Where is the best place to buy engraving templates/stencils and what should I buy?

Question

I bought one of those little rotary tools and I want to use it to put my name & address on some things. I want it to look neat so I want to use some kind of stencils for making letters. Somewhere (?) I saw a mention of small metal templates of letters and numbers to use when engraving. I think that's what I need. My questions are: what do I ask for and where is the best place to buy them?

Answer 1

It would depend on where you live. Dick Blick Art Stores sells engraving materials. So does Micheal's. Dick Blick and the Art Store has a web site.

Answer 2

The problem you are going to have from my experience is being able to use a stencil without cutting into it and making a mess anyway. I have a pantograph that fits my Dremel Tool and it works with a special engraving stencil that the tracing point sits in. I have found using a router attachment for my Dremel Tool and following a template I have traced right onto the surface I want to engrave. I have also made a photo copy of what I wanted to engrave and used rubber cement to attach it to the surface and engraved right through the paper into the surface. With a steady hand and some practice you can do a nice job. Good luck and I hope that this helps. To make the paper templates you could use any stencil from an art store or even an office supply store. You could also check out a architect supply store for lettering guides and thin metal stencils with very small letters and numbers. I do not know what you want to put your name and address on but you may be better off from a safety standpoint to engrave it with a Drivers license number or phone number so people cant just drive on over. Good luck hope your project turns out well.

Answer 3

Go to Hobby Lobby, if there's one near you. You can go to their website also. Just look around and see what kinds of engraving stuff they have.