It's a simple question, but it's not a simple answer.
You need to determine two things and then devise a way to do them.
Because we deal with them every day, the arrangement of letters (lik
faces) is very closely analysed by the eye. This means that anythin
out of line or uneven spacing sticks out like a sore thumb.
First of all you need you need to ensure a succession of characters i
all on the same line. I would second the suggestion of making
George-Thomas-type punch holder, because that gives you at least on
fixed reference point. Next you need to butt the work piece up agains
a straight edge (eg, a clamped steel rule). Now you can move the wor
piece left or right under the punch and all characters will b
vertically aligned.
Next, you need to get the inter-character spacing right. This is no
easy (big understatement). In this context there are two kinds o
fonts: proportional and fixed pitch fonts. A fixed pitch font use
exactly the same amount of space for each character, whether its an 'M
or 'I', a proportional font varies the width according to the character
Proportional are generally more pleasing and 'designed', fixed are mor
utilitarian. Most fonts are proportional, but a common exception i
'Courier', where you will notice that the serifs on normally thinne
characters are designed to add width. Courier was designed fo
typewriters and teleprinters to give a fixed spacing to enable layou
to be straightforward. In my limited experience, most punch fonts ar
'semi-fixed'. ie most characters are the same width - except the lette
'I'. You could use off cuts of steel to move the workpiece to the left
regular amount, again referenced to (another) clamped steel rule.
You can see why DTP software became popular!
Hope this helps
Mat
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Myford Mat
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