Camper Sign

[shilala]

I knocked this out real quick for my BIL and SIL's motorhome.
I was very surprised how well it finished up under stain and poly, and I think it just looks clean, easy, and relaxing. I was shooting for clean, easy, and relaxing looking, so imagine my surprise when it worked out.
The sign was done quickly, no chips, almost zero sanding, and I had patience.

The little things seem to make me the happiest. When projects start working like I want them to, it tells me that all the studying and practicing is paying off.
Now that the basic things are starting to work, I can start screwing up more complicated designs and it shouldn't be too long before they start to come together.

[blackhawk]

Scott - That looks great! How did the oak do on the raised letters? Did you have any chipping on the narrow parts, like the comma and the dots on the "i"s?

[shilala]

Thanks, Brad!!!
The oak did great, not a single chip or fault anywhere, and those letters are 5/8" high and very thin. Mostly because I did this in three passes.
First was a 1/2" ballnose endmill at 3.0IPS, then 1/4" ballnose at 3.0IPS, then a 1/8" 1* tapered ballnose at 2.5IPS. The stepover on the last pass was 13%. That's very little cut for a 1/8 tapered ballnose and applies very little lateral force.
My router speed for the whole thing was 10,000rpm, nice and slow.
It adds time to the project by doing it like this, lots of machine time. But my machine is just in my home shop, it doesn't do hardly any money jobs (by design) so I can take all the time I want.
I didn't have to sand anything at all except the tabs on the profile cut, and I hate sanding, so it worked out great.

[blackhawk]

Scott - Did you toolpath the entire sign as a 3D object?

[shilala]

Yes I did, Brad. Two roughing and one finish pass. I also created a finish pass for just the elk, 1/16" tapered ballnose, but I didn't need to use it.