As I mentioned when talking about the pantograph copier for a router, this is a machine that can be quite productive, for example, by making beautiful customizable wooden signs.
Once we have the pantograph made, the next step is to create templates to guide the pantograph’s guide rod. In this example of use, Matthias shows how he makes wooden letters designed with his online letter design program (number 15). He simply cuts the letters with the bandsaw and glues them onto a piece of sheet metal, making it easy to arrange the letters with guide profiles before carving them into the sign.
I suppose it seems easy to do with a bandsaw, especially with a narrow blade, but I’m sure that if you don’t have one, you can also cut the letters with a jigsaw, using some drills to insert the cutting blade. You would need patience and a bit of work with a file and sandpaper to create nice letters, but it would be worth the effort since you could use them repeatedly. If you have a scroll saw, you will surely enjoy making letter templates and other shapes to carve into your signs.
If you don’t have a router that you can adapt to the pantograph, an option is to attach a multi-tool like a Dremel. Although with the small cutting tools of a Dremel or another similar tool, it will be challenging to carve large letters, it can be very useful for other tasks like marquetry inlays. However, you will need a steady hand and a bit of practice to carve recesses and inlays with the exact shape to fit into the recesses. Even if you need to fill the gaps with wood filler initially, the results, once sanded and varnished, will surely be very striking from the first moment.
Find the links to both articles in Spanish about how to carve letters in wood and how to make the mount for the Dremel in the woodworking projects tab of this blog, and there go to the Woodgears translations (number 30).