Visteonguy

Good eye, Dr Zook, and Bob,, yes they are pull dowels,, but I just used them because they were handy,,, and yes I am a machine repairman by trade for the auto companys. Not a great place to be in our world today.... oh well,, what is,,is..

You could just as easily use wooden dowels that have a drilled hole in one end, I used the orgional base plate that came with the router,, and just use some tape and tape it to a piece of 1/4 inch thick plexiglass about 9 to 12 inches square. I then, (careful to make sure that the little base plate is stuck down so it does NOT move around), drill down through the mounting holes so I can then use the screws to mount that new big base plate to your little router. ALso while the orgional base plate is stuck to the big base plate,, scribe the middle circle and then drill it out before you mount the thing to your router, I counter bore the holes on the bottom side of the new base plate so the mounting screws will not stick below the surface of the plate. At this time, I also drill a hole on opisite sides to mount the little handles you will use, I use a counter sink to make a beveled hole and use flat head screws to mount the handles. Thats about all there is to that. Now you are a sign maker.. You will be able to put about any image you can think of and any design of letters on a sign,,, and not be stuck with just making those blocky, squarish, letters you see made with templates,,, And the best part is,, you have practically no money laid out for the equipment,,

below are some pictures of the large sign I mentioned earlier, I also posted them quite a while ago,, but these pictures do a good job in showing the process I use to rout out the sign, I will try and post them in order so it will make sense from layout with carbon paper under the orgional image to the finished sign,

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Terry

It seems like every where I go,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, there I am...

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Visteonguy

For some reason the first picture did not make the post,,, so here it is,,, It was a sign that the guy wanted me to make,, he first had it made in a vinyl stick on sign,, and I just used that for the layout,, I layed it on top of the wooden pannel with a layer of carbon paper under it, and then just ran a pencil around all the letters and eagle image to transfer the whole sign to the wood below.

Well now I get a message that says I already posted that picture under "free Handed Router Sign",,, so I guess It will not post it again,, anyway,, you get the idea,,

Anyway,, making these signs are very easy once you do one,, and every one that sees them seem to be amazed by them,,,, so go ahead and do one,,, even if its just your house address for starters,,, you will get lots of nice comments about it,,, and you will be hooked,,, and if you bought a set of those blocky letter templates,,, you will maybe think about putting them in your next garage sale to try and recope some of your money,,,, (heheheh)

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Terry

It seems like every where I go,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, there I am...

AxlMyk

Nice job Terry.. I made a sign for my Sister-in-law a couple weeks ago.. Instead of pencil tracing or using carbon paper, I printed the sign, then used my electric engraver to trace the lettering to the sign.. Wow, did that make it easy.. Finished it in 2 days..

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Mike - Retired FoMoCo Tradesman
My Gallery @ http://www.routerforums.com/axlmyks-stuff/

Visteonguy

Well, there ya go,,, glad to hear your idea of using a electric engraver to transfer the image you wanted, Mike, Just goes to show you that there are many ways to get to the same destination. Too bad ya did not have a picture of that sign,, I would have liked to seen it...

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Terry

It seems like every where I go,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, there I am...

AxlMyk

The sign is 250 miles north of me.. We're headed that way today.. I'll get a pic after I hang it up for her..

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Mike - Retired FoMoCo Tradesman
My Gallery @ http://www.routerforums.com/axlmyks-stuff/

AxlMyk

OK.. Got a pic of it..

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Mike - Retired FoMoCo Tradesman
My Gallery @ http://www.routerforums.com/axlmyks-stuff/

Visteonguy

Yes,,, there ya go, Mike,,, great job,, like it,,,,, Bet you are gettin your share of compliments on that sign,,,

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Terry

It seems like every where I go,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, there I am...

AxlMyk

She was real pleased to get it..

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Mike - Retired FoMoCo Tradesman
My Gallery @ http://www.routerforums.com/axlmyks-stuff/