# A pair of routed signs....



## L Town Graphics (May 24, 2012)

These were both done with a plunge router on pine. Black spray paint and finish on the lighter sign is a spray polyurethane the darker is a painted beir premium stain and sealer. Please feel free to share your thoughts. These are the first two signs I have ever done and my first experience with a router.


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## wbh1963 (Oct 11, 2011)

Dan,

They are both genuinely impressive work, even more so given you did them with a plunge router (as opposed to a CNC computer driven super router). 

The free flowing script in the one for the lodge is spectacular!

I am certainly not knocking CNC (or similar platforms) and dream of picking one up some day to do signs with.


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## L Town Graphics (May 24, 2012)

wbh1963 said:


> Dan,
> 
> They are both genuinely impressive work, even more so given you did them with a plunge router (as opposed to a CNC computer driven super router).
> 
> ...


Thanks Bill! The Lodge sign I created in october or november as a vinyl graphic with a woodgrain fill. I like this one more for sure because of the authentic woodgrain.


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## wbh1963 (Oct 11, 2011)

L Town Graphics said:


> Thanks Bill! The Lodge sign I created in october or november as a vinyl graphic with a woodgrain fill. I like this one more for sure because of the authentic woodgrain.


I have so much appreciation for the way wood looks, preservation is the central goal when it comes to applying chemical finishes, especially if it's something I created for my own use.

Perhaps my favorite wood to work with is Western Redcedar. Low cost, being generally easy to work with (it is too soft for a lot of routing applications though, particularly dovetailing and finger joints) and resistance to decay are incredible. Any hows, that came up because I really like the look of the color spectrum on a plank where sapwood meets heartwood and cream transitions to brown.

The snap shots I included don't really do it justice, but they show the white to pink to brown process...they are different ends of the same 3.5" x 16" board, one end smoothed out a little with a jack plane, the other just as it left the mill.


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## Stevo62 (Jan 25, 2012)

Those are awesome, good job.


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## PawPawRay (Apr 5, 2009)

Love your hunting scene sign. What size bit did you use for that detail?


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## twallace (Jan 15, 2012)

Excellent , they look soooo professional


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## flockshot (Mar 15, 2012)

These are very nice and I would like to learn the process. What resources would you recomend I go to in order to learn how to make high quality signs like these.


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## mgmine (Jan 16, 2012)

I wish I could make a sign that looks that good using a pen and paper!


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## jsears (Apr 5, 2012)

L Town Graphics said:


> These are the first two signs I have ever done and my first experience with a router.


Very nice work. But I question that these are your _first_ signs, and your _first_ experiences with a router.


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## Bradleytavares (Feb 25, 2012)

Wery nice looking. How much time is invested in each one? Keep up the good work.


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## L Town Graphics (May 24, 2012)

PawPawRay said:


> Love your hunting scene sign. What size bit did you use for that detail?


I used a 1/4" v groove and adjusted the depth of the cut based on how thick or thin the lines were. the body of the duck and the lettering are the deepest. Some of the thin lines in the deer are very shallow.


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## L Town Graphics (May 24, 2012)

Ok there are alot of posts I would like to reply to here so I will try and touch on a few of them since it would take to long to quote each response. As far as the start up and questioning my first two signs. I make a vinyl stencil and lay it on the piece of wood I am using (similar to making a vinyl graphic). Once it's on I hit the larger areas first and work my way to the smallest areas. So I guess as far as start up the cheapest way would be to get a plotter and software, $150ish a roll of vinyl is very cheap and you can find free fonts and clipart all over the Internet. As far as the amount of time the L Town sign took about 4-5 hours between routing, cutting the shape out (I used a jig saw), sanding and finishing. The camp sign took a little longer about 6 hours
I have attached a stencil so you guys can see what I mean.


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## Desertcarver (Aug 27, 2011)

Very nice job


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## john880 (Aug 18, 2010)

Hi there Dan,
Since I to am now into making hand routed signs also, so with that experience yours look pretty darn good. Very very good indeed.
Before I ask you a couple of questions let me explain my method & why I had to chose it.

Now in order for me to follow just inside the outer edges (no matter the design) with a grove, I had to made a rudimentary pin router. Attached/centered its base to my Incra's fence. Now not a over head router, as some here also call a pin router, but a pin above/ over head. The pin following a traced pattern made from the actual board less the width of desired design less the edges width .The pattern of this design cut from the plastic with tin snips. Made from this thin over the wall shower wall plastic sheeting bought from the BBS. With the bit & router below in the table, following the tracing pattern attached & centered on the back side of the board, and guided/ following the centered pin above to the router bit below.
Now Dave, for my curiosity & question,,,,,, I had thought long and hard of trying to find a way of doing the very same method you show that your using, and for the life of me I could not reason out how a router bit turning at 15,000 plus would run along a patterns edge laying there flush/tight to the top of the sign, with out that spinning/cutting bit absoulting destroying that pattern. Even with the addition of a router attached to the based sleeve, two things: the depth of only the sleeve running/ridding against the wood along side of the pattern, raised the base of that router off the structure allowing only the VERY small sleeves edge as a surface guide. The second, was how was I to hand cut a series of letters the size of the OD of that sleeve straight and presentable enough, to allow for the sleeves width. Even if I figured out how to balance out that router going along on the sleeves edges. Then also how was I was going to set that spinning bit accurately into each & every one of the letters in that pattern of that template guide, each & every time down threw that whole description of letters,,,,any one that has made a hand sigh knows the unwavering fact, you screw up from the first to any where to the last, there goes all of the time/material/work on that piece. It now a piece of experience !!!!!
With all of this said in my case, I am more than curious, just how did you get around all of my perceived problems Dave, with your solution in the use of pattern routed sign ????


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## jim_hazel (Aug 7, 2011)

*Thanks for the explanation of the process*

Really nice work. And the explanation was very helpful. Question on the stencils: How do you keep them from shifting? Do you rout through the stencil or use ink or other transfer method? If you glue the stencil on, how do you remove the excess? Are you perhaps doing the routing before cutting the outline (so you can use the excess to hold the stencil)? All my experience with loose templates or patterns has been that the pattern shifts before I am done, requiring constant readjustment/relocation.

Nice, inspirational work!


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## L Town Graphics (May 24, 2012)

jim_hazel said:


> Really nice work. And the explanation was very helpful. Question on the stencils: How do you keep them from shifting? Do you rout through the stencil or use ink or other transfer method? If you glue the stencil on, how do you remove the excess? Are you perhaps doing the routing before cutting the outline (so you can use the excess to hold the stencil)? All my experience with loose templates or patterns has been that the pattern shifts before I am done, requiring constant readjustment/relocation.
> 
> Nice, inspirational work!


My stencil that I am using has a adhesive back to it. I use oracal 651 vinyl which is a 5 year outdoor life. The same stuff most of your bumper and other types of stickers are made from. Once it is on I remove the transfer tape (holds all of the free floating pieces in place) it's ready to be routed. The next sign I make (I have two very simple orders to make I will give you a little step by step on the process I use


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## L Town Graphics (May 24, 2012)

john880 said:


> Hi there Dan,
> Since I to am now into making hand routed signs also, so with that experience yours look pretty darn good. Very very good indeed.
> Before I ask you a couple of questions let me explain my method & why I had to chose it.
> 
> ...


To be honest I'm not really sure I follow what your saying. In a nut shell vinyl stencil, plunge router (bit adjusted to fit the width of the lettering or graphic, and jigsaw to cut it to shape. I seriously do the routing in my yard on a table, two saw horses and a piece of plywood for a table.


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## john880 (Aug 18, 2010)

1. how do you cut your vinyl stencils lettering, edge design/s, characters,graphic/s ?
2. How do you keep that spinning bit as it travels along, away from the sides of your vinyl lettering ?
3. Is your vinyl stencil/lettering tight to the woods surface ?
4. On using your plunge router, how threw all of the process of routing all the letters, do you make sure the bit hits the center of the vinyl opening threw out all of all of the letters ?
5. On following along the edge of a multi curve sign, (INset arcs & out set arcs) how do you hold that router/bit to follow along evenly to the edge of that sign with a grove cut ?


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## L Town Graphics (May 24, 2012)

john880 said:


> 1. how do you cut your vinyl stencils lettering, edge design/s, characters,graphic/s ?
> 2. How do you keep that spinning bit as it travels along, away from the sides of your vinyl lettering ?
> 3. Is your vinyl stencil/lettering tight to the woods surface ?
> 4. On using your plunge router, how threw all of the process of routing all the letters, do you make sure the bit hits the center of the vinyl opening threw out all of all of the letters ?
> 5. On following along the edge of a multi curve sign, (INset arcs & out set arcs) how do you hold that router/bit to follow along evenly to the edge of that sign with a grove cut ?


Got what your saying now,
1. My stencils are cut on a vinyl plotter (I also do vinyl graphics). Design the sign have it cut, weed the parts I do not need and apply application tape so all of the pieces stay together.
2. I take my time, set it as close as I possibly can to that thickness. If its slightly bigger that just means I have to focus more. 
3. The vinyl has an adhesive backing. When I remove it from the paper it sticks to the wood pretty well.
4. I don't start at the very top of each letter. I start as close as I'm comfortable with. When I'm done working from top I flip the sign over and clean the top edges up.
5. Like I said I don't rush through this that's why it takes me probably 4-5 hours to do the inside cutting


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## DMK Wood (Jun 7, 2012)

Nice work!


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