Routing letters into wood.

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Routing letters into wood.

Postby swizz » Thu Aug 18, 2005 6:15 pm

:x A bit off topic this I know, but the answer might be useful to another builder so here goes...

See pic below - my mate owns the trailer below to tow behind his Jago Geep kit car - its made from the body of an accident damaged one.

At a show last weekend we had enquiries for replica's although most were thinking along the lines of rescaling it to sit on there own trailers chassis.
So, the solution we came up with was to build a new body from exterior grade MDF (compressed wood fibres impregnated with resin) which is easy to cut & sand, and has a surface & endgrain suitable for painting.

The only bugbear is the back panel with the 'Jago' logo. On the bodyshells, the panel is raised of the surface about 3/8", with the lettering sunk back in the same amount.
Our proposed solution was to fabricate the raised panel from 3/8" MDF with the curved edges & logo 'routed' in. The panel could then simply be stuck onto the trailer with adhesive & painted.

The problem is the letters - i've searched the web for templates, but all seem to be too small and in a basic typeface. Has any of you done anything similar with a router or had success making their own templates?
Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers,
Swizz...

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Postby mikeschn » Thu Aug 18, 2005 6:24 pm

Yea, the answer is easy... Cut the letters on a cnc machine...

Here's an example of something I started playing with a couple weeks ago...

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Postby swizz » Thu Aug 18, 2005 6:33 pm

:D Cheers Mike!
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Postby mikeschn » Thu Aug 18, 2005 6:38 pm

Can you draw those letters in a 2D cad program like qcad?

Or can you take a photo looking directly at the back, and then tell me how tall and how wide the entire Jago logo is? Oh yea, you better tell me how tall and wide the raised portion of the back end is too.

If Andrew could trace the photo, I could probably cut them.

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Postby gman » Thu Aug 18, 2005 6:48 pm

Why not just trace the one you have, make a template, then a router jig and have at it?
Junk is something you've kept for years
And throw away three weeks before you need it.
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Postby swizz » Thu Aug 18, 2005 6:51 pm

:cry: Trouble is Mike, i'm in the UK!
What i'll probably do is find a local furniture manufacturer & ask one of the lads if they could do it on the QT!
Thanks for the kind offer though, its much appreciated.
Yours,
Swizz...
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Postby swizz » Thu Aug 18, 2005 6:53 pm

In fact now you mention it - their is a kitchen unit manufacturer i've bought from in nearby Oldham who route unit doors.
I'll make enquiries...
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Postby mikeschn » Thu Aug 18, 2005 6:58 pm

swizz wrote:In fact now you mention it - their is a kitchen unit manufacturer i've bought from in nearby Oldham who route unit doors.
I'll make enquiries...


There ya go... Where there's a will, there's a way...

Hmmm we need some new cliche's! :lol:

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Postby swizz » Thu Aug 18, 2005 7:10 pm

Image

Ok, Mike don't tell Buford, just airfreight his trailer my way when he's not looking. Stick a Jago panel on the hatch and its mine...
...all miiiiine...
...muuwaawaaawaaaaaawaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Sorry! Its getting late over here, think I need some sleep.
:wacky
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Postby mikeschn » Thu Aug 18, 2005 7:31 pm

Oh you've got grasshopper fever... not a problem... It's really easy to cure... Just refer to my weekender page... You'll end up with something like this...

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Postby IraRat » Fri Aug 19, 2005 7:31 am

I'm a little confused--if someone could send you the font, would that help? I'm on a Mac, so if you can use a Mac font, let me know and I'll look at my library. I have thousands.

Problem is, sometimes, these are custom-designed fonts. My guess is it isn't.
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Postby swizz » Fri Aug 19, 2005 9:36 am

Cheers,
i'm running Windows/MS Works/Adobe Photoshop so I don't know whether they can take Mac fonts. However, can Macs save images as JPEG's or as an Adobe file?
An alternative I suppose is just drawing it out on a drawing board with a bit of trial & error.
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Postby IraRat » Fri Aug 19, 2005 10:23 am

I can do the whole thing in Photoshop. This afternoon, I'll start looking for it.
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