Stencil

This forum is for general discussion regarding VCarve Pro
Post Reply
naijin
Vectric Craftsman
Posts: 114
Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2013 10:25 am
Model of CNC Machine: home made

Stencil

Post by naijin »

Hi there, I have been asked to cut out some lettering stencils for painting labels on crates, does anyone have any ideas on how to cut a stencil and what type of font to use, is there any software or programs to look at.
Any help as always will be greatly appreciate. :lol:
Cheers
Nick

User avatar
Olly
Vectric Staff
Posts: 455
Joined: Tue Jan 15, 2019 1:14 pm
Model of CNC Machine: ShopBot, CNC Shark
Contact:

Re: Stencil

Post by Olly »

Hi Nick,
Have you had a look at the Stencil project we did recently? Here is a link to the free project: https://www.vectric.com/vectric-communi ... StencilArt
The font I used was Oswald which you can find here: https://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/oswald
There are also stencil-specific fonts you can use.
Hope all this helps!
Thanks
Olly

User avatar
FabLab Wageningen
Vectric Craftsman
Posts: 211
Joined: Mon May 09, 2022 8:17 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Ooznest Workbee 1500x1500
Location: Wageningen, Netherlands
Contact:

Re: Stencil

Post by FabLab Wageningen »

my advice (based on doing lots of stencils):
If you have a laser, use that. Faster, cleaner, no issues with sharp corners. Use 1,5 mm gray cardboard or kraft paper.

If you CNC it per sé, use as thin material as possible. InkScape has stencil fonts, otherwise you can add stencil fonts to your font library with Font Squirrel.

Marcel.

User avatar
martin54
Vectric Archimage
Posts: 7339
Joined: Fri Nov 09, 2012 2:12 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Gerber 48, Triac PC, Isel fixed gantry
Location: Kirkcaldy, Scotland

Re: Stencil

Post by martin54 »

Guessing these will be for repeat use rather than single use, if that is the case then as has already been said the stencils should be as thin as possible or you will get problems when spraying, especially around the edges of the letters.
For smaller stencils then I would use plastics, I used quite a bit of 1mm HIPS but PVC works OK, for larger stencils or for outdoor use such as road markings then ACM or aluminium would generally be the way to go.
As has already been said there are plenty of stencil fonts available online both to buy & for free :lol: :lol:

naijin
Vectric Craftsman
Posts: 114
Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2013 10:25 am
Model of CNC Machine: home made

Re: Stencil

Post by naijin »

Hi there, thanks for all replies and tips, I never thought of using the laser, what a great idea I think I will run with that :D :D

Cheers
Nick

Post Reply