# Router lettering



## Belowe (11 mo ago)

Hi, I'm making a jewelry/music box for my daughter. I was planning on making a template to rout our her initial into the top of the box, but wanted to use the font in her wedding invitations. I was going to make a template out of 1/4" hardboard, but in trying to lay it out I don't think it will work, too much play. There is no way I could do it freehand. Any suggestions or how to make a template? Maybe 3 templates for the different sections of the letter?
Help! I'm stuck.
Thanks !!!


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## Rebelwork Woodworking (Sep 11, 2004)

Router guide bushing..


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## Belowe (11 mo ago)

Rebelwork Woodworking said:


> Router guide bushing..


That's what I was planning on doing, but when drawing out the template it looks like in the areas where the lines are close together there will be no guide for the bushing to run along.


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## John Smith_ (Jan 10, 2020)

make a few practice runs "free-hand" on similar material and you will have a personally engraved initial. (and yes, you CAN do it). What kind of router do you have ?


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Welcome to the forum, Belowe.


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## Belowe (11 mo ago)

Belowe said:


> That's what I was planning on doing, but when drawing out the template it looks like in the areas where the lines are close together there will be no guide for the bushing to run along.





John Smith_ said:


> make a few practice runs "free-hand" on similar material and you will have a personally engraved initial. (and yes, you CAN do it). What kind of router do you have ?


It's a Porter Cable plunge.


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## old55 (Aug 11, 2013)

Welcome to the forum @Belowe


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## Belowe (11 mo ago)

Thanks for the friendly welcomes!


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## Ziegler WoodWork & Spec. (Jan 9, 2019)

Belowe said:


> Hi, I'm making a jewelry/music box for my daughter. I was planning on making a template to rout our her initial into the top of the box, but wanted to use the font in her wedding invitations. I was going to make a template out of 1/4" hardboard, but in trying to lay it out I don't think it will work, too much play. There is no way I could do it freehand. Any suggestions or how to make a template? Maybe 3 templates for the different sections of the letter?
> Help! I'm stuck.
> Thanks !!!
> View attachment 400837


Welcome Belowe,

Have you considered a much smaller hand held palm router? Bosch Pony with VS is much easier to use free hand then such a big router on a small surface. My other suggestion is to get someone with laser and give them the signature and have them laser you out a template that you can follow for a guide. You can use a micro guide bushing and bit and get what you need? Not sure how small they are available but I'm sure someone can add to that?


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## Belowe (11 mo ago)

This lettering is very fine. With my research, now I'm thinking that I may use a dremel with the plunge router base for the wide areas, and an exacto knife for the narrow areas.


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

What is the font used in the wedding invitations? What size bit and what size collar do you want to use?


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Hi, I agree you can do it freehand. We used to have a member here who had a small sign business who did hers freehand. Practice and a small, manageable router is what's required. She used some sort of oil to transfer a reversed printout of the lettering, then used a compact plunge router to limit the depth of cut. You want a double handled plunge base that will limit your depth to just a few mm. You must move it steadily, and you need to practice, practice, practice.

An alternative would be to carve it using a scoop shaped carving tool. It's a one off item, so again, practice using the same material.

I happen to have a Veritas router plane that has an inlay kit. You would scribe the letter shape you transferred to the wood. It has a double blade scribe tool. Then you could use a narrow plane blade to hollow out the lettering. It would give you a flat bottom letter. If you masked the wood, then scribed it, you could paint the letter in, or lay in gold or silver leaf using a smooth stick to rub it into place. Here's a picture of the plane and inlay kit. You could do something similar using an exacto knife to scribe the lettering. 

Third picture is of the Veritas miniature router plane, cheaper, but equally precise. The key is that your scribe cuts must be as close as you can to the depth of the plane's cutter, otherwise you'll get tearout. The Veritas mini comes with a 1/8th inch cutter, the knockoff I found was half the price, but only had 1/4 inch wide cutter. Too wide for lettering. 

Lots of ways to skin this cat, Welcome to the world of "Honey, I need another tool to do this."


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## jdonhowe (Sep 12, 2009)

It's very likely I'm missing something obvious, but if you can play with the font on your computer, I'd try printing a boldface (fat) version of the character, which _hopefully_ would be wide enough to fit a guide bushing. Otherwise, you'd need to carefully draw a bushing-wide character by hand. Paste the character onto a piece of 1/4" hardboard, and use a scroll or coping saw to cut around the outline to create your template. Alternatively, forego the router, and use a wood carving v gouge to make the cuts by hand. Whatever, I'd practice diligently on scrap wood before committing to that beautiful top. Looking forward to seeing the final product. Good luck!


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

I just checked the Veritas miniature router plane, which is made for inlay. Inlay requires cutting a flat bottomed groove precisely the depth of the thickness of the letter. The mini plane has a 1/8th wide cutter and will do exactly what you want to do. You just need to use an exacto knife to cut the outside edges of the font, then use the plane to delicately clear out the the letter. I think the idea of using a full size router for this one off project is not going to work out well without lots of practice runs. I think hand cutting is by far your best bet, and the mini plane is just $43 here:https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/sho...4-veritas-miniature-router-plane?item=05P8201.

Lie-Nielsen also








makes a simpler and really easy to use mini router plane, which is about $95. The plane is more rigid than the Veritas. Small Router Plane - Open Throat

Here's a video that may be helpful.


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## papasombre (Sep 22, 2011)

Belowe said:


> Hi, I'm making a jewelry/music box for my daughter. I was planning on making a template to rout our her initial into the top of the box, but wanted to use the font in her wedding invitations. I was going to make a template out of 1/4" hardboard, but in trying to lay it out I don't think it will work, too much play. There is no way I could do it freehand. Any suggestions or how to make a template? Maybe 3 templates for the different sections of the letter?
> Help! I'm stuck.
> Thanks !!!
> View attachment 400837


Mr. Harrysin has a pdf with a job exactly than yours. He uses a skie set with a trimmer router to make very delicate letters on boxes tops.


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## Rebelwork Woodworking (Sep 11, 2004)

I'm considering buying na Craftsman set of letters/numbers off EBay..


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## TX1234 (Apr 8, 2015)

By far the easiest solution is to find someone with a laser cutter. That way you can go directly from your WORD font to the laser cutter. Where I live, our local library has a laser cutter for free use. In addition, there are several Makerspaces nearby that have laser cutters. You can also contact your local woodworkers club and find someone that might let you use their machine.


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## Stokestack (Jan 28, 2009)

I've been thinking that a 3-D printer could be useful for this kind of thing. If you have a friend with one you could try making a square template with this letter as a hole in the middle. It doesn't need to be solid plastic; with ribbing ("infill") it could be reinforced to resist distortion as you move a Dremel or other small tool around inside the letter shape.


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## vichay (Jan 6, 2022)

I would find a 1/4" thick piece of contrasting hardwood and scroll saw the letters. When the box is done, use e6000 to attach to the box.


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## professori_au (Aug 4, 2011)

Belowe said:


> It's a Porter Cable plunge.


Just a suggestion. If it is for a jewellery box the Porter Cable router would seem to me a little too large for the task. Have you considered e.g. a Dremel with it own small router attachment. I have a very large family of grandchildren and great grand children that I am always making something for. this is the reason I use the Dremel for very small tasks. The Dremel or similar tools you will find a very useful for many tasks that are awkward for the lager tools. Hope this may help.


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## bfblack (May 2, 2012)

As an alternative to router engraving, consider transferring computer generated text directly onto the wood. I have seen a friend do this several times and he gets good results. I have tried it but my success was not as good. Print the text with a laser printer (not dot matrix), lay the paper with text on top of the wood. Put small amount of acetone on your finger and rub the text onto the wood. My friend that does this generally is transferring lines that define the boundary of a template onto wood. Do a lot of practice before trying it on the finished product.


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## mikep32 (Aug 26, 2014)

Belowe said:


> This lettering is very fine. With my research, now I'm thinking that I may use a dremel with the plunge router base for the wide areas, and an exacto knife for the narrow areas.


I agree. You can transfer the image either from a laser print, or old school using carbon paper, at the size you want, directly to the job. I'd use a dremel with router attachment for the broad areas (though I'm not a great fan of the dremel in router mode, at least with the router attachment that came with my dremel) because that way you get consistent depth. Then finish off the fine areas with chisel, knife, or dremel engraving tool. Yes, it's freehand, but practise on a scrap first and you'll do fine. Just don't rush it as it's frustrating to spoil a newly finished piece with a slip. And remember, hand crafted minor flaws are in my view better than machine made perfection. You'll see many references to cnc or laser cutting, but, again in my view, you might just as well buy a piece as use that sort of equipment. 😉


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## Treecher33 (11 mo ago)

Very nice woodwork and your daughter will obviously love it!
Gifts made with your own hands are always twice as nice!


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## jcharbneau (Mar 20, 2014)

Not sure if you've made a decision, but if you know anyone in your woodworking community that has a laser engraver, you can get some amazing precision and the font is only limited by your imagination.

One of the fellows that works at the local Woodcraft; a couple years ago helped me etch a lid for a Bible box for my father-in-law. Came out fantastic and very clean. 

The same gentleman has recently gone further with his efforts for this type of work by cutting the corresponding inlay to fit into the space that was removed. Can't wait to do that to a new box. The results he's shown me so far are quite impressive.

You can see the etching for my father in laws box here ( the lettering on the face only; the interior items I carved out by hand - ok, ok - I used a pony router for some of it  ):









A Bible box for my father-in-law


We decided to get my father-in-law a new larger font Bible for Father’s Day. As we got closer to pulling the trigger, we had the thought to build a nice box for him to be able to keep the Bib…




designs-by-jess.com





Good luck with your project!
Jess


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## Lemuzz (Jul 25, 2008)

Rebelwork Woodworking said:


> Router guide bushing..


Hi Have you considered cutting the letter with a fret saw or similar and glue it on to the lid? It would be easier than trying to rout the letter and possibly making a mess of your hard work


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## old55 (Aug 11, 2013)

Welcome to the forum @Treecher33


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