Newbie to routing

[sawl]

Hello all,
I am so new to Routing that I haven't got or even used one! But, I know it is something I want to get into. I am thinking of some signmaking. But I have a small budget (around £50-£60). I have seen the Bosch Router POF 1100 AE 240v for £52 in the sales. Would this be good for sign making? I was thinking of using the router for free hand (style?) work. Would I be better off with a smaller router, the Bosch 500 version maybe? Is there a better make of cheaper Router? How hard is it to make signs/lettering without templates?
Cheers,
Matt

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Matt

The Trend T3 might be a good one.

Accurate freehand routing of lettering is not easy. I mean really not easy.

There are a lot of lettering templates out there though.......

 

[mailee]

Hi Matt, I agree with Tony that your best bet for sign making freehand would be the Trend T3. It is light and small and that is what you will need for this sort of work. Tony is also correct in stating it isn't easy but with a little care and patients it gets easier. Use a small diameter cutter and 'sneak' up to the pencil lines taking very shallow cuts. Also score around the pencil lines as this will then give a crisp edge to the letters. HTH. :wink:

 

[Rich]

Hi Matt, Iv'e never attempted letters but have thought about it and if I do go for it I'm going to buy a laminate trimmer, these are very light and easy to use one handed, you may wish to give this a thought, hth
regards, Rich.

 

[sawl]

Also score around the pencil lines as this will then give a crisp edge to the letters.

Sorry, you mean with a knife? Sort of helping the router to make a cleaner cut?

Matt

 

[mailee]

Hello Matt, yes thats right. If you score around the letters you will find that once the cutter gets 'close' to this line the waste will peel away and you know you have gone far enough. It breaks the fibres in the surface of the timber so giving you a cleaner edge. I have made a lot of signs this way and have to admit they are a nice relaxing job to do. another tip is to hold the router by the base plate and ignore the handles, this way you have more control over the router.
Here is one of the many signs I have made in the past.

 

[gary chambers]

Don't be fooled Mat routing free hand is not easy, you are always better off using a jig or a tempate.
Also I suspect that the photo of the sign above has been done on a cnc and not by hand I have been a cabinet maker for over 20 years and cant do that by hand
Gary

 

[superunknown]

Signs like the one posted by mailee can be done by hand, the one pictured below was done free-hand by myself using a hand held router and finished of by hand using various chisels. Its never been near a cnc machine.

Just take your time, you will have no trouble

 

[mailee]

Ha ha nice one Gary, you should practice more mate. I can assure you it is hand made. I used an Elu 96 for it and have a couple of other pictures of ones I have made. It is easier than you might think once you get to grips with it mate. Patients is a virtue though and taking very shallow cuts is the order of the day. I spent about two hours actually cutting out the letters and probably another couple of hours cleaning up the background. I did in fact have an article in GW on making these too. :wink:

 

[mailee]

Also I suspect that the photo of the sign above has been done on a cnc and not by hand I have been a cabinet maker for over 20 years and cant do that by hand
Gary

Here is the proof of the pudding Gary

I am afraid you will just have to practice your freehand routing mate. :wink:

 

[gary chambers]

OK I stand corrected, but if you were to do these to sell it would take far too long.

 

[gary chambers]

Anyway what’s GW?

 

[mailee]

No problem Gary, yes I agree they do take a long time and are not really something I would make to sell. These are made for friends and are in between jobs that I take on when times are quiet. (Not very often though have to admit) GW is Good Woodworking Magazine. :wink:

 

[r896neo]

Just for humour value i thought i'd mention

Hi Matt, I agree with Tony that........ but with a little care and patients it gets easier. HTH. :wink:

I hope you pay these people well, thats got to hurt

 

[yfs1]

Mailee -

What bit do you use for reversed (raise) lettering? Ive never done a sign with a router before so curious what you used.

Also I suspect that the photo of the sign above has been done on a cnc and not by hand I have been a cabinet maker for over 20 years and cant do that by hand
Gary

Here is the proof of the pudding Gary

I am afraid you will just have to practice your freehand routing mate. :wink:

 

[sawl]

Thanks for the tips and really nice work!! :shock:

What kind of wood is best for these kind of signs? I've read about Redwood on the US sites, Oak for UK? Outside signs that is.

Matt

 

[mailee]

Hi yfs 1, I normally use a small cutter of single flute of around 3mm to outline the letters, then remove the bulk of the waste with a larger diameter one. Of course there are tighter pieces than 3mm so for these I use a craft knife. Once all the letters are cut out I level the background with a chisel used vertical like a scraper. Finally finishing off with sandpaper, a long process as has been mentioned but worth the effort.
As for the timber to use Matt I would recommend hardwood, Oak or Beech is very good for lettering although I have used Mahogany, Ash, and cherry. Any of the outside woods would be good as long as they are close grained for a crisper edge. I have also made signs in Pine or Redwood but the edges tend to feather more as it is very soft.
This is a sign outside of my workshop in Mahogany and it has been there for a couple of years now. HTH. :wink:

 

[sawl]

HTH. :wink:


Thanks for all the info!