envision using the spacer block to trace inside a circle -- the copied circle, while being a perfect match to the original shape, will be smaller by the thickness of the block plus half the thickness of the pencil/pen/marker.
I like to use the block method until my template is "pretty close" and then remove the block and use the pencil alone, perhaps even held so that the tapered/sharpened tip instead of the whole body runs on the tracing surface. The nearer the line is drawn to the surface you're tracing, the less the shrinking effect will be.
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By taping the wooden block to the pencil in a slightly different way you can avoid the shrinking effect.
Take the pencil and a block of wood as thick as the pencil and tape it to the pencil so that it is sticking out width-wise. Now bring the pencil+block up to the bottom of the curve and keep the block horizontal. Trace the curve while always keeping the block horizontal and you will end up with a near perfect curve.