Blogs
Bailey’s Project: Day 4
It’s day four and we are making great progress – the sign is REALLY taking shape. All the precision board cuts are done and the letters are all completed as well. Brian is hard at work fabricating standoffs, welding, sculpting and assembly. Once the sign is put together and the parts sculpted just right he’ll take it all apart to begin priming. We cut the “smokehouse” letters out of 1/2″ black PVC. And the larger 3D Cut “Bailey’s” out of 1″ thick 15# Precision Board HDU.
Bailey’s Project: Day 3
Wow! Day 3 flew by with lots of progress on our Bailey’s project. The shop is buzzing with activity. We have installs going out the door, the MultiCam 3000 CNC is cranking out dimensional pieces, all of the printers are running with jobs ranging from tractor trailer wraps to art prints to murals and signs, and…. the phone is ringing off the hook!!!! We are busy. So even with all of this going on we are focused on the Bailey’s deadline, and the pint of Guinness that awaits us at the end of the project. The sign is hanging in the workshop and Brian has finished all the welding on the grills AND they are all painted.
Bailey’s Project: Day 2
Day two is underway! We’ve made some great progress in all areas. Brian’s been hard at work welding up the grill. It looks incredible and will really make this sign feel authentic. I’ve been programming the face and ribbons and working out the depth of the overall sign. In Enroute I’ve programmed the basic shape of the ribbon with the text – once I’ve cut it out of Precision Board HDU Brian will do some hand sculpting to remove the “machine cut” look.
Bailey’s Project – Day 1: Countdown to St. Paddys Day
If anyone reading this knows us at KDF you probably know that we love a challenge. Usually the challenge comes in the form of a tight schedule or a difficult design or a slew of creative ideas that need to be quickly conceptualized, sifted through and executed on. This project has all of the above. It has an extremely detailed custom dimensional sign with LED’s, goosenecks, layer after layer of HDU and it all has to be done by St. Paddy’s Day! We’re going to earn our Guinness on this one! Last year we had the pleasure of working with our friends at Bailey’s Smokehouse in Blauvelt NY ( http://www.baileysny.com/ ). AWESOME FOOD!!!! We designed, printed and installed a van wrap for them. They’ve returned with a bigger and better request.
Happy Horse Sculpt
The next sign to come off the MultiCam was the Happy Horse Saloon. It was routed from two layers of 2″ thick 30 lb Precision Board. The sign measures 42″ in diameter. I glued up the boards with a 3/4″ thick plywood backer and then cut a large french cleat to the back.
Three more in the series
Today Peter and I managed to sculpt three more signs in the series. These things are a ton of fun to build. They make me chuckle each time I walk into the studio. The MultiCam continues to whittle away at sheets of 30 lb Precision Board. Tomorrow morning another sign in this series will be ready for sculpting.
Life at Skunk Works Through The Eyes of Jon Sharp
Part 1 of 2 It's not everyday one gets to speak to air racing legend Jon Sharp. He's so respected and well known in the air racing community that one of his planes is even housed in the Smithsonian next to the Space Shuttle Discovery and Enola Gay. Needless to say, I...
Busy day!
The shop is full – wall to wall with routed pieces and concrete sculptures as well in all stages of completion. The painting process is well underway on both routed signs and concrete work. As fast as the pieces are cut from Precision Board on the MultiCam and I can get them glued together we are also starting the sculpting of the fully dimensional elements. Peter finished the horse sculpt today and it is looking very fine! In between all of my other tasks I managed to do the tortoise sculpt with lots of help from Sarah. The sign is now ready the head to the paint department.
Let the sculpting begin
The MultiCam has been going non-stop all weekend and today I started gluing up the pieces in readiness for the hand sculpting portions to begin. There signs are ready for cleanup, finishing and sculpting tomorrow. Peter got the jump on the sculpting today as he fashioned the bucking bronco for on top of the sign. He is talented and also has worked very hard to hone his autistic skills