The Letterville BullBoard: Hand Routing lettering, tips?

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Posted by David Fisher (Member # 107) on :

Scored myself a nice chunk of ironbark for a plaque for the new digs and thought I might route this one rather than letter it by hand.
I've got a choice of either a laminate trimmer or router and not having routed freehand before thought I might ask those in the know for any tips/tricks.
I wasnt going to go to the lengths of making templates except for a design element or two perhaps.
Any good letter styles more suited to this method?
Tricks for consistent curves?
The plan as it stands at the moment is to run the piece through the thicknesser leaving the irregularities on the edge of the plank intact.
Using the laminte trimmer, bulk out the wording in Cooper Black or somthing akin to it, then use a chisel to clean right up to the edge of the letter.
I'm not a huge fan of Cooper but it looks to me that it might be suitable becasue of the serifs.
Any and all advise gratefully accepted.
Thanks,
David

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D.A. & P.M. Fisher Signwriting
Brisbane Australia
da_pmf@yahoo.com

Posted by Richard Deso (Member # 1388) on :

I usally use a large bit first in a hand held router
Then i do the smaller stuff with a smaller bit.
If you can cut out a paint mask to apply over the wood for a template this works good.
When I'm all done the carving I take a torch
and go over where I carved. This burns all the little peices of strayed wood and tightens up the whole thing.
good luck

signs@primelink1.net
Richard Deso
rt 276
Champlain NY USA
518-298-8534

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R.Deso

Posted by Wayne Webb (Member # 1124) on :

David,
Have you considered using a plunge router? They're kind of nice for hand routing.
For me, heavier routers cut more smoothly and are easier to control, especially when cutting across growth rings, knots, etc.

The Cooper would be a good choice as everything is rounded, including the serifs. Curvy fonts like Cooper or Barmeno , to me, don't show little strays of the bit or "bobbles" much as letters with a lot of straight lines like Futura.

I like to use a roundnose bit or straight bit for hand routing. V-bits don't chip corners off letters as easily. Oh, and definitely use good, sharp, carbide bits.

Watch out when cutting to the corner of a letter. They will chip out if you're not careful. Practice makes perfect.

It's been a long time. I haven't done any hand routed signs for a few years, but I have done an awful lot of them. Computers and sandblasters have me spoiled for the moment. That's all I can remember right now though.
Maybe someone can jog my memory a little.

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Wayne Webb
Webb Sign Studio
creators of "woodesigns"
"autograph your work with excellence"
webbsignstudio@digitalexp.com

Posted by Rick Sacks (Member # 379) on :

We apply the vinyl paint mask with the areas to be routed removed. This makes the lines easy to see. We prefer a flat bottomed tip. We also find that going an eigth of an inch deep is usually plenty, but if we need to g deeper we do in incrementally. We often leave the paint mask on after routing and squirt in paint with a mustard bottle, then after the paint is dry we peel the mask and hit the surface with a belt sander and then stain. We try to invoice the customer when they pick up the sign, and also to put the tools away. Dust masks and brooms are needed.

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The SignShop
Mendocino, California
"Where the Redwoods meet the Surf"

Posted by Pierre St.Marie (Member # 1462) on :

The complete answer is very involved and simply requires lots of practice. Rick is right. Cover the substrate with some kind of film, whatever it may be. If you're using a pounce pattern and chalk, then spray the chalk lines with clear from a spray can to preserve it. A basic rule of routing letters and logos is "ALWAYS pull the router towards you, never push into a line you're following." Pulling gives you far more control. Good luck with it..........and PRACTICE! You can do it.

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St.Marie Graphics
& Makin' Tracks Sound Studio
Kalispell, Montana
stmariegraphics@centurytel.net http://www.stmariegraphics.com
800 735-8026
We're chiseling every day of the week! :^)

Posted by Jack Davis (Member # 1408) on :

Just a general router/pattern following tip.... If you will use both hands with all fingers pressed to the substrate and the router steadied between your index fingers and thumbs of both hands, you will get a much steadier cut and less grain hopping. I don't know what Ironbark is, but it dosen't sound too compatible with easy routing. I developed a large plywood French Curve to use as a router fence, that could be clamped to the substrate and moved to different areas as I routed, but found the hands down method and going slow and not stopping to be much faster and better in the longrun. 1/2 inch arbored routers and bits are very much worth the few extra bucks over 1/4 inch ones......Bronzeo

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Jack Davis
1410 Main St
Joplin, MO 64801

Posted by Rick Sacks (Member # 379) on :

Another point to mention is the direction of travel. When yo look at the rotation of your bit, you'll see that if you travel backwards from the bit rotation you'll get more heat, bit dulling, burnt edges, fuzzy cuts, more difficult control, etc. If you look at the computer driven programs, they all know which way to go in cutting an outside path and an inside path. Do you understand this, or does it require more explanation?

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The SignShop
Mendocino, California
"Where the Redwoods meet the Surf"

Posted by Wayne Webb (Member # 1124) on :

Like Rick and Jack say, definitely pay attention to bit rotation, speed, etc. and hold the handles with the thumbs and index fingers. That's the way I did it.

Also, good lighting is a must. I had a Craftsman router with a light built-in to the housing and aimed at the bit. It's a very nice design for hand routing. The only problem was that it was a cheap-made router.
I don't know if any of their industrial-grade routers have the light or not.
But, you can lay a small shoplight on the workbench and aim it towards the work.

One technique that I sometimes used (if your cutting the letters in) was to first cut out the edges with a 1/4'' roundnose bit and then install a 1/2'' roundnose bit.
Holding the router firmly in both hands, let the bit worm or dance it's way around at random within the lettering. Once again, hold firmly

Sounds a little dangerous but it's not if you're careful not to hit the edges of the letters. I don't know if I invented this or not but it makes an interesting looking chiseled out effect in a very short time.

I also rigged a chip evacuator with a shopvac and some pvc pipe to keep chips out of the way.
Have fun

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Wayne Webb
Webb Sign Studio
creators of "woodesigns"
"autograph your work with excellence"
webbsignstudio@digitalexp.com

Posted by Dave Sherby (Member # 698) on :

I developed a method that works great for the straight cuts.

The first thing I did was make a rectangular plexi router base to replace the round one. This gives you a long straight edge and keeps the router from tipping down off the edge of a wide letter. Then I made a spacer out of thin scrap paneling. PVC would work great too. The spacer can be any length but I found around a foot long was the easiest to use. Clamp a straight edge to a bench, then clamp the spacer against the fence. With the long router base on the router, run the router along the straight edge. This cuts the spacer so that its width is exactly the distance between the router bit and the router base. Mark the side of the router that always goes next to the fence as the other side may be a different distance from the bit. I made a spacer for each size router bit I use. Then make another rectangle that is perfectly parallel and attach a strip of medium grit sandpaper to one side. This is your guide and the sandpaper keeps it from slipping. For the verticle straight cuts on letters such as T's, H's etc., simply line up the spacer tight against your cut line, butt the guide up against the spacer, set the spacer aside. Being careful not to nudge the guide, I start the straight cut into the letter. A medium amount of pressure (I'm right handed so I use my left hand on the guide and my right hand on the router) is all thats needed to keep the guide from moving. I move the router up against the guide then pull the straight stroke. I find its easiest to cut all the verticles on the same side of an entire line of letters, then move around to the other side of the board and do all the opposite verticles. Then I go in and freehand all the curves, then clean out all the centers. A helper really makes this go fast. The helper sets and holds the guide while the other person does all the routing, but with a little practice, it's easy for one person to make perfect straight cuts.

On a long line of letters I sometimes cut all the horizontal cuts with one long straight edge clamped to the sign using the spacer to make sure the straight edge is the proper distance and parallel.

One side note: I have never tried using my 3 HP plunge router for this. It is way too tall and heavy for one handed routing. My 1 1/2 HP Porter Cable is easy to control.

Another thing that sped this up was I made a wood base to set the router in. It has a lip of wood all the way around to hold the router, and a large oversize hole in the center. I made it thick enough so that when the router is in this base, the bit will not touch the surface that the base is sitting on. I got to where I could leave the router running, set the guide, pick up the router with one hand while holding down the guide with the other, tip the base so one end touches the sign, then lower the router bit into the wood, snug up the router base against the guide, then pull the stroke. I would imagine this would really be slick with a D handle router.

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Dave Sherby
"Sandman"
SherWood Sign & Graphic Design
Crystal Falls, MI 49920
906-875-6201
ICQ: 21604027
sherwood@up.net

Posted by Gregg Harbison (Member # 1226) on :

Mighty nice information contained in the above posts and I learned even more about routing. The one thing that I can add to what I know about this subject is...YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST HAVE HEARING PROTECTION when using ANY type router! Get the best available and protect your gift of hearing!

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Gregg Harbison
Signs 'n Stripes
615 West St.
McComb, MS 39648

Posted by Jim Upchurch (Member # 209) on :

And eye protection. I use a polycarbonate face mask. The job sounds like it is definitely a candidate for a mansized router. I'll second the opinion on a large plunge router. I would also steer clear of Crapsman power tools, although their hand tools are pretty good.

If it was me I would make a masonite template, especially if you have some nice wood. I did this with some dense synthetic wood ( some kind of resin plastic ) for park benches. It worked like a dream. It will add some time, but to practice freehanding, you will have more time involved with less desireable results.

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"hooked on fonix"
Olympia WA

Posted by Don Coplen (Member # 127) on :

i don't know if i can describe my routing technique well enough to make sense..haven't been around anybody else that routs letters, so it's likely to be pretty unorthodox, but the results are great. the following is a lame attempt at describing the technique i use to rout incised letters. the same technique works fine for straight bottom lettering too, except to use a flat bottom straight bit instead of a v bit.

i use a 3 1/2 HP plunge router. very important to make sure that the plunge posts move smoothly and easily, and i spray the posts with WD40 to assure this. i typically use 30 and 45 degree v-bits. carbide tipped is a must!

after either laying out the letters with pencil or using a spray mask (reverse weeded), which by the way, is the preferred way to do it..i set the maximum depth of cut by plunging into a point in the lettering that is the widest and setting the router depth when the bit cut touches both sides of the letter at that point.

more often than not, the typestyle will include straight cuts in many of the letters. i set the depth for those cuts and then plunge and pull all the straight constant lines in the sign first.

for the thick and thin typestyles, i will set the maximum depth of the letters and then plunge into them, starting shallow, then plunging steadily deeper as the letter widens, then letting up on the downward pressure as the stroke becomes thinner.

i hold the router by cupping my (large) hands around the base and using my thumbs to pull down and let up on the plunge pressure. this gives me maximum control of the bit, and since the base is about 6 inches diameter, the bit is a safe distance from my hands.

now that i'm sure that i've got you totally confused (this is alot easier to show than to put into words), i'll end by tellin you a little secret bout the ear protection. i use the headphone style ear protectors...and put those little "earbud headphones" connected to a portable cd player , one earbud placed in each side of the ear protector...playing some relaxing music while routing is a great help to making a decent routed sign.

if you can put a finger on which part of this is most confusing, let me know and i'll try to explain it better

(this is the edited part) i just read this post and sorry to say, i sure am glad that i didn't have to decypher something like this to learn how to rout. it really needs pics to make sense of it, and i don't have any.

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Don Coplen aka "SaintPete"
Coplen Designs
St.Petersburg, FL dcoplen@mindspring.com

13.7¢ a day to support this site that does so much for so many? Count me in! Another proud supporter of this great site and all it stands for!

[This message has been edited by Don Coplen (edited December 21, 2000).]

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