Lettering with a router
Sakari Aaltonen
registration plates.) I looked at templates for painting, but
they were rather expensive, while limited to one typeface, size,
thickness etc. So I painted (almost) freehand with, let's say,
not very good results.
Later, I remembered seeing a person somewhere (store demo?)
doing letters and numbers with a router, *freehand*. But when
I think about it, it seems just about impossible. Certainly
I myself cannot do anything freehand with a router.
Is it something that can be learned in less than, say, 10 years?
Or is there a trick?
Sakari Aaltonen
DB
words you want at the size you need in a font that you like and print it
out.
Paste it to the piece of wood you want to route.
Wait for the glue (wallpaper paste) to dry or it will clog up your router.
Follow the letters.
When finished - soak the wood for 20 mins in warm water and rub away the
paper.
Result beautifully routed wording.
Tell your friends it was done freehand!!!
PS - practise on piece of scrap timber first!!!!
"Sakari Aaltonen" <sak...@cc.hut.fi> wrote in message
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P.C.
"DB" <pop...@handbag.com> skrev i en meddelelse
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> The way I did it was to use a computer to print on a piece of paper the
> words you want at the size you need in a font that you like and print it
> out.
>
> Paste it to the piece of wood you want to route.
>
> Wait for the glue (wallpaper paste) to dry or it will clog up your router.
>
> Follow the letters.
>
> When finished - soak the wood for 20 mins in warm water and rub away the
> paper.
>
> Result beautifully routed wording.
>
> Tell your friends it was done freehand!!!
>
> PS - practise on piece of scrap timber first!!!!
Sorry about my bad english .
Now Please don't se this as I just brag ,but Il'l place a photo at the bottom
that show how you can have almost any CNC router "write" any letter.
But I rather ansver the most important question about if it is possible
free-hand to move a router . First you shuld not use a router before you know
the most basic thing ; that if you force a router forverts it will force itself
to one side while the router bit work material in the direction you force it but
behind that there are no material ,so the direction the engine run ,will force
the router the opposite direction.
To complicatet ; then allways think like this ; moving ahead the land allway's
must be on the left side of the router, ------ if you suddenly need to pull the
router against yorself, the land need to be on the opposide side. Now when
there are a safe land the router will stay up along the land edge and this could
be a plank put on with two clamps.
Then all you do as you anyway proberly use a pointet bit, ---- is to somwhere as
calos as you can, place a plank edge, so you can se that when you dive the
router, it will force itself up along the plank edge ,while being moved along
the letter. This mean a lot of re-clamping and a bit trouble with round
letters, but if you get the feel, even free-hand round letters are possible.
If not ---- and please let me echo DB's advise with a few test pieces , you can
mount a round "copy-flange" that most hand held routers can be fittet with ; one
that is a short tube around the router bit. If you saw the letters in as thick
MDF or ply as the copy device allow , this "copy-tube" will fit within the
letters you cut with the jigsaw , and if what I write is not to complicatet ,
you can proberly se ,that you acturly just need one halve of the hollow letter
template , as the natural force of the router, will force the copy tube along
one edge only , ---------- then you just once and for all, need to understand
what direction the router bit will force.
Anyway it's just like with a one proeleeor boat, that when you reverse ,the aft
will swing in one direction ; with the router you use the same force to move the
router very precice, but if you forget that this is how to use a hand held
router, then you are not the one who decide where the bit cut.
The idear about printing are allright, but Il'l hand you a nice trick with that
; in the old day's painters when painting decor and letters ,made a drawing on
stiff paper and then with a needle they punchered a lot of small holes in the
paper where the decor was drawn. Then a rough piece of cloth with chalk powder
would place enough chalk thru each hole ,to transfrer the decor or letters. When
the paper are placed ,you could today use some graffiti spray paint .
Anyway here I go brag about 3D routering my name into my big Stanley plane;
http://makeashorterlink.com/?C67E12231
This was easy with a small Roland 2.5 D CNC. router and can proberly be made in
a lot of different workshops, where there are a 3D Router.
P.C.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Cyber-Boat/
P.C.
Hi.
"P.C." <per.c...@privat.dk> skrev i en meddelelse
news:3d25b258$0$12672$edfa...@dspool01.news.tele.dk...
> Hi.
Sorry I forgot to tell a very handy trick ;
If you anyway print the letters and want to use a router with a tube copy device
round the bit , you can offset the letters with a CAD program. This way you can
make very precice router templates , and as hand held routers are ment to be
used with a land or a copy devise and not "free-hand" , you at the same time
find out a very handy way to router whatever you need, by simply offsetting the
distance of the copy device ; this box are made from templates produced this way
,and they fittet with 1/10 mm.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?K59F26E11
So this work with other issues than just letters.
P.C.
http://d1o111.dk.telia.net/~u139600113/a
Brian
routering systems in the advertisements. I'm pretty sure I saw one or more
in the Veritas catalog for example...not sure you could adapt them for
painting instead of routering, but if your 'plate' is separate from the
boat, you may be able to route very shallow and then wipe paint into the
letters. Or you can do what a lot of people do, and order computer
generated vinyl lettering. Looks great and stays on as far as I can
tell...I just put some one my son's boat. I couldn't find someone to paint
the lettering on, and I'm hopeless with that kind of thing. A friend in
Santa Barbara knows a woman there who does hand painting of lettering and
had his boat done by her...wonderful work too. Keep looking!
Brian
--
- Remove the uppercase NS' characters from my email address
"Sakari Aaltonen" <sak...@cc.hut.fi> wrote in message
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Adam Szczurowski
Sakari Aaltonen
DB <pop...@handbag.com> wrote:
>
>Follow the letters.
>
Yes - this is precisely what I find so hard. I tried some freehand
routing with my first router some years ago, but gave up very
quickly.
There must be something you know that I don't. Which kind of bit
do you use?
Thank you,
Sakari Aaltonen
Sakari Aaltonen
P.C. <per.c...@privat.dk> wrote:
> If you saw the letters in as thick
>MDF or ply as the copy device allow , this "copy-tube" will fit within the
>letters you cut with the jigsaw
I think you mean what are called "copy rings" here. But that's
not freehand routing...
>This was easy with a small Roland 2.5 D CNC. router and can proberly be made in
>a lot of different workshops, where there are a 3D Router.
A CNC router would certainly be very nice to have...:-)
Sakari Aaltonen
P.C.
"Sakari Aaltonen" <sak...@cc.hut.fi> skrev i en meddelelse
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Knowing the power and the rotasion of the router bit, you can control a router
,if you check not to force the router. Yuo will know how much the router drag
sideverts when moved forverts with this or that much force, ---------- with the
tip of your fingers.
Still holding the bit same place or advancing to slow dull the bit , so driving
,you need where to reach, it's getting there that's the trouble ;))
CNC are very accurate , and like plotters they carry text fonds but they can
also provide a frameset for building the boat for the nameplate ;))
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Cyber-Boat-longboat/
P.C.
Stevej
produce it with.
Lettering is a branch of Graphic Design...which is an Art.
The highest quality carved wood lettering is still done with a flat hand
chisel.
A router may be used to speed the work, but the "carved" look of
lettering cannot
be easily achieved with a router.
Regarding painting letters on your boat, here is a trick.
Make the letters on paper on your computer.
Smear chalk or graphite on the back of the paper.
Tape the paper to the surface.
Draw over the edges of the letters with a pen.
Remove the paper. The lines transfer to the surface as with carbon
paper.
Paint in the letters.
For painting, use a special lettering brush called a quill.
Use sign paint...One Shot brand works best.
To much trouble??
Try this.
Have your local sign shop cut an adhesive backed masking stencil on
their computer.
Apply the stencil to the surface.
Paint over the stencil.
Remove the stencil material...VOILA!
SteveJ
Sakari Aaltonen
>...........
>Have your local sign shop cut an adhesive backed masking stencil on
>their computer.
>Apply the stencil to the surface.
>Paint over the stencil.
>Remove the stencil material...VOILA!
>
>SteveJ
I did something similar by writing the registration number as a
PostScript file and printing it on transparencies, the kind you
use with overhead projectors. I then cut out the black characters
and taped the transparencies to the plate (painted white), then
brushed on black paint through the holes in the transparencies.
This would have worked, had the transparencies been stiffer. As
it was, they *curled* and the edges of the characters ended up uneven.
OK - from a distance (5 meters/yards?) they look all right.
As to sign shops - I feel a homebuilt boat should have homebuilt
registration plates...:-)
Sakari Aaltonen
Mark Holden
control than a large one; also, shallow cuts are easier than deep ones.
have you tried a 1/4 inch cutter at 1/4" depth? with care and practice, you
might succeed.
having said that, I avoid freehand routering like the plague anywhere that
will show...
regards, Mark Holden
"Sakari Aaltonen" <sak...@cc.hut.fi> wrote in message
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P.C.
"Mark Holden" <m.ho...@chello.nl> skrev i en meddelelse
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> I don't think anyone's mentioned that a small router bit is much easier to
> control than a large one; also, shallow cuts are easier than deep ones.
> have you tried a 1/4 inch cutter at 1/4" depth? with care and practice, you
> might succeed.
> having said that, I avoid freehand routering like the plague anywhere that
> will show...
> regards, Mark Holden
You are quite right ; best is to use both hands and make a land the right
side,clamp a stop block ,---------- check the router will go from one end of the
markings to the other , check you tighed the clamps , and do this for each line
in each letter.
Then you either rename the boat ,so there are no round letters or build up the
round letters with small pieces and paint it over after filler ;))
( well , ---- it can be paintet letters even they are routered and a background
with wood around look nice) .
Anyway ; you are right that esp. poverfull routers can acturly be dangarous with
big bits.
And esp. if you don't know the trick about routers ,that they will force
themself left when pushed forverts.
P.C.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pavilions/
stevej
it has a low tack adhesive on one side, is inexpensive, and you can see through
it.
That's what I use.
Personally, I would just lay the letters out with a grease pencil directly on
the surface and letter tham by hand with a brush and oil base enamel paint.