posted
A religious organization has fashioned a small footbridge. The floorboards are about 4x36 inches. Contributors have written their names on the boards in thin tip markers. They want the names to withstand weathering which means engraving into the wood maybe an eighth of an inch. I would then fill with stain or enamel and sand the surface. The boards cannot be removed and the signature must be traced as is. There are about 200 names total on two different bridges.
Having never been faced with such a request,I am wondering what do I use for the engraving--a Dremmel tool or is there a small router that would do it better?
Many thanks for your advice and help.
-------------------- Bill Plater The Idea Shop 1014 N. Granite Marion, IL btplater@excite.com Posts: 3 | From: Marion,IL | Registered: Aug 2002
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You've got quite a challenge there. As soon as you said the boards can't be removed, the difficulty and price went out of sight.
Since the text is magic marker signatures job would be best suited for scanning and laser engraving. The text is probably too narrow for sandblast stencils.
I hope you are good at hand carving!! A dremel tool is about all you can do, just don't make a mistake or they'll want a new bridge.
ernie
-------------------- Ernie Balch Balch Signs 1045 Raymond Rd Malta, NY 518-885-9899 Posts: 405 | From: Malta, NY | Registered: Jan 2003
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posted
Actually the Dremel tool is way too slow for good control, and I would have to say that a Foredom Tool which works from a small compressor would work best. The Foredom works at a much higher rpm, around 100,000 plus and uses the same bits. The Foredom is also pen shaped and much easier to control.
Ernie, I like the bridge comment!
-------------------- HotLines Joey Madden - pinstriping since 1952 'Perfection, its what I look for and what I live for'
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I'm allowed to make one post this morning. Tomorrow I leave for the east coast, so this is the one I want to answer. This is how Lat does it. He has the person's signature on a transfer paper and then does a carbon paper tracing on paper premask that he puts on the wood. He says that it keeps the edges of the wood from getting fuzzies and chips on it. He uses a little Bosch router that has a little base on it that you can adjust. And you can see what you're doing too. You hold the router with one hand and guide it around by holding the base thingie with the other hand. He uses a V bit, I don't remember the real name of it, but it cuts a V sort of groove as he routs. It goes really fast and looks just like the signature. We have 4 Foredoms, and they're much better than a Dremel, but the Bosh is even better for flat wood routing.
Bye guys! I'll be back in a couple of months! And be nice to the girls, no?
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Dremel Does Make a router attachment for their tools. Its a neat little contraption.. I dont know how small the lettering is but it sounds like an intresting project.
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Without dismantleing the bridge I would hire a house moving company to hoist the bridge onto rails and have it moved to my shop. I would then have my router table hoisted up onto the bridge and proceed to carve the names after they were all scanned and converted to tool paths.
Everything is simple when money is no object...
-------------------- Bob Stephens Skywatch Signs Zephyrhills, FL
-------------------- Jimmy Chatham Chatham Signs 468 stark st Commerce, Ga 30529 Posts: 1766 | From: Commerce, GA, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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I'm a little late on this one, but here goes....First, I asume the bridge is already built, probably of pressure treated wood. It has been my experience, that most of those 2x4's are cupped one way or another and are probably uneven next to each other. This would be a real handicap for using a router (which would probably be the best option if the boards were flat). Assuming this is the case, carving by hand or the use of a Foredom is the way to go.(Dremel just doesn't have the power!)
Next, staining or painting those incised letters would be a real trick. Keeping the paint from running with the grain might be very difficult. My suggestion, stain the bridge first with a dark brown or redwood stain. When it's dry, then carve...."white" letters on a dark ground works for me and you are done! If it's made of redwood, this won't work!
I would also get a thick air matress to lie on and if you are using a Fordom, don't forget your mask and goggles. Watch out for slivers!!!!!
$15 per name (with a Fordom), $25-30 with a V parting tool....$3-$6,000 will make your back feel beter.
Joe, Makin Chips and Havin Fun!
-------------------- Joe Cieslowski Connecticut Woodcarvers Gallery P.O.Box 368 East Canaan CT 06024 jcieslowski@snet.net 860-824-0883 Posts: 2345 | From: East Canaan CT 06024 | Registered: Nov 2001
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