Hanging Solutions

[JuicyCarp]

Good morning fellas, this day came quick! This machine is nothing short of an addiction, and I realized it this morning at about 1:30 am when I fisnished my 3rd carving! Its crazy!

But here is my question, when making signs, particularly signs that would hang on the wall in a living room or anywhere indoors, what do you use to hang them? do you use hardware, or do you carve something in the back?

Kevin

[chebytrk]

I use a keyhole bit. They can be bought at HD or Lowes. I then set the depth of that keyhole carve depending on the board being used. Since the keyhole bit is not in Designer drop down list I just pick one on the list that I don't use very much and assign it as my Keyhole bit... just remember that. After that, you're all set. You'll start your projects carving the back first (keyhole bit) then it'll pause and have you "flip the board" and then run the project as you normally do. It works great for me and I use it all the time with my CW.

[chebytrk]

Cowboy Clock.mpc

Here's one with a keyhole carve in the back. Just check out the back in Designer.

[lawrence]

I second the keyhole bit (nice clock btw!)

but I use my keyhole bit in a router table and make a horizontal cut- this allow the hanger to adjust the piece on the screw horizontally so that I don't have to worry about balance (centering)



Lawrence

[chebytrk]

Dude ! Ha ! Why didn't I think of that? Gonna start doing it that way from now on. Thanks!

You see Kevin? THIS is reason # 62576123448198751245176371625 why this forum makes our CW worth alot more than we pay for it.

I've been saying that since 2008.

I second the keyhole bit (nice clock btw!)

but I use my keyhole bit in a router table and make a horizontal cut- this allow the hanger to adjust the piece on the screw horizontally so that I don't have to worry about balance (centering)



Lawrence

[dehrlich]

I have used the keyhole bit before, but generally I use the standard sawtooth hangers. They are quick, easy and cheap. I get mine from woodworkingparts.com but there are lots of places to get them. If it's a big project I put them centered with 16" in between so they can catch the studs. If it's smaller, I just put them 2" in from each side and 1/4" down from the top edge. Reason I shy away from the key hole slot is you have to get the screw or nail just the right distance for the wall to work sometimes. Just my opinion.

[mathman]

I dislike the sawtooth hangers. I've seen them come loose and bend too often for my tastes. And you still have to get the nail/screw just right. Plus it doesn't let the frame sit flat to the wall. I prefer the routed slot approach except I tend to use a dovetail bit instead of the keyhole bit. It's not as picky about the screw/nail depth - as long as it's not left too long - and once I find the 'sweet' spot (it's balanced) I can put a little downward pressure on it and the edge of the slot is just 'soft' enough to create a dent, which makes it easier to reposition it on the wall if it has to be taken down and put back up.

Of course the main reason I started using the dovetail bit instead of the keyhole bit is I don't have the keyhole bit....

[chebytrk]

Looks like I'm going to have to try out that dove tail bit too. Sure is great to share "tidbits" of info like this.

[Capt Bruce]

I second the vote for horizontal keyhole bit slot done on my router table. Even taking the time to load the bit there it still takes me less time than doing a double sided carve and having to flip the board and change out the bit in the CW. If I'm carving a series of different plaques I can process them all at once and really save time while the CW is doing what it does best and carving images/text.

It does help to make a little set-up block for your router table from a scrap once you have the height of the keyhole cutter locked in just right so you can set it up again without any measurements of the bit height or the clearance to your fence. I then just store the labeled block with the bit between cuts. In a pinch the same set up block can be used to set the mounting screw head exposure above the wall surface to be just right without guessing.

[badbert]

Sometimes I do irregular shaped carves, trying to find the balance point is critical. I just use two sided tape.