Turnlock Signcrafter

[Randy Davidson]

Anybody used the Turnlock Signcrafter for routing names or such in a woodworking project? I am looking for something to personalize Christmas projects for my grankids. I see Rockler has it for a reasonable price and I'm not looking to spend a lot of dollars on something I will just use only very occasionally.

Randy

[Bob Childress]

Bought it but not used it yet. Got pretty good reviews. Good price. I'll be interested to see what others say.

[Joe Unni]

Bought it. Returned it. Seemed pretty flimsy.

I suspect for the occasional use it would be fine.

-joe

[Randy Davidson]

Are there any options out there that I'm not aware of. I didn't want to puchase somethng I use once or twice and toss. But, on the other hand I don't want to spend a bundle on such an occasional tool.

Randy

[Chris Christopher]

I have used mine, maybe, five or six times--Somewhat flimsy, limited flexibility for letter size, type etc -- but has worked well for the occasional use--Don't think I would want to have to use it every day.

[glenn bradley]

What Bob said.

[Gary McKown]

I have the equivalent - Milescraft - for use with PC guide bushings. Used it to rout some name/house number signs for family. As stated, both the rails and clamping devices are of fairly flimsy construction, so I used additional clamps and a *lot* of extra shims to stabilize it.

The letter templates that came with mine (1½" and 2½" high) leave imperfections for complex letters like Xs - not too noticeable from a distance but doesn't look so good on close inspection.

Doing short/narrow signs requires routing on a longer/wider board then milling afterwards.

Maybe you could just freehand rout the names on your presents, or use a router pantograph to trace from a template?