SplinterGroup commented about 1 hour ago new InkScape can do proper 2D shrinking I believe. I know that with the stuff I do if they are closed shapes, I can set up for an offset distance from the path, either inside or outside.
Have you tried a vibrating tumbler? Seems a quick way to rid of the loose burnt remains.
Once I have an image converted to vector (Corel has a good version) I can scale up/down by either length or % without detail loss (characteristic of vectors)... Most of my puzzles start of as full size and where practical, they get miniaturised to about 50mm for mass production.
Never considered a vibrator... wouldn't that round off the sides/edges as well as removing the burns.
Usually it's not an issue to remove as long as I keep the frame it was cut out of. When it comes to material, I try to be frugal and seldom leave more than a 1mm border... I need around 30-50mm to make sanding easy... I then just have to either not lift the sander when finished or sand without the shopvac... should start using the drum sander... just hate swapping out my normal 80/120G usually on the drum with 180/240G.
If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD
