Help carving Roman numerals

[Sheffield Tony]

I'm making a clock, for which I want to carve the numerals I ... XII into some European oak. To make matters more interesting, the numerals don't lie exactly along, or across the grain but at various angles to it.

I want something like a Times Roman font in 72 pt size, so first attempt was to print out, in an outline font, the requisite digits, and glue this to the wood and carve away. The drawback of this is that I now can't see the wood grain, and the oak being a bit coarse for the size of features. I can get the straight parts looking good with a vertical and two angled cuts with a firmer chisel to make a vee, but the ends look rather ragged - if I could just use a simple sans-serif font I'd be OK, but that seems not to be acceptable. I wonder if it might be better to laser print the lettering mirrored, then use a hot iron to transfer the toner to the wood so that I can see the wood grain, and not have bits of paper getting in my cuts ?

Any tips, or recommended viewing ? I've watched a few Roy Underhill carving related videos, but might have missed something.

 

[marcros]

i found something online once- it was one of these tutorials with about 25 pictures and a bit of text, about carving the whole alphabet with a v tool. Quite good- I have only tried a limited amount.

Could you just use a 2b pencil maybe to mark out the outline, ends, and mid point?

 

[bugbear]

Any tips, or recommended viewing ? I've watched a few Roy Underhill carving related videos, but might have missed something.

This:

http://www.finewoodworking.com/how-to/v ... asics.aspx

BugBear

 

[twothumbs]

Modelmakers use the hot iron technique a lot. I haven't used it on a large scale but no reason why not. You would need to go to a print shop unless you have a laserjet printer at work. Is carbon paper still available? Perhaps not. Best wishes.

 

[gasman]

I carve quite a few letters in wood. I don't have CNC etc but just do it by hand
Tips I use as follows:
Print selected font actual size onto sticky labels. I always use a serif font
Stick labels to where you want the letters etc
Use chisels / gouges with a happier tap to mark out the outlines of the letters. A 'keen edge' on the chisels etc is your friend here!
Then remove the remains of the sticky labels and cut out the waste. I usually do the straight bits first with a big chisel then come down in size and do the tops / curved bits / serifs last. I usually cut the grooves in a V with a 45-60 degree angle or so. Really big letters can be routed out once you have the outline with a 2mm bit in a hand held router (cheating!)
To get them looking really good - do it wearing a pair of dental loupes or other magnifying aide - if it looks half-good under magnification it should look fab to the naked eye. Finish with a brand new scalpel blade - an 11 blade (pointy) works well I find
HTH
Regards
Mark

 

[xy mosian]

Is carbon paper still available? Perhaps not. Best wishes.

I got a package a couple of years ago from Staples. Look for the oldest employee, don't ask to see other colours
You could also use 'Bronco', toilet paper, or similar, and a soft pencil.
xy

 

[Richard T]

Did you see the Steve Latta one Tony?

http://video.pbs.org/video/2172739973/

They get down to carving at about 6 minutes in and the straight bit at about 12. There is a lot about curves, inlay and secret draws but hopefully something of use to you. Maybe Roman numerals won't seem so hard after watching this P being cut.... seems like the two knives are his secret weapon - one to slice and one ground as a very thin chisel.

 

[DuncanA]

I've not done much letter cutting but this is how I was taught to do it, which may help somewhat.

For marking out I generally just pencil on what I want freehand using a lettering sheet for reference (I've an A3 sheet of Gill roman letters like these), I've read that some people mark just the centrelines but I like to draw out the whole letter. I don't find it obscures the grain at all and allows the freedom to make adjustments to make the spacing and proportions match once all the letters are marked out.

Next cut out all the straights as you described - strike the centre line then work the V by coming in from either side at about 45% with a firmer chisel. I have seen some people use a V tool instead but I was warned against this as it's supposedly harder to control and can cause the grain to tear working crossgrain.

The best way to do the serifs is with a serif tool (funnily enough ), it's essentially a skewed chisel bevelled on both sides. The centre line and the flat side of the serif are set in as with the straights, but the curving side of the serif is cut with a sort of 'drawing' motion (which I'm struggling to think of a suitable way to describe but you sort of draw the tool towards the point of the serif whilst twisting it to try and follow the desired curve). I did scan a couple of sheets I was given when I first tried my hand at letter-cutting. If I can find them I can send them along if you think they'd help.

 

[SteveF]

I'm making a clock, for which I want to carve the numerals I ... XII into some European oak.

The only tip I have is to decide on 1111 or 1V :lol:

Steve

 

[charvercarver]

I don't think it is the paper that is causing the problem, if you are carving without serifs the best thing to do is make stop cuts at the top and bottom first. Use the corner of your chisel at an angle so that it presents a V shape at the top and bottom centre of the letter then tap down. This should sever the fibres for your angle cuts.

 

[charvercarver]

Just too add I'm assuming you mean you want to terminate your letters like below.

If so then the method above will work, but you may have to go back and forth a bit. It's a bit like squaring the ends of a bored through mortice.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Thanks for the pointers. I've watched the videos, and got a few ideas to try. It is a serif font I'm trying to achieve, and it is the serifs that are the hard bit. I notice that the examples in the videos are 2-3" high letters, whereas I'm trying to do 3/4" letters and the oak has a coarser grain that is ideal. I suspect that gasman has hit on one of my problems with the idea of using a magnifier - I really need to sort out some spectacles so that I can see what I'm doing - I've been living in denial for a year or two now.

Still, I've got plenty of offcuts to practice on. I've started a WIP here.