Scroll Saw Fonts

There is no such thing as too many fonts. Scrollers love them! But often we have to modify our favorite fonts in order to get them cuttable. Wouldn't it be nice if there were some fonts designed specifically for scrollers? Well, Mike from Scrollcrafters has come through by offering 3 different fonts for your computer. The first font (Deskset) is designed for desk nameplates. The other two (Scollsoni and Stencil) is intended for fretwork. Be sure to add these free fonts to your collection. While you're there, check out some of his cuttings. He does fantastic work!

Dingbat and Font Resources

Last post, I talked about using Dingbats in your designs. Sarajane listed a few of her favorite sources for Dingbats. Just Google the word Dingbats and you'll find hundreds of webpages that have Dingbats available for download. Many of these websites are cumbersome to use, however. But I was able to put together a list of websites that make it easy to find the perfect Dingbat for your next project. And since Dingbats are fonts, these websites are a great source for finding fonts for word art.

Font Space - This is my favorite font site. Each font is categorized by the users by using tags. You can follow user tags to view fonts with the same tag. This makes categorizing much more thorough. Fonts have a text preview along with a character map. I suggest you use the keyword Dingbats or Silhouettes and see what you come up with. Very cool.

Abstract Fonts - They have each of their fonts neatly organized with a text preview option and a character map. They also have a feature that suggests other fonts you may like.

Wanted Fonts - Fonts are organized into categories with a text preview option.

Dingbat Pages - Nothing but dingbats here. The dingbats are organized into categories for easy browsing. Each Dingbat has a static sample.

Simply The Best Fonts - Each font is categorized with a static sample.

TypeNow.net - Dingbats are categorized into sections, but are displayed on one page with a static sample of each.

Acid Fonts - Fonts are categorized with a static sample of each.

Font Garden - Dingbats are categorized by theme with a static sample of each.

Dingy for Dingbats

As pattern makers, we like to collect unique fonts to use in our designs. But often overlooked is the use of dingbats. Dingbats are fonts that have small pictures instead of letters. Sarajane of polyclay.com has a great article about how she uses dingbats in her crafts. She lists some of her favorite dingbats as well as some great dingbat resources. She also has a useful Font Table download where you can create printouts of all the characters in a particular dingbat. The article is very interesting and really gets your imagination going. She has a disclaimer, though. Collecting dingbats is addictive. So you've been forewarned!

Key Chain Font

Do you need to scratch that scroll sawing itch without jumping into a large project? H'bout making a few key chains? Ron Brown has created a True Type font to download for free. This font is especially good for making key chains. Best of all, you don't need a graphics program to create your patterns. After installing the font, just type the name you want into your favorite word processing program, set the font and size it to 72pt. Print, cut, repeat! It's that easy. These will make great gifts, use up some scrap lumber, and can easily be cut out in minutes. Give it a try!

Train Name

Awhile back, I wrote about Shop of Arpop and the patterns he has to offer. Here's another one of his pattern sets. He offers a train alphabet. This would be great for a little boy's room. Each letter and number is presented in a JPG format so you can easily scale them to the size you need. Check it out.

One note about Shop of Arpop. It looks like he moved his free scroll saw patterns to a ProBoards forum. To access these, you need to become a member. Signup is free, but it looks as if he must activate your account before you are allowed to look through his patterns and participate in the discussions. My approval was pretty quick. His new page is located here. At the time of this writing, the train alphabet is located here. But he may move those over to the forum in the future.