Thread: Making a Wooden sign,- Freehand. WIP

Got yourself well and truely," Hooked by now ? "
Here comes the fascinating bit,- doing the fine engraving detail work,- AND If you consider this to be,' hard, " - there will be several more Free-hand projects here on this site shortly, -
( 1 ) An engraved Bulldog on a Coffee table top for an AFL " Footy Fan "
( 2 ) Shop Sign for Amanda's Gifts & Crystals,- Ardrossan
( 3 ) " DAS SCHULHAUS " - Custom-made sign for an Adelaide Hills client.

I will let the below pictures,' Do the talking. "

Wish you could do likewise ?
I do teach interested people,- see my, "Wooden signs and designs," Ad, on the Members Business, and Services Section for more info.

The lettering, and artwork will be highlighted with White enamel to make the Sign even more distinctive, and eyecatching, before it goes on show outside the Port Vincent,
" Treasures By The Sea," section of, the local Newsagency, and General Store, 6 Main St,- three shops up from the IGA Supermarket, and across the road on the diagonal from the Ventnor Hotel.
Roger

Looking heaps good really like the routored out letters keep up the great work

Great job Roger ..... You seem to maintain a high level of control over the freehand letters. Good use of some old timber also!

You must have a steady hand.

How deep is the engraving?
Do you plunge the bit in when you start each letter, or have you locked the depth on the router and carefully lower the base onto the timber to start each letter?

I have done a few words when I first started routing and the letters were very shaky.

Very well done, and a great choice of timber.

I have tried this a few times and usually end up with the router going out of control somewhere during the process.

Did you consider adding some stain in a slightly darker colour to the routing/engraving before you sanded it off?

Hi everyone. Thank you all for your compliments on my artwork. I have been doing Wooden Signs for about four years now, and my first few were a bit of a Disaster to say the least,- but kept at it, and now find them quite easy to do,- something to do with, " Practice makes perfection," ( or something like that. ). Naturally the bigger the lettering,- the easier it is, ( more room for error / s ), while the smaller lettering can be a real, " Pain in the butt, " at times.
I have two routers,- a BIG Makita which I use for general-purpose routing, and the smaller Trend Router which I leave a 6mm. Straigth Bit in, already pre-set to a 5mm. cutting depth, and simply plunge the router direct into the letter / numeral / shape to be cut out, as I find this to be easier for myself, as don't have to, "fiddle," round with the router settings every time I cut a Sign for a customer.

The little Dremel Moto-Tool in it's Router Base is also pre-set to a 2mm. depth, - any deeper, and I burn the cutting bit !! That is used in the same style as any normal router,- one simply allows for the difference in size of the machine being used !!!!!!

The Wooden Sign is currently being sealed with Five Coats of Marine Varnish, then when dry, the lettering, and artwork will be highlighted with Hi-Gloss White Enamel,- which is what the client has asked for, ( Always do what the customer requests,- If it DON'T work out,- it's their fault,- not yours,- although some people are NOT very,"bright," with their choice of contrasting colours,- they chose it,- they live with it, or pay me more Dollars to fix it !!! )
The completed Sign will be on this thread in about a week's time for everyone to see and comment on. ( It will also be on my Webpage too. )

Roger