What’s The Difference Between a Sign Maker & Sign Artist?

Some might argue that a sign is merely that, a sign, but here at Coastal Enterprises we know that’s not true – many signs are works of art. In that sense, we would like to congratulate Facebook contest winner Wray Bassett on his artistic creation. Wray is the owner of Graphic ID located in Dover, PA and won Best Design in our contest.

Wray got his start in the visual communications industry in high school when he became interested in hand lettering while living in New Jersey. After several years as a military dog handler in the Air Force, Wray attended New Mexico Highlands University and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in visual communication.

Graduation brought on a job as an illustrator in Pennsylvania, but a love for dimensional graphics led Wray to start Graphic ID as a side job in 2001. With help from his trusty shop dog Baxter, Wray has been full time owner of Graphic ID since 2008. They are a full-service visual branding firm and offer complete logo design and branding solutions.

Wray’s award-winning sign was designed for a law firm to match its 209-year-old building and surrounding area. It was made to replace a sign that Graphic ID made less that one year earlier. The addition of the firm’s third partner and subsequent rebranding initiated the rebuild. Because Wray documented the build process of the original sign so well, and since it is very similar, we decided to showcase both in our newsletter.

Original SignClick for Larger Image

Original Sign
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Wray’s Award Winning DesignClick for Larger Image

Wray’s Award Winning Design
Click for Larger Image

The sign face was CNC routed from Precision Board Plus PBLT-18. An internal armature was fabricated from 1″ square steel tubing mounted in a hand routed channel between each sign face to provide extra strength. PB Bond-240 urethane adhesive was applied to secure the bracket in place and laminate the sign faces back to back .

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Wray cut the dentil molding and ribbon using a band saw, table saw and hand tools. The parts were then adhered using Abracadabra Magic Smooth two-part epoxy. Magic Smooth can be used as a texture coating but also makes a great adhesive. He then primed the sign with FSC-88WB Primer/Filler and finished with Matthews paint. 23k Gold Leaf was used to provide some eye-catching lettering and he welded 3″ box steel to make a sharp looking bracket to hang the sign.

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The original sign had a Scales of Justice logo, which is not present on the contest winning sign. The original logo was hand made from HDU and Abracadabra Magic Sculpt. By creating a silicone rubber mold of the logo and pouring in Smooth-On Smooth-Cast 300 liquid plastic, the Scales of Justice were easily duplicated for both sides. These were also finished with Gold Leaf.

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Although only built less than a year apart, the methods used to fabricate the signs varied between the two signs. Wray says the thing that won’t change in the future is his trust and use of Coastal’s Precision Board Plus and their companion products.

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Be sure to check out Graphic ID’s website at: http://www.graphicidstudios.com.

Facts about both signs:

  • The original sign was cut using mainly hand tools, only the face was cut with a CNC router.
  • The new sign was cut almost entirely by CNC router and ended up saving Wray hours of labor time.

Building a train – Part eight

In the old days highly skilled woodworkers would painstakingly carve patterns for castings. Years ago I was in such a wood shop and marveled at the detailed and intricate work I saw. These patterns would then be sand cast to produce the pieces they needed. A steam train would have hundreds and hundreds of castings which would then be assembled.

As we create our train we are seeking to replicate this work, but instead of doing everything by hand we are using modern software and the ‘castings’ are routed on the MultiCam from sheets of Precision Board. The stack of cut pieces is growing fast!

Although perfect in every detail we still have to make the cut pieces of Precision Board look like cast iron, and 100 year old cast iron at that. It’s easy with the special paint we use. After two coats of the dark grey ‘iron’ paint is applied I then spray it with a mild oxidizing solution and in a mater of minutes it forms real rust.  In an instant the pieces look authentic and also incredibly heavy.

Stay tuned as we assemble and finish the rest of the pieces.
-dan

Published with permission from precisionboard.blogspot.com. Source.

Building a train – Part seven

The train is coming along nicely. The bulk of the frame, tank and cab is welded steel.  Now it is time to fire up the MultiCam once more and do the many details we need.

Today’s project was the steam cylinders that power the geared engine. This kind of complex shape is fun to create in EnRoute. I first had to build the vectors I would require for each relief. The reliefs would mostly be built separately and then merged after being nudged vertically into position. We would use a variety of procedures for the task.
For the top of the cylinders I created meshes using the revolve tool. I then duplicated the mesh before merging it to a zero height relief.

The valve box was built as a separate relief as were the end caps. These were nudged into position (relative to the cylinders) Then I modified the valve box relief by adding the oblong shape and the rivets.

Then I created a zero height relief and merged highest, everything to it.

Using the slice tool I cut off the zero height relief.

The connecting rod covers were the next task. First I created a flat relief.

To add slope to the flat reliefs I used the sweep two rails tool to create a slope mesh. I merged this to the flat relief by adding to.

Then I created the bracing flanges (also a flat relief.)  These and everything else was nudged vertically (in the front and side views) until everything looked good. Then I created a zero height relief Everything was once again merged highest to this flat relief. Using the slice tool removed the flat relief when I was done.

Next I added the rivets by modifying the base relief.

The bottom bits were then built as separate reliefs, also nudged into position vertically and then merged highest with a zero height relief.

Lastly I sliced the assembly into three layers (to fit in 1.5″ thick Precision Board) then tool pathed the file and sent it to my MultiCam.

The file was finished just at quitting time today. I’ll document the assembly tomorrow and show how it all fits together. Stay tuned…
-dan

Published with permission from precisionboard.blogspot.com. Source.

Sign Magic / MultiCam East Recap – Reliving The Magic

Earlier this month a group of signmakers, craftsmen, artists and manufacturers got together for a 3-day Sign Magic/MultiCam East workshop in Hackensack, NJ. Hosted by MultiCam East and featuring dimensional sign artisan Dan Sawatzky, they learned sign-making, and texturing techniques during the 3-day course. Also on board demonstrating techniques and tips were EJ Nodurft from Software and Kellie Miller from Coastal Enterprises.

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One of the coolest benefits of the Sign Magic workshop was just how hands on it was. Being close to so many talented people really allowed for an interactive, personalized learning environment. Each attendee was provided with Precision Board Plus PBLT-30 and was able to work on a personal project throughout the course.

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Some of the techniques taught by Dan included staining, glazing and texturing with numerous products including Magic Sculpt, which is a 2-part modeling and sculpting material.

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Kellie Miller provided hands-on tips and training on priming, texturing and bonding with the Coastal Enterprises line of companion products which include FSC-88WB Primer/Filler, FSC-360WB Putty, PB Bond-240, PB Fast Set, PB Hardcoat, TSF-45 and PB Resin. Ej Nodurft from EnRoute Software discussed and trained on the advanced features of EnRoute 5.

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Wray Bassett of Graphic ID Studios and Josh Dobson of Steel Art Co. having fun and showing the beginning process on one of their PBLT-30 projects.

In a nutshell, it was 3 days of some serious texturing, EnRoute and sign-making techniques. Close working proximity provided ample opportunity for networking and idea sharing. Strangers left as friends, and a good time was had by all!

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Designed by Brian Hamilton of KDF.

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Designed by Phil Ghi of Ghi Sign Service

6 Quick Tips For Tooling With Precision Board

1. Using the correct speed and feed settings for the density of Precision Board you will be machining is crucial. This will allow you to achieve optimum chip load. Having the proper chip load allows the cutting tool to move in and out of the material quicker, which will prolong the tool life and leave a smooth edge. Be sure to check out the excellent database LMT Onsrud has for choosing the right bit for the right material.

2. If you will be using Precision Board in an oven or autoclave, ensure that temperature ramp up does not exceed 1˚F per minute. This will allow the temperature to be evenly absorbed during heat expansion, which will reduce the possibility of internal stress and warping.

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3. When ramping down the temperature after autoclave or oven curing, temperature ramp down should not exceed 2˚F per minute. This will allow the tool temperature to drop slowly so contraction does not cause internal stress and cracking in the thinner sections of the tool. In thick tools with thin webs or sections, cool down should be even slower. Prior testing is always recommended before heat cycling on actual tool.

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4. Instead of laminating together sheets to form a large block, consider using a custom block instead. By providing a drawing to Coastal Enterprises we will make a custom-sized block in the rough shape and size of your tool. This will allow you to purchase less material, eliminate assembly and reduce machining time.

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5. Do not worry about Precision Board outgassing. Outgassing occurs when a urethane tooling board, other than Precision Board, is used to make a composite layup tool which is then heated during curing of the composites laminate. When a typical urethane tooling board is heated, it outgases, which releases byproducts that keep the composite laminate adhesive from curing. This obviously ruins the composite laminate and can damage the urethane tool. Precision Board plus does not outgas.

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6. For higher temperature applications, Coastal Enterprises offers Precision Board High Temp HDU, or PBHT. PBHT is a “closed cell” rigid urethane foam board made specifically for applications of up to 300˚F continuous exposure. PBHT high density urethane foam board is available in a wide range of standard sheet sizes and standard densities and can be cut or bonded into a variety of shapes for final machining or shaping.