Pantograph Routing

BAMILLER said:

Has anyone ever made signs with a pantograph. I have one but am not sure how to use it. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks

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I have or had (haven't seen it in a while) one made by Sears. I found the script letters a while back (sheets of paper with the abc's in a script style).

I found it hard to use. As long you do a single letter it was fine but having to move it to get the right kerning and location made it less then wonderful. I also found it hard to move the router and keep the pointer tracing the letter unless you work in very uniform wood (cedar, redwood without many knots etc).

I did use it with better results when doing other things then lettering. Now I wish I knew what I did with it..... I may have loaned it to someone??? I would like to revisit it now......

Ed

Ed,
Thanks for the input. Mine is a sears and by looking at it I can see the problems you are talking about.
Terry

Por favor si alguien me puede ayudar.
Necesito adquirir videos donde enseñen el uso de la router, qué hago ??
Please
I need to buy videos where I can learn the use of the router, S.O.S.
My email: [email protected]

Route-A-Form

Hi Bamiller -

I recently discovered this site and I've been reading through a lot of messages. Are you talking about Sears Route-A-Form? I have not used this for years but I do still have one. I made animals for the kids when they were small and I've had it since around 1970. Yes - My kids are now older than 35. WOW - that means my first router is really old. The route-a-form takes a bit of setup but I remember it to be fairly simple once you get past the setup. I haven't used this for 35 years so I can't get into any detail. Perhaps there is another old timer out there that can gove you more detail.

I can e-mail you the 4 page owners manual if that's what you need? I hope that helps. I scanned the owners manual into an Adobe Acrobat format (.PDF) which for some reason I can not attach to this note.

My email address is [email protected].

Bill

Billwolley said:

Hi Bamiller -

I recently discovered this site and I've been reading through a lot of messages. Are you talking about Sears Route-A-Form? I have not used this for years but I do still have one. I made animals for the kids when they were small and I've had it since around 1970. Yes - My kids are now older than 35. WOW - that means my first router is really old. The route-a-form takes a bit of setup but I remember it to be fairly simple once you get past the setup.

I can e-mail you the 4 page owners manual of that's what you need? I hope that helps. I scanned the owners manual into an Adobe Acrobat format (.PDF) which for some reason I can not attach to this note.

My email address is [email protected].

Bill

Click to expand...

Take a look at this post and see if yours looks like mine:
www.routerforums.com/showthread.php?t=984

I also noticed the nylon "washers" on mine are falling apart, I haven't used it in so long I don't remember if it was that way or if it happened in storage. I don't seem to see my manual with my collection of sears tool manuals..... I'll email you 'cause I'd like a copy.

I have see pdf listed as an attachment type but I have never tried to attach one..... if it doesn't work maybe we can get Mark to fix it.

Ed

The signs are easy to make and very outstanding when using the old english template letters.
you will need a bench area about 4 feet deep and a extended 2x2 foot board from the table to put your letters on so your stylus arm hangs over the table.on to the board.
Then here is the tricky part...when you are setting up the letters,they have to be square with the center on=f the arms and the router bit has to be in the center of the board and when you change letters you have to put the router into the lower right dot.on letter pge and then pull out the letter,then insert the new letter and then loosen the clamps of the board and then slide down the board and router on board at same time to left handed dot on new letter..seeems like a olot but it only takes a a minute or two once you have the hang of it.

shawn said:

The signs are easy to make and very outstanding when using the old english template letters.
you will need a bench area about 4 feet deep and a extended 2x2 foot board from the table to put your letters on so your stylus arm hangs over the table.on to the board.
Then here is the tricky part...when you are setting up the letters,they have to be square with the center on=f the arms and the router bit has to be in the center of the board and when you change letters you have to put the router into the lower right dot.on letter pge and then pull out the letter,then insert the new letter and then loosen the clamps of the board and then slide down the board and router on board at same time to left handed dot on new letter..seeems like a olot but it only takes a a minute or two once you have the hang of it.

Click to expand...

Shawn could you take a picture of your set-up and how you move from letter to letter? I did this some years back but was not happy trying to get the letter to letter spacing to look right and since I've dug mine out I'd like to try again.

Ed

Shawn,
Thanks for your post. It clears up a lot for me.
Terry

Repost

I had asked this before the backups were lost, but I was unable to see if anyone had replied.

Shawn,
Thanks for your information on setting up the pantograph. I was wondering was how do you adjust for the width of the Old-English letter as you go along? Also what type of bit do you recomend?

Thanks!

Shawn,
Thanks for your post. It clears up a lot for me.

Do you realise Tung that this thread is over four years old?