Letter size

[moehink@ieee.org]

I do not own a ShopBot, but I have been considering purchasing one in the future for a variety of applications. One possible use would be some carving of text into various projects. The text for my application would be much smaller than normal signs. Is the ShopBot capable of doing smaller more intricate text carving, similar to what you see on a plaque or brass plate? Thanks.

[rgbrown@itexas.net]

Give us a size you would like to see done. I feel sure someone here has sone something similar.

Ron

[moehink@ieee.org]

I was thinking about 1/4" to 1/2" tall letters.

[beacon14]

I have done letters as small as 1/4" high, using both a very small (.02 diameter) straight bit, and a "v" bit. It's possible, but I think it's pushing the limit of what's practical to do in wood, not so much because of machine limitations but due to bit and material limitations. If you are talking about engraving, as in brass, that's different than v-carving in wood, and the approach will likely be different as well.
Sorry if this seems like a vague answer, but I don't want to bore everyone with the gorey details. More details on what you want to do would help narrow the focus a little.

[gerald_d]

Craig, the ShopBot is not the right machine for that small lettering. At a pinch, with lot's of experimenting and patience, you will make passable letters. But there are better machines for that small application.

[Mayo]

Aside from the fact that I had no clue what I was doing and wound up engraving a bit too deep, this small lettering came out better than I had expected. It's done on a black Zippo Lighter. The script has a 3/8" capital R and the lower case letters are about 1/4". Over all size of the lighter is about 1.25" x 2.25"

This was done on my PRT96 ShopBot.

I also discovered that I don't even need to actually turn the router on to do this kind of engraving, and that merely dragging a true pointed V-tip cutter will engrave the surface.


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