posted
Thanks to everybody around here, I feel like everyone cares about everyone in letterhead, I have been away for two years, and forgot about the nice feelings in here. One more question, thinking about buying a cnc router for carved signs and routed letters, any thought about which to buy or any experience with this, thanks again.
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Well so far no one's replied... , so here goes my opinion: I don't have a cnc router, just a 2hp hand-held 1/2 inch Makita one, and a small el-cheapo 1/4 inch 500 watt variable speed router, and do everything freehand. Lower overheads so far. The collection of tungsten-tipped router bits costs a fair bit, but over time I've added to it after each job. The only 'difficult' job I had was four hardwood logs each 2 ft diameter which had to have 16" letters (cooper) routed 1/2" inch deep, and it took nearly 2 days to do that, and another two days for my hands to stop vibrating! I pounced the lettering, and the chalk stuck really well- you couldn't even brush it off. Don't give up the idea of free-handing it. Most jobs are much simpler. The routing is not the worst part of the job, but the finishing & painting is. You just have to get used to the way the router wants to grab the timber, and prepare in advance for that, plus cutting around the grain on the sharp internal parts of letters needs care. Good luck!
[ October 14, 2003, 10:09 AM: Message edited by: Ian Stewart-Koster ]
-------------------- "Stewey" on chat
"...there are no limits when you aim for perfection..." Jonathan Livingston Seagull Posts: 7016 | From: Highgrove via Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | Registered: Dec 2002
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