Creating a fishing boat relief

I built this little fishing boart quite some time ago but decided to revisit it when I was recently teaching a workshop. It’s a complex but not too difficult a build which is fascinating. The first time I built these reliefs I was pretty new to EnRoute and the MultiCam. That gave me an appreciation for the feelings I knew my students would have.
The little boat would later be incorporated into a sign sample which still hangs proudly on our shop.
As with all EnRoute files it started with vectors. I drew them all out in the program. The large egg shape was not part of the ship but would be used as a mask to define the rounded hull shape.
I started with the hull of the little boat by creating a flat relief that was 0.2″ tall.
I then built the upper trim rails as separate reliefs that were 0.35″ tall. 
Because the rail reliefs poked out beyond the hull relief I could then select them and the hull and combine them together. Next up was the tire that west coast fishermen tie to the side of their boat to protect the woodwork when they come in to the dock. This was built as a domed relief with a base of 0.5″
This tire shaped relief was then MERGED HIGHEST with the boat hull.

Then came the magic part. We used the giant egg shape as a mask to define the dome shape of the hull. It worked perfectly as I had remembered.
I checked the bottom and front view to be sure, but things looked pretty good already.
Next up was the keel and rudder of the boat. These were done as flat reliefs 0.2″ thick.
The propeller shaft and rudder straps were created as separate 0.35″ high flat reliefs.
These reliefs were then combined with the keep and rudder reliefs.

Next up were the tackle boxes on the front and rear decks of the little ship. These were created as 1″ tall flat reliefs.

The lids were created as separate flat reliefs that were 1.2″ tall.

The respective and box were selected as pairs and then combined. I then selected the hull of the ship, the tackle boxed and combined them to form one relief.

Next time we get to creating the files for the cab of the fishing boat using the revolve tool. Stay tuned…

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

Enroute Summit 2017.

A couple of years back, I attended my first EnRoute workshop in Denver Colorado. I had and amazing time with some old friends and made some new friends along the way. When EnRoute announced it was holding a competition leading up to the 2017 Summit in Salt Lake City, I climbed all over it. Up for grabs were cash prizes, advertising opportunities, and free trips to the summit.

I’m happy to say that we placed 1st in the Novelty category with our gear set.

So, for the next 3 days, I get to hang out with the best of the best. I can’t wait to see what new things I learn.

-Jim

Published with permission from Synergy Sign & Graphics. Source.

Priming High Density Urethane – Did You Know?

Did you know Coastal Enterprises manufactures a water-based primer that is high in solids, which is perfect for HDU, but can also be used on wood*, metal and concrete?

*Priming wood? Reduce FSC-88 with water by 25% to increase absorption and improve adhesion.

primerFSC-88 WB is a sprayable, brushable, rollable water based primer/filler that is used on Precision Board Plus HDU or any number of substrates prior to finishing with paints and coatings.

Use FSC-88 WB when a smooth surface is desired or when a seam line or small area needs to be filled.

It can also be used on any type of background, like sandblasted or routed textures as a primer. Make sure to dilute with water as necessary to obtain appropriate spray pattern. It dries quickly and can be sanded easily.

FSC-88 WB Primer/Filler is not just used for signage, but a variety of applications, including modeling and prototyping.

We have some helpful blogs on priming of Precision Board HDU:

There are resources available on our website for priming and filling with FSC-88 WB under the How To/Training Tips section.

Watch the how-to video for using FSC-88 WB Primer/Filler under the Training Videos section.  While there, check out other how-to videos for using the full line of adhesives, primers and coatings available from Coastal Enterprises.

In addition to free samples of Precision Board HDU, you can get free samples of our companion products, including FSC-88 WB to try for yourself.  Try a sample of FSC-360 WB Filler, which works well in conjunction with FSC-88 WB.  FSC-360 WB is a water based crack filling and repair material specifically formulated for use on Precision Board Plus High Density Urethane (HDU). It also works well on wood, metal, and adheres to most plastics. FSC-360 WB Filler dries quickly and sands easily. Use FSC-360 WB Filler for repairing scrapes, holes, or any type of damage.

Buster gets a coat of paint

Im my last post about the Could Buster sign I had finished the sculpt and he was waiting for paint. As with many f our signs we started with a cot of Coastal Enterprises FSC-88 WB primer. It’s a heavy bodied water base primer that is sandal. Only our intention is not to smooth things out but instead add even more texture. This paint is the perfect ticket for that task. We brush it on, purposely leaving brush stroked behind. Later when we do the glazing those brush strokes make that task easier. Hand brushing our primer and paints gives our signs a definite hand crafted character. That adds value.
We started the painting process with three base coats of solid colour. We use premium acrylic house paint. We allow the paint to dry thoroughly between coats and a large industrial fan speeds up this process. With the paint dry it is time for the glazes. We start with the lightest colour, in this case a light tan. The glaze is brushed on and then wiped off, leaving it in the crevices and ridges. 
The next coloured glaze would be a dark brown and would go over the ‘wooden’ gun stock as well as the porcupine. This meant we had to brush the base colour on the gunstock before the next glaze. 
By doing things in a specific order it cuts down on the time for cutting the edges of the painted areas.
Becke also painted the base colours on the barrel of the gun, eyeballs and nose of the little creature.

She then worked quickly over the entire surface, always keeping a wet line in her glaze and wiping it off before it dried.

The back of the porcupine received the same treatment as the front. Not many people will look here but if they do it is finished as good as the front.
Next the blues of the bottom will get their final coats and then the lettering is last. I’ll show the finished sign next time. Stay tuned…

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

Assembly of the Hazelnut Inn main sign – part one

The center portion of the sign would be a giant oval but we didn’t need the whole thing as the bottom would be tucked into a themed base and the top would be in the canopy of the tree. By cutting these off we would save a lot of Precision Board, an important consideration as this portion of the sign would be a whopping fourteen inches thick. 
The centre oval would be a concave dome and routed from 4″ thick precision Board. Because we were cutting the top and bottom off the oval we could get both pieces out of the same sheet. 
We would build the reliefs in four pieces. First we created a four inch flat relief, the thickness of our board.
We then hollowed out the middle of the flat relief using the dome tool and the subtract command.
we added texture to the inside dome in two ways. The first was done using a custom made bitmap.
To add a subtle randomness to the texture Peter used a parametric texture called ‘cellular texture.’
It ended up that we would cut much of it off but Peter added a base to the sign. This was done as a separate relief.

  He then created a lower height relief around the oval which would effectively cut the shape out in a fashion. Our bit was only 2.5″ long so it wouldn’t cut all the way through but it would give us a guideline and a head start.

We then merged the pieces to the outside ‘bowl’ one at a time using the replace command. (Please not that merge highest is shown in the picture below. The Replace command s the one on the fair right.

   

The outside of the oval would have another layer added. This would be undercut so we could place a ring of LED lights there to create a glow on the domed background behind the tree. This would be routed upside down. We first created a relief that was 2″ thick.

This relief was then modified by using the subtract command.

Lastly we created a 2″ filler layer. This was done as a simple offset cut file. We cut this in sections which would allow for the welded structural steel frame to be put inside the outer layers.

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