Carving Letters

[dbusarow]

There's a post on here somewhere that mentions Peter Main and his ability to carve small/tiny letters. I can't track it down but what I'm really looking for isn't so much that post but a pointer to a book or article with instruction on how to neatly print/carve letters on leather that I am hoping might be somewhere in that thread.

I would like to be able to make letters in the 1/8 to 3/16" range that are clear and line up well. I can do the squarish letters like A, N, M etc.. but the letters with curves in them are beyond me. And even with the squared letters I find maintaining a straight line and equal size really really hard.

Is there a book that will give me some guidance?

Thanks,

Dan

Edited May 11, 2011 by dbusarow

[infomage]

Could look at doing them in a mechanical engineering way.Where you run the lines using an “Ames Lettering guide” and a hard lead pencil.On paper I use an H6 lead to create a very faint line for lettering not surewhat would be good on leather. I would draw the lines and a guide for theletters you want so you can get the spacing down. I would also be possible todo this on transfer film and then use a stylist to transfer it like a patternas well. The idea is get the letters the size and spaced the way you want thentrust yourself to cut them.

Tlong

Think Positive Be Positive

[BillB]

I don't know of any book, but I use old metal Print Type for some of my lettering. Although this is similar to using a letter stamp, since they are not designed for leather it is easy to over stress the metal and deform the letters. The advantage is that there is a lot of old print type out there for sale and there are all sorts of fonts and sizes.

BillB

[Dwight]

I don't do small lettering like that, . . . but I used to own a sign shop a number of years ago.

One of the greatest tools for what you are doing is called a pantograph (sp??). It amounts to a mechanical arm setup that transfers the movement of a stylus to the cutting action at the blade or knife.

The neat thing is you also get a reduction from the "master" to the finished product. Most pantographs are adjustable, . . . but if you built one with a 2:1 ratio, . . . that would be the best for easy use and scale figuring. A 2:1 reduction will take a letter, . . . for instance an "M", . . . and will make 4 little ones that take up the space of the first one, the pattern.

What is also great, . . . you can make your own patterns, letters, scenes, etc, . . . and they don't have to be absolutely perfect. Get "most" of the defects out of an original that is say 8 inches square, . . . use it to reproduce a pattern that would then be 4 inches square, . . . from it make a pattern 2 inches square, . . . which makes a 1 inch square pattern that has just about lost every possible defect, . . . and makes a beautiful 1/2 inch design in your leather.

For my "blade", . . . I would use a Dremel with a 1/16 inch drill mounted, . . . I would cut the leather dry for all my patterning, . . . then dampen it and tool it to the final product.

I actually still have one, . . . it was purchased from Sears about 5 or 6 years ago, . . . it ran about a hundred bucks, . . . I used it for some sign work for our church, . . . and it works great.

May God bless,

Dwight

Edited May 12, 2011 by Dwight

[dbusarow]

  On 5/11/2011 at 11:56 PM, infomage said:

I would also be possible todo this on transfer film and then use a stylist to transfer it like a patternas well. The idea is get the letters the size and spaced the way you want thentrust yourself to cut them.

Thanks, that's the way I am doing it now. Transfer film and stylus. It's the cutting part on curved letters like G or O where I'm running into a problem. And to be perfectly honest, keeping the baseline straight even on I and T

  On 5/12/2011 at 7:43 AM, BillB said:

I don't know of any book, but I use old metal Print Type for some of my lettering. Although this is similar to using a letter stamp, since they are not designed for leather it is easy to over stress the metal and deform the letters. The advantage is that there is a lot of old print type out there for sale and there are all sorts of fonts and sizes.

I may end up checking on that. I was trying to avoid a set of letter stamps since they are rather pricy. But I'll soon exceed the cost of a couple sets in scrap leather

  On 5/12/2011 at 12:21 PM, Dwight said:

For my "blade", . . . I would use a Dremel with a 1/16 inch drill mounted, . . . I would cut the leather dry for all my patterning, . . . then dampen it and tool it to the final product.

Thanks Dwight, I will give the dremel with tiny bit a try. If I can keep it from catching the leather and wanting to torque off to the side that may work.

I would still really like to fingure out how to do it with a knife though.

Thanks all,

Dan

Edited May 12, 2011 by dbusarow

[niftycurly]

You can find small steel letter/number stamp sets at Harbor Freight in a couple sizes. Since they are sold for stamping metal I would think they hold up to leather just fine. They are also super inexpensive, the 36 piece 1/8" set is only $8.99

http://www.harborfreight.com/36-piece-1-8-eighth-inch-steel-letter-number-stamping-set-800.html

Edited June 25, 2011 by niftycurly