How to Use a Lettering Guide: Achieve Perfect Letter Spacing Every Time

Creating perfectly spaced guidelines for lettering can be a challenge, especially on large or dark surfaces where light boards are ineffective. The Ames Lettering Guide is a valuable tool that enables you to quickly and accurately draw parallel guidelines at your desired intervals. This guide will walk you through the process of effectively using a lettering guide to achieve professional-looking results.

The Ames Lettering Guide is a drafting tool designed to create evenly spaced lines. While it has various functions, we’ll focus on its application for calligraphy and lettering.

Close-up view of an Ames Lettering Guide, highlighting its circular design and multiple holes for precise line creation.

Essential Tools for Using a Lettering Guide

To get started with your Ames Lettering Guide, you’ll need a few additional tools:

Low Tack Artist Tape: Essential for securing your paper without damaging it upon removal.
Mechanical Pencil: A reliable option for drawing fine lines. Consider a Fons & Porter white pencil for dark paper or a sturdy drafting pencil.
Smooth, Hard Surface: A table or light board to provide a stable base for your T-square.
T-Square: The Ames Guide will glide along the T-square, ensuring your guidelines are straight and parallel to the edge of your paper.

Illustration of low tack artist tape roll, an essential supply for keeping the paper in place.

Preparing Your Page for Lettering

Before using the Ames Lettering Guide, proper page setup is crucial:

Secure Your Paper: Use low tack artist tape to firmly attach your paper to your work surface. Make sure the paper is square.
Draw Margins: Lightly pencil in the margins of your piece. Only draw the margins you need.
Position Your T-Square: Place your T-square on top of your paper. The Ames Guide will rest on this ledge and glide along it.

A page secured to a work surface with tape and a T-square positioned at the top edge, ready for lettering guidelines.

Understanding Index Marker Alignment

The key to using the Ames Lettering Guide is understanding index marker alignment. This determines the spacing between your guidelines, influencing the x-height of your lettering.

To set the desired x-height, rotate the inner disc of the guide. Align the tick mark (Index Alignment Point) on the bottom of the guide with the index marker number that corresponds to your desired line height. This step may require some initial layout work to determine the appropriate lettering size. A good starting point is using x-heights easily divisible by 1/8th of an inch.

Adjust the inner wheel to fine-tune the distance between your lines. You can also skip holes to achieve wider spacing.

Diagram illustrating the alignment of the index marker on an Ames Lettering Guide to achieve specific x-heights for lettering.

Step-by-Step Guide to Using the Ames Lettering Guide

Follow these steps to create perfectly spaced guidelines using the Ames Lettering Guide:

Adjust the Guide: Align the corresponding index marker on the guide to achieve your desired line width (refer to Index Marker Alignment above).
Position the Guide: Place the Ames Guide on the T-square, ensuring it slides smoothly along the edge. Line up the first hole of the guide with your margin line. Only use the middle row of evenly spaced holes.
Draw Your First Line: Insert your mechanical pencil into the second hole down and gently drag the guide across the T-square.
Complete the Row: Move the pencil down to the next hole and drag the guide back across the page, continuing until you reach the last hole.
Move the T-Square: Reposition the T-square so that the top hole in the guide aligns with the last line you drew.
Continue Drawing: Using the second hole down, continue drawing lines as before, moving the T-square as needed until you reach the end of your page.

Simplified diagram showing the line of equally spaced holes of Ames Lettering Guide.

Additional Resources

For those seeking a more in-depth understanding of the Ames Lettering Guide, the following resources offer valuable information:

The Ames Lettering Guide can save significant time and effort when creating guidelines for lettering projects. By following these instructions, you can utilize this tool to create precise and professional-looking results.