TurboCAD questions

(Homemade gantry mill, Dremel, TurboCNC, TurboCAD Pro v8)

I've been using TurboCAD for a couple of weeks now.
What I'm trying to do is make small plaques with my granddaughter's
names on them. I want to cut away the background, leaving the letters
raised.
My problems are; getting letters that are fat enough to leave anything
behind, and cutting away the background.

For getting the letters fat enough, I've been trying to turn them into a
3d solid, and shell them as a cheap form of cutter compensation. The
problem is ACIS complains that it detects a change in topology. Is that
programmerese for the shell overlaps itself? How about suitable fonts?
Jokerman looks like something the girls would like, but it's very
detailed. Maybe I just need to spring for a 1/32" endmill instead of my
1/16"?

As far as cutting away the background, I've been creating a hatched
rectangle, exploding it to lines, and using the letters as cutting edges
to trim all the overlapping lines. Is there an easier way to do this? My
clicker finger is getting really tired!

Thanks for any suggestions!

ADVthanksANCE,
JJ

Be Kind, Be Careful, Be Yourself