Milescraft Pantograph Pro Kit, 1221

I purchased this product after viewing an older review on YouTube. I found the directions on preparing the working surface and assembling the unit adequate. I was able to experiment with it this weekend and was surprised at the results on my test pieces. It certainly gives me more options than the sign making kit I had purchased from Milescraft in the past. I would definitely recommend this product to others. I was hoping to view a demonstration at one of the woodworking shows, but they are no longer available in the western states. A new tutorial with more detail in the use would be helpful either on the internet or by making a DVD available.

I love my PantographPro. I was looking through different CNC Machines but the prices were way out of my budget. The PantographPro was the perfect solution. I am able to route out logos, words and various different signs. It was pretty easy to set up and it's very enjoyable to do. I'm definitely recommend it.

PantographPRO - 4 Stars out of 5This kit contains everything one need to make signs using router, except for the router and wood. In the box one will find a PantographPRO with all the necessary accessories to mount a router to it, three router bits with 1/4" shank and templates with 2 types of font stencils. There is also a manual in the box and if that is not enough, one can watch a video about the assembly and use of this kit. The video is available on YouTube and the Milescraft website. There is not a DVD provided with this product. Assembly is quite easy and takes only few minutes. The whole jig needs to be mounted on a flat stiff surface, standard 3/4" thick piece of plywood would be sufficient. The idea is simple: you move a stylus over a stencil of a letter ... MorePantographPRO - 4 Stars out of 5This kit contains everything one need to make signs using router, except for the router and wood. In the box one will find a PantographPRO with all the necessary accessories to mount a router to it, three router bits with 1/4" shank and templates with 2 types of font stencils. There is also a manual in the box and if that is not enough, one can watch a video about the assembly and use of this kit. The video is available on YouTube and the Milescraft website. There is not a DVD provided with this product. Assembly is quite easy and takes only few minutes. The whole jig needs to be mounted on a flat stiff surface, standard 3/4" thick piece of plywood would be sufficient. The idea is simple: you move a stylus over a stencil of a letter or a drawing and the PantographPRO transfers that movement to the router, which makes exact copy in scale 1:2 (half the size of the stencil) in the wood (or some other material). The stencil is held in place by a transparent plastic sleeve and thumb tacks. Stylus is supposed to move just a little bit above the plastic without touching it. It was easier for me to be able to push the stylus on the stencil therefore I had to use many thumb tacks to hold it firmly in place, otherwise the sleeve would warp. Perhaps thin acrylic sheet would work better. It takes a bit of practice to produce nice signs. It is recommended to try the jig first on a scrap material to get a feel of it. One cannot make a whole word in one go. Letters have to be made one by one. That slows down the whole project. It is also a bit tricky to get the spacing between letters right, therefore there are spacing marks made on the templates. Following lines with a stylus is not that easy and takes some experience. However this jig is capable of producing very nice signs once you get the hang of it. Milescraft used adequate materials for this kit ensuring it's long life, metal screws and good quality tough plastic. Good news for owners of other Milescraft's jigs for routers, the included base plate features Milescraft's TurnLock Technology. This base plate can be used with other Milescraft router accessories, such as the CircleGuideKit, SignPro or Design/InlayKit). PantographPRO is more versatile than a SignPro, as there are no limits to the fonts one wants to use. Anything can be printed or drawn on paper and copied on wood with this jig, whereas SignPro allows only the use of font provided. However, this jig is a little bit more difficult to use in my opinion. Also, one has to have in mind that template will be copied in half the size, therefore there may be a need to enlarge the stencils.

Quality was good, good instructional video available on YouTube as well. I like most everything Milescraft makes, my one complaint: it reduces the size of what you were attempting to carve, which is kind of disappointing when you’re trying to transfer some artwork to a piece of wood, there is no other way to increase the size of your carving. I will still make good use of this though.

As I suspected, this tool requires a LOT of preparation, and a LOT of practice. When considering ...

As I suspected, this tool requires a LOT of preparation, and a LOT of practice. When considering one, consider that you'll also need a piece of plywood, and some other scrap wood to build the table for it. It is also VERY SLOW to use, and requires intense concentration. To write the words "Mark's Pub" in the included Olde English Script took about 2 hours of work.Also, the instructions are not THAT clear on actually how to use it, and required a lot of tweaking to get it to work correctly.

I wish the output size was adjustable. They say it’s...

I wish the output size was adjustable. They say it’s a 50% reduction. To me 50% means 1/2, so with basic math when I trace a pattern that is 8 inches tall the finished product should be 4 inches. Not 3.25 or 3-1/4 inches. I emailed them with not much help. Which is disappointing

It arrived a day early which was great. I...

It arrived a day early which was great. I thought it was straight forward assembling. There is a small learning curve with using the device. Don't set the bits deep. Some bits work better than others depending on the lettering, etc. But I'm happy with it. I like the freedom you have with it.

Milescraft 1221 Pantograph Pro

I bought this to make signs for my business. I usually use a laser cutter, but I wanted to try something different. The setup takes a while, but once it's set up it works great. My first few tests didn't look great, but closely resembled the templates. It's is a great piece of machinery

The PantographPRO is solidly built and assembled. The pivots are...

The PantographPRO is solidly built and assembled. The pivots are well designed and have no backlash. I expect this system to produce excellent results. Milescraft have excellent product and components support. Highly recommended.

Well made piece of kit

This is a really well designed product. Straightforward to use with very clear instructions. There is a bit of a learning curve but after a few practice pieces good quality signs can be produced quickly. The great thing about it is you can produce a sign in ANY font if you can re-produce it on paper. I prefer to CAD mine from TrueType fonts but you could use them straight from a word processor. I use a lightweight cordless router for ease of movement and the router bits supplied seem up to the job.