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Thread: Routing signs

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    North-central Minnesota
    Posts
    318

    Routing signs

    Hi everyone. I'm finally getting my life back in order after losing my wife of 35 years to cancer back in August of 2013. I was just putting the final touches on my woodworking shop when she became ill, and since that time, I haven't had much ambition to make things. But I'm back in the shop now, and trying something new. I bought the three different sized interlock sign making template sets from Rockler back in early 2013, and just now playing with them for the first time. I tried them out on a piece of cedar, but I'm finding that the cedar is too delicate, and wants to break out on the small details of the letters. Anyone have a favorite species for this? Some pointers? If it matters I'm using a Dewalt variable speed plunge router.

  2. #2
    I've used pretty clear pine, walnut, maple, cherry ,poplar, etc. The router has little influence on the chipping..any router will work. I've used that sign set and it looks good. easy to do with the wizard to help set up the letters and progression of the routing. Have fun
    Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the ground each morning, the devil says, "oh crap she's up!"


    Tolerance is giving every other human being every right that you claim for yourself.

    "What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts are gone, men would die from great loneliness of spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts will happen to man. All things are connected. " Chief Seattle Duwamish Tribe

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    North-central Minnesota
    Posts
    318
    Thank You Michelle! I think I'll try a piece of clear pine.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Red Deer, Alberta
    Posts
    918
    Make sure your bits are sharp! Really sharp, to have less tear out. And some wood will gum them up a bit which doesn't help with the cutting.
    Funny, I don't remember being absent minded...

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Upland CA
    Posts
    5,548
    I like clear redwood.
    Rick Potter

    DIY journeyman,
    FWW wannabe.
    AKA Village Idiot.

  6. #6
    I'm currently making a Cypress sign and have been using a V bit for what I have done so far. I also have the Rockler kit and was planning on doing the numbers with it. Are you saying that the Cypress will chip out? Are you using the recommended Rockler 3/8's bit?
    Earl

  7. #7
    I've done a bunch of signs using Rockler's set. I've used both redwood and mahogany. I left the redwood unfinished and
    it still looks good after 2 years in harsh sun and N. California's monsoon 2017 rainy season. For fancy signs, I use
    mahogany and paint the letters. I then take very light passes with a drum sander to remove extraneous paint and put
    on several coats of varnish. They last forever inside and many years outside.

    I use the bits Rockler specifically sells for the signs and a plunge router.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    North-central Minnesota
    Posts
    318
    Quote Originally Posted by Keith Westfall View Post
    Make sure your bits are sharp! Really sharp, to have less tear out. And some wood will gum them up a bit which doesn't help with the cutting.
    Brand new Rockler bits, purchased at the same time as the templates.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    North-central Minnesota
    Posts
    318
    Quote Originally Posted by Earl Rumans View Post
    I'm currently making a Cypress sign and have been using a V bit for what I have done so far. I also have the Rockler kit and was planning on doing the numbers with it. Are you saying that the Cypress will chip out? Are you using the recommended Rockler 3/8's bit?
    Yep, the recommended Rockler bit for each set. I think the redwood and cypress would break out the same way that the western red cedar does. Where I had the problem was in areas such as the point inside the letter M.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Central Michigan
    Posts
    1,508
    You can use clear packing tap on the face to help with chip out.
    Richard Poitras
    Central, Michigan....
    01-02-2006


  11. #11
    I just did the numbers on my sign and they came out great, no chip out and very smooth. The numbers don't have the points like letters, so that may be the difference. I like the way it's so easy to set everything up with the Rockler kit. I just wish they would make some other fonts available to add on.
    Earl

  12. #12
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Highland MI
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    11
    I remember many years ago, going to the mall at Christmas time and seeing the guy in a trailer inside the mall cutting redwood signs freehand with a router. That takes some skill. He would spray the letters black and run it through a small planer to remove the over spray. All done while you wait. That mall has been abandoned for at least 10 years. How times change.
    Last edited by Ole Anderson; 09-14-2017 at 2:22 PM.
    NOW you tell me...

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    El Dorado Hills, CA
    Posts
    1,311
    Quote Originally Posted by Ole Anderson View Post
    I remember many years ago, going to the mall at Christmas time and seeing the guy in a trailer inside the mall cutting redwood signs freehand with a router. That takes some skill. He would spray the letters black and run it through a small planer to remove the over spray. All done while you wait. That mall has been abandoned for at least 10 years. How times change.
    The solution now would be to use a CNC router. Most of the other steps remain the same, but it should be easier to find someone to run the machine.

    Steve

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Lawrenceburg, Tenn.
    Posts
    1,133
    I used their templates on some red cedar and did not have any trouble with it. I also used it on some old pressure treated deck boards, and it did fine there too. I think the biggest issue is the depth of cut. I set mine about 1/4" deep, and it did fine with both woods.

    Doc
    As Cort would say: Fools are the only folk on the earth who can absolutely count on getting what they deserve.

  15. #15
    Greg, you are probably correct. I also only cut a little over 1/4 inch. I may be that the deeper cuts give the problems.
    Earl

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