Milescraft 1221 Pantograph PRO - Complete Tracing Routing System for Custom Made Wood Signs, Black

grweat

I offered to make signs for the local municipality here in Roatan. After several failed attempts at carving the letters manually with my router, I gave up and bought this. There's a slight learning curve but after getting the hang of it I was able to produce very nice looking signs. However, it is not a fast process by any means. But that's ok.Here's a few tips that might help some new and maybe even some experienced users a little. Rather than use a word processing program, I found I could make letters a little larger by using a photo editing/drawing program (Gimp) which is a free program similar to Photoshop. Using Milescrafts instructions calling for underlined fonts I had no trouble with alignment or spacing. I found all the pivot points were much too tight as delivered to allow slow steady movement. After adjusting, I produced letters better and a little easier. I had trouble with the router catching on the already cut letters. I radiused the bottom plate a little more and that seemed to help. But there was another manufacturer defect that caused the same problem. There are 3 very small screws holding a red plastic cover over the quick release mechanism. Mine had two screws that were bigger therefore do not set flat into their countersink. I cannot get those little screws here so I may have to take a chance and enlarge the countersink a little. But the thing that made the biggest improvement (for me, your results may vary) was to cut plexiglass into an 8½" x 11" piece instead of using the plastic sheet protector provided. Milescraft suggests using thumb tacks to secure the paper and sheet protector. I used small spring clamps to hold the plexiglass in place over the template. Your supposed to keep the follower 1/32" (I think) above the sheet protector but with the plexiglass it can ride on it. I think the supplied screws to hold their baseplate to the router had heads a little too small so I added washers that happened to be the perfect size. Probably not necessary but....Anyway, I'm very satisfied with this product and recommend it to anyone wanting to make their own signs. Oh, I almost forgot. It appears very well made, not cheap or flimsy. And the quick release is a nice feature. I do think a small light right router would work best. My Hitachi is too big and heavy and certainly over powered for the job. Take your time, get comfortable and you'll be rewarded with nice looking custom signs.

See above title.Works well once set up. Just make sure the tool and the workpiece are well clamped or anchored

Once you figure out the layout, works well. BTW. It’s a 2x scale.

Although I have only done lettering so far, this device should work well for tracing different artwork based on how easy it is to do the lettering. It is easy to control the stylus as long as you proceed slowly and keep the speed of the router in the "medium" range. The material (wood) that you use is important, soft woods like pine are best for this tool (my opinion). working with the "work board" is a little challenging but if you build a good "working board" you will have great results. I followed the instructions that came with the product, I recommend that you start with a wood plank that is 5 or 6 inches in height, practice some lettering to assess where the top and bottom of the lettering is with respect to the "braces" that you built, then vary the location as you work with pieces that are larger in height. Patience with this product is the most important attribute

I was wondering how hard it would be to route out something, and surprisingly it was very easy

Received this order and got started right away with the board setup. The instructions were very easy and I had everything ready to work in about an hour. I have several routers so I dedicated one just for the pantograph. The results are exceptional and the fit and finish of this tool is very good. I love the quick detachment base plate. It allows for easy bit changeout without moving the entire setup. I highly recommend this for anyone who wants custom design work to make their projects stand out.

A bit disappointed with this. Set up and attachment to the router was easy. Frame seems sturdy and high quality but there is lag in the response. If you are doing any sort of detail other than straight lines the router doesn't respond exactly as the stylus moves and when you complete the total outline of your guide, the router may have a gap of half an inch to finish or may have jumped ahead and crossed over your starting point already. Causes distortion in the finished product. Will continue to try to improve the results but it is not as fuss-free as it is portrayed.