As I mentioned when I talked about the copying pantograph for router, this is a machine that you can get a lot of performance out of, for example, making beautiful customizable wooden signs.
Once the pantograph has been made, the next step is to make the letter (or other drawings) templates to guide the pantograph guiding rod. In this example of use you will see how Matthias makes wooden letters that he designs with his online letter design program (number 15). He simply cuts the letters with the band saw and glues them on a piece of plywood sheet, so that with a few guide profiles it is easy for him to arrange the letters before carving them into the sign.
I suppose it seems like a simple thing to do if you have a band saw, and even more easier with a narrow band saw blade, but I’m sure that if you don’t have one you can also cut the letters with a jigsaw using holes to insert the blade. It would take patience and a bit of work with a file and sandpaper to make nice letters, but it will be worth the effort as we can use those letters over and over again. And if you have a scroll saw, you’re sure to get your hands full making letter stencils and other shapes to carve into your signs.
And if you do not have a palm router that you can adapt to the pantograph, one possibility is to attach a Dremel multitool. Although with the small cutting tools of a Dremel, or another type of tool of this style, it will be difficult to carve large letters. But it can be very useful for other tasks such as inlay ornaments, although you will need a good pulse and a bit of practice to carve rebates and also the veneers to exactly the right shape to fit the rebates. But even if at the beginning you need to fill the gaps with wood paste, the results, once sanded and varnished, are sure to be very striking from the first time you make them.
Look for the link to both articles in Spanish on how to carve the letters in wood and how to make the mount for the Dremel in the woodworking projects tab of this blog and there go to Woodgears translations (number 30).
