With the boards surfaced and cut to the same size, we can begin to cut the top board into the desired shape. The difficulty of this project depends mostly on the shape you choose. We chose a particularly difficult shape that has many inside curves that all need to be cut and sanded. Basic shapes are significantly easier to handle. You can draw the desired shape on your panel and cut it with the bandsaw. We have provided many ideas in the design considerations section at the end of this plan. We drew our pattern on the computer and printed it out on a laser printer. A hot iron transfers the printer toner to the wood as shown in the photo on the right. If you have another type of printer, you can make a photocopy and then use the ironing technique. Otherwise, you can tape the pattern to the wood and cut through the lines with a hobby knife and darken the scores with a pencil.

When you are choosing your pattern, keep in mind that you may want to minimize the interior radii to the size of your smallest sanding drum. If you cannot get into those spaces with a power sanding device, the sanding step will be much more time-consuming.