Simply Doing The ABC’s In Cedar, From A CAD Design
As Like so many projects in this country start I guess “I met some one in the pub,” that was showing a bit of woodworking that some one had made. But they had quoted an extreme amount of money for this simple project. All that this person wanted was two names of their children, in a bold wood to hang on the wall of their bedrooms. Well the landlord knowing that I dabble in a bit of woodworking ask me if I could do it for cheaper, and I said yes…
Step 1
First thing I did was to draw to scale all the letters of the alphabet, the size of the letter was determined by the material size which was 90 by 120 mm. I decided to do this in my Favorited 2D CAD program Draftsight, reason being if I was to just use word with some really large font it would not fill the whole area correctly. As most of us know a word processor program is for writing letters no for designing, so using a word processor would have been more hassle than it is worth. In this CAD drawing I made 26 boxes 90 by 120mm and then use a variety of simple geometry to draw eye pleasing Bold letters from A to Z, using the rule of “the width of all the lettering will be 20mm.”
TIP: Doing this means that I will have all the lettering to the exact scale when it come to printing the letters. Plus I will have all the letters of the alphabet ready for other projects that I might want to use them in.
If you wish to use my CAD design you can down load it here in PDF format and .DWG format for use in CAD. Rember not to scale the prints as they will print to the excact size of 90mm by 120mm.
Step 2
Then I Printed out all the lettering then so I could cutting out all the required letters for this project. I used a steel rule and a snap-off blade knife for this part, as getting a perfect cut-out is paramount for the finished product to come out as the desired shape without error.
TIP: You could use scissors but when cutting out inside the shape might prove difficult.
As mentioned I only cut the shapes that were in this project to save time in the build process, I will at a later stage when I have time, go back to cut out the rest of the alphabet. I have also just use normal weight paper, as it does not really matter so long as the desired shape is cut out.
Step 3
Then using ordinary household prick-stick (or a cheap replica in my case) I have stuck the the paper templates to a scrap bit of hardboard, this will then be cut to make a jig of all the letters. I tend to use Hardboard for all my flat jigs (templates) as it is an inexpensive product at around £4 for a sheet at B&Q.
TIP: Jigs of cut-out projects can be useful, to get a constant shape every time. I have made countless jigs and never thrown one away yet, cause they can be use on so many different projects. so even thought at the time it may seem like a long winded thing to do for the first project it will save time on the next couple of projects, so they really do pay for them self’s in the end.
Step 4
TIP: Many times on different projects you will find yourself waiting for glue to dry or for materials to be delivered, well why not do something else while you wait?
Yes while the glue on the templates dry attaching the paper to the Hardboard, I set about cutting the Cedar wood into the size required on my Compound Mitre Saw. Cause the material that I had got for this project was 90mm width ways, all I had to do was cut the length down to 120mm. This process is really simple with a Mitre Saw simply mark one of the bits of material then place it on top of multiple other bits and cut, this will insure all the parts are the same size.
TIP: I have gone with Cedar due to the simple fact that it was a great thickness I found at my local wood mill, the Cedar was from a pile of offcuts all about the same size and cost a really small amount per piece. This is a great way to reduce the cost of the project!
Step 5
Well now I cut out the strait lines on my Band-Saw as this gave a very fast and actuate cut, you could cut out the strait lines using a Electric Fretsaw or Coping-Saw by hand, but personally I prefer a Band-Saw for this task. I also cut some of the curves on the Band-Saw but this job is better done with a Fretsaw or Coping-Saw, as a band-Saw is not that good at cutting tight curves.
TIP: When cutting the jig allow for the width of a pencil line, by making the whole jig a millimetre smaller, cause this will make the final piece the correct size. Not taking this step could make the jig too big for the material that you have cut.
Step 6
Now to cut out any inside parts, there are a couple of was of doing this, you could cut through the area you want to keep with a single saw line. Or you could take the step that I have taken and drill a couple of holes in the area you want to remove, this will allow a Fretsaw or Coping-Saw blade to be put through to cut out the inside of the jig as shown in the pictures below.
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Don’t forget to sand all the edges when you have completed the jig!
Step 7
Now it is as simple as drawing round the jig, then cut out the shape as I did with the jig. By using the Band-Saw to cut out the strait lines and the simple curves, then using the Fretsaw to cut the remaining curves. Making sure to cut to the inside of the pencil lines with the blade going through the line drawn on the wood, as you will remember I have made sure to allow for a pencil line width.
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TIP: If you are doing a complicated shape you could scribble on the area you are going to cut out, so that you can clearly identify what is scrap and what you want to keep.
Step 8
Then I simply drilled holes in the area I needed to cut out as I did with the jig, then again using the Fretsaw cut the inside lines out .
Step 9
Then I Sanded down all the lettering 
Then Done!
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