Which fonts carve best?

[GRASSHOPPER]

I know that the software uses the fonts on the computer. I don't have enough time on this machine to be able to tell which fonts will carve best on what kind of wood. Several of them have small areas that chip out easily. I assume that it is better to stick to fonts with clear sharp edges.

It would be nice to have a sticky thread where people could post which are good and what to avoid. Some look great in the designer but wind up in the burn pile.

[BobHill]

Well, Grasshopper, actually it's not just the straight edged fonts that determine what will carve good, but also remembering that fonts are CARVED, which means done with the Carving bit (unless you use otherwise, of course). The bit is a V so the deeper you cut, the more it's likely to strike another part of the character, but once again that's dependent upon the size of the character (font size) you will be working with. So, if you have the text make with larger and shallower letters than you might do for the "straight" fonts (for instance Black Ariel), the more fancy (script or Old English, for instance) fonts can be carved well.

Bob

[pkunk]

I know that the software uses the fonts on the computer. I don't have enough time on this machine to be able to tell which fonts will carve best on what kind of wood. Several of them have small areas that chip out easily. I assume that it is better to stick to fonts with clear sharp edges.

It would be nice to have a sticky thread where people could post which are good and what to avoid. Some look great in the designer but wind up in the burn pile.
There's so many variables here that this is a difficult question to give a definitive answer. I carve most of mine with centerline and either the 90° or 60° bit so I hardly ever get any chipout. Different woods will also enter into the equasion. The best thing to do is carve a sample board of several of the fonts you like and in the style of carving (centerline, raster, or outline) you intend to use.

[GRASSHOPPER]

I think the problem is the centerline function. I didn't purchase it. I established a carving area and the text was raised inside the area. It was cut in the regular back and forth action of the cotter head.

I just updated the software and had to validate the user name and password. If I get the centerline feature will it be included in the future updates?

[pkunk]

If you purchase centerline, it will work in all future updates. :)

[The "DH"]

Fonts are harder than regular patterns (in my book) so I test cut then pick the one that I want to use. Centerline is a must have!!!

Here are some centerline fonts that cut very nice: Segoe print, French script MT, Arial unicode MS, MS shell DLG.

The arial unicode ms I was able to get down to 1/4 inch in hieght with 10 for letter spacing, no bold.