Carving Letters in Hardwood

[Rum_Pirate]

20 tears ago I carved 'Estasy' 4" high in mahogony.
I printed the name in the full size, I enlarged them on a photocopier. I taped the name on to the wood then traced the letters on to the wood using carbon paper and a sharp pencil, including using a ruler for the straight lines. I then tried to mark the bottom of the 'V' where the intersecting legs of letters met so that when I carved that area it would be uniform with other legs.
Then carve.
Took about 1/2 hour per letter.

Hints: Take your time. Cut with the grain, not against it, less chance of a mistake.
Use sharp chisels.

 

[martinschulz]

Carving Letters

Well...
then go ahead and also try to make the sails yourself.

Good Lord carving letters, even designing names on paper is a job for experts not amateurs - it is a craft not something anyone can do with just a little inspiration.

Engage a professional!

 

[cliffordpope]

Re: Carving Letters

Everyone is so delightfully defeatist on an English forum!
Actually I have made sails in the past - they were passably acceptable in the circumstances.
Have a go for heaven's sake! Is this an America's Cup contender, or just an old boat for messing around in?

 

[Scarboroughsloop]

Re: Carving Letters

Actually she is a rather beautiful classic boat. I think calling her "just an old boat for messing around in" shows little respect to either the design or the work put into her to bring her back to where she is today . I would much rather see an Americas Cup contender, (that once the Cup has been raced has fulfilled its use) damaged than Roach.

However, with practise I do not see why Roach should not give it a go. His work to date seems of a high standard and I am sure he would not proceed without confidence that the outcome would be good.

 

[Roach1948]

Re: Carving Letters

Well thanks for the vote of confidence S.Sloop!

I must admit that there have been some almighty c*ck up's during her restoration, but that is all part of the learning process in my opinion - (luckily wooden boats are quite forgiving and any mess-up's can usually be sorted out quite well). By farming work out all the time one does little to raise one's skills to the next level.

As for carving letters, it seems clear from this thread, that it is indeed a tricky affair, but with plenty of practice (have already got a few practice boards ready) I hope to gain the experience to do it myself. Farming it out will cost approx £150-£200 and even then I don't get a guarantee that it wont be messed up....

 

[Scarboroughsloop]

Re: Carving Letters

You're welcome.

Just a though - when you come to use your practise boards, maybe you could mount them somewhere so that they are vertical as the strake will be when you come to the real thing?

 

[Keith 66]

I agree dont bother with machines you will only end up slipping and chewing chunks out.
Sharpen your chisels and have a practice first on a piece of scrap wood if you get tired or it isnt going well walk away and come back later!

 

[BoatingBeginner]

Hello, chaps!

I dug up this thread before posting anew...

I'm thinking of making a nameboard using a router, but doing it 'freehand' rather than using stencils, as the commercially available stencils are only 56mm high which will be far too short for the lettering.

Has anyone made nameboards using a router but without a stencil?

 

[saltwater_gypsy]

Throw money at it . Get the professional to make a plate here:http://www.craigmarshall.co.uk/?gclid=CKCPyZ-zmKECFQUulAod7UFJOA

 

[oldfrank]

I must say that I'd get a proper chap to do the job. We spend too long and too much money on these boats to risk making an amateurish mess. There's no hiding palce if you scr*w up on the sheer strake. OF

 

[Captain Coochie]

Hand held with a router ..... NO I have done a few and the latest was for a friends grave marker Its wood work so there is always room for error . I start off with the v shaped chisel and carve shallow . Once that has carved the shape you want you can go deeper and just follow your lines . If you mess up a little first shallow cuts you can hide it in the deeper cuts . The key is tiny cuts to start with . Just draw it on and make sure you are happy and then work from the centre of each letter out .

 

[fergie_mac66]

mallet

always Use the chisels with a mallet don t try and push a chisel by hand it will slip tapping with a mallet controls the cut

 

[Amulet]

No comment on technique, but on the typeface. Do not assume that a small typeface designed to be used at 12 point will work at 4 inches high. There are fonts designed for bigger sizes. Proper kerning really makes a difference to the effect.

Concrete example: letters "AV" can overlap slightly. The proportions of the overlap which looks good changes with size. If you are blowing up something on your PC use a program which allows you to play with the kerning to get it pretty. Better still, use a font designed to be large.

 

[EastCoastChris]

Apologies if I missed someone else posting this, but there is a useful thread on the Woodenboat forum on this subject at the moment which you might find helpful. The thread includes a detailed explanation with photos of someone cutting some lettering.

Chris

 

[BoatingBeginner]

Some excellent tips, thanks.

The WoodenBoat forum in particular led me to this, which has some great tips... https://www.woodworkersinstitute.com/page.asp?p=468

 

[121]

If you are concerned about spacing / distortion / kerning irregularities, see if you can get hold of a presentation projector (and a laptoop f don't have one) and project the name onto the correct position and trace round carefully.

I have to say I disagree with all the naysayers: if you have had the confidence, determination, apptitude and strength of character to restore a boat to a condition you are proud of, it seems a damned shame you can't do the "topping out ceremony"; just practice on scrap until you are confident and have a crack...

 

[pugsleyaddams]

Hello, chaps!

I dug up this thread before posting anew...

I'm thinking of making a nameboard using a router, but doing it 'freehand' rather than using stencils, as the commercially available stencils are only 56mm high which will be far too short for the lettering.

Has anyone made nameboards using a router but without a stencil?

yes i have, never done it before, i drew the letters on a piece of iroko and then just followed the lines with a round bit in the router dead easy and i am very pleased with the outcome.

 

[BoatingBeginner]

yes i have, never done it before, i drew the letters on a piece of iroko and then just followed the lines with a round bit in the router dead easy and i am very pleased with the outcome.

Great - it can be done! How did you stop the router from taking a route of it's own - so to speak...?

 

[EastCoastChris]

Great - it can be done! How did you stop the router from taking a route of it's own - so to speak...?

I guess it depends how heavy and powerful the router is and not trying to do it all in one pass. I have a light little 500 watt Bosch that is great for boaty jobs, but I really wouldn't fancy it on the job you have in mind.

I'd go for hand tools as others suggest.

Chris

 

[jimboooo]

hi mate i am a joiner and shopfitter by profession , you can free hand it ,but , it will never look very pro! my advise would be to contact a small local firm with a cnc machine , it will look so much neater . if you do hand rout it make sure your cutter is sharp or it will burn , wear a dust mask and saftey specs , iroko dust is horrible , really chokes . have some spare timber in case you slip or wobble and make sure the timber is well clamped down . one other thing if you havent already cut the plank to size you could rout it first , this way you wont" rock over" when near to the edge . good luck .