Downloading images for laser engraving

[Woodchip Wilbur]

I'm making a Mah Jong set for my daughter. The box is well on the way (not as highly carved as our own Chinese one!) using some Indian Rosewood from an old table top.
The tiles are all cut (made out of Castello "boxwood"). They need some fininshing but of course they also need to be engraved. A job for my little laser toy.

But I have failed utterly to find any decent (preferably vector) images of the Mah Jong characters without entering into a monthly subscription plan. I've found reasonable-looking .jpg files, but they are all too fuzzy to produce a good, clean print with the laser. All I want to do is to download a decent set of images. I'm happy to pay a reasonable fee but I don't want to lock myself (or risk locking myself) into some iniquitous monthly fee.

It may be that my best bet will be to take a series of close-up photos of my own set. Is there a better way to do it?

 

[akirk]

something like this should work:
https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/...343942-247266900?phrase=mahjong character setyou may need to change colours / ungroup / etc. but as vectors they should engrave really well.
1 credit needed
https://www.istockphoto.com/plans-and-pricing1 credit = £7 - you can buy credits ad-hoc without needing a subscription

 

[Woodchip Wilbur]

Thanks for that! I downloaded that file (other similaar-looking ones on the same site didn't seem to offer a one-off option) - and set to. Then - sadly - SWMBO said, "but that one's different from ours - and that one - and that one..."

So I've set to after all and photographed our set and I'm now sorting out each picture, one by one. It may be that this becomes a late Christmas present!

 

[akirk]

well - you can never predict the reaction!
hope it all works out and look forward to seeing a picture of the final game

 

[Fireburst]

https://www.vecteezy.com/free-vector/mahjong
any good?

 

[Chief Sawdust Maker]

Hi

I use this online programme a lot to convert jpg's to vectors

https://www.adobe.com/express/feature/image/convert/jpg-to-svg

 

[Woodchip Wilbur]

Hi

I use this online programme a lot to convert jpg's to vectors

https://www.adobe.com/express/feature/image/convert/jpg-to-svg

That looks useful, thanks!
I've (reasonably successfully) burned about half of the tiles - BUT my little laser is, I think, not powerful enough to engrave deeply enough to accept the acrylic colouring I want. This project had to go on hold for a bit (temperature in the workshop among other things!) but I think that a beefier laser may be coming when Officer Commanding House isn't watching...

 

[Ollie78]

@WoodchipWilbur
Bit late on this one but just in case it's useful.
Look at Vector magic, I use it for the sort of thing you are doing. You can buy the desktop version or subscribe to it for one month at a time, its about 8 quid a month and you can cancel anytime.
It is the best method ( I have found so far) of converting images into vectors, superior to the one built in to vcarve pro.

Ollie

 

[Woodchip Wilbur]

That's useful, thanks! This whole project has had to go on hold for a bit. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has deemed that a more powerdul laser doesn't yet fit a budget that is a bit stretched this year by Golden Wedding celebrations. (Though se was planning on spending rather more than that on a new camera for me - which was not high on my list of priorities!) All this info is squirrelled away for future reference...

(Meanwhile... has anyone come across a situation like this:
Daughter: I want a planter like this (picture supplied) for the new garden, but I really can't justify the £55 it costs. Could you make me one?
Doting father: Of course, dear! (No other response is, in the end, acceptable)
Doting father draws and works out cutting list then visits British Hardwoods, just down the road.
British Hardwoods, helpful as ever provide elm to suit.
And a bill for £188.00)

 

[Lefley]

That's useful, thanks! This whole project has had to go on hold for a bit. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has deemed that a more powerdul laser doesn't yet fit a budget that is a bit stretched this year by Golden Wedding celebrations. (Though se was planning on spending rather more than that on a new camera for me - which was not high on my list of priorities!) All this info is squirrelled away for future reference...

(Meanwhile... has anyone come across a situation like this:
Daughter: I want a planter like this (picture supplied) for the new garden, but I really can't justify the £55 it costs. Could you make me one?
Doting father: Of course, dear! (No other response is, in the end, acceptable)
Doting father draws and works out cutting list then visits British Hardwoods, just down the road.
British Hardwoods, helpful as ever provide elm to suit.
And a bill for £188.00)

Buy the £55 one , sign the bottom and give it to her!

 

[Woodchip Wilbur]

Bit late! It's almost made - and I have, actually, delighted in a nice, staightforward bit of woodworking which is resulting in something that's going to give her (and me!) significant pleasure.

 

[Sachakins]

Try inkscape or gimp which is a free powerful image editor. Had great success imprting images, then use the trace function which allows to alter the curves automatically, by preference or individually.
Worth learning if you gonna di it often.