Workshop name tags 1

With the next Sign Magic Workshop quickly approaching (September 30 – October 2) it is time to start in on the name tags we create for our guests. I started with a sketch, as always. I designed in a hurry, ideas flow better that way, and scribbled down my ideas, moving on to the next as soon as I had it nailed. The details would come later.
The vectors were quick and easy… nothing hard here.
The relief was a simple oval, modified with a raised oval.
To create the texture I perused my TEXTURE MAGIC collection and selected one I like…  spaghetti. I enlarged it enough to make sure the 1/8″ ball nose bit to fit in everywhere. This was then applied to the relief.
The lettering border was made into a relief which was then modified with the oval to shape it to the same dome shape as the background relief. This was then merged (highest to the relief.
Then I applied the lettering.
When I created the bowl for routing the relief I took notice of the cool effect that happened when I created a separate 3/4″ thick relief. I decided I loved it. The spaghetti faded out on the edges and looked a lot like spaghetti on a plate.So I created a new oval slightly larger than the original relief. I used the limit height command to chamfer the edges. 
 This was merged highest with the original relief, completing the file.
-dan

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

Sign design in a different light

When most sign makers think of a sign their thinking is limited to the flat substrate and what they might stick onto it. At our shop we think of a sign as anything that attracts attention to our customer’s business, product or service.
In the entry hall of the Fox & Hounds Pub we have a project that closely resembles a sign under most definitions. The sign is dimensional of course for that is our style. We take it further than that however. The base of the sign, a large barrel tied the sign into the theme of the restaurant and helps tell the story. The brick wall behind the sign also was part of our work. It is actually the back of a seating booth in the pub. The curved brickwork mirrors the extensive carved concrete brickwork we did elsewhere in the restaurant. The large beams overhead also are part of our contract. 
But there is more to the ‘sign’ we are creating. My design also included the fancy tile work on the floor. The work was to be done by another subcontractor but is an important part of the design. The lighting above is placed and focused to show the sign in the best possible light. Everything works together to bring attention to our customer’s brand. This is an effective and memorable sign.
-dan

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

Outside progress at the pub

Each day we do our best to cross another job off the list. For the longest while it seemed the list of projects ahead of us at the Fox & Hounds was much longer than the finished ones. But as we walk through the project now it is coming together. It will be an incredible body of work when we are done.
Today the weather was perfect to do a large sculpted concrete out front. The unseasonable heat wave we have been experiencing is now gone. Annie mixed for me today and I slopped on the mud and when it had set enough I started in on the brickwork. We finished with time to spare, allowing for a thorough cleanup which always makes the job look better.
Tomorrow will be a shop day and by the end of the week we hope to be finished all of the sculpted concrete handrails outside at last. Then it is down to paint. 
The contractor has finished the plasterwork and the tudor trim. It is looking pretty welcoming already. Up top the blank area will soon be home to a new dimensional sign which is underway in the shop.
-dan

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

Mantle installation

Monday morning started out with a bang. A new hire, Annie, started this morning. When I arrived at the Fox & Hounds Pub she was waiting and eager to start. Our task was to install the routed mantle on the fireplace and finish framing the upper portion of the fireplace feature. There was lots of figuring to be done, coordination with the electrician and other trades. We would be working inside the pub which was operating. We were the entertainment for the day.
Annie knew the tools well and had done carpentry work before, but never anything quite like this. Nothing was straight and we worked without levels or straight edges. Everything was built by eye. She caught on quickly. While I built one side she would follow along on the other, matching my creations. 
The curves were gentle enough that I didn’t need to use the heating pad to bend the Precision Board. I had milled the pieces to be 1/2 – 3/4″ thick at most and so they took the bends without breaking. We used PB Bond-240 and it held securely in no time. I’ll be using the die grinder to tidy up the corners and match the woodgrain as it transitions from the front to the top and bottom. The curved mantle absolutely works with the curved roof above. the wall of the upper fireplace bows out about 6″ and the mantle is almost 14″ deep. The london roofline above is now almost tied into the bottom portion. and it WORKS!
We were almost done before the electrician turned on the power to the lights and there was instant magic. In the next days we’ll staple on the diamond lath and then start in on the carved concrete ‘brick work’. By next week it should be looking like the magical fireplace I designed, what now seems like ages ago.
The guests love the family crest and are curious as to the translation of the latin phrase on the front. We happily translated it for them when they asked. The crest is suspended about four inches off the back face of the sunken circle and throws a marvelous shadow while it catches the light in a spectacular fashion. It will look even better when it is painted up and then aged appropriately. I can hardly wait to see it all done!
It was a fun day with lots of progress. 
-dan

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

Production in spite of me

Yesterday was one of those days when almost nothing went right. Tools broke and had to be replaced, pieces were missing and had to be fabricated, and I simply got things wrong. Not much headway was made through the day in the shop. We all have days like that from time to time. At least the weather was perfect for those drives to town. I tried my best to whistle while I worked.
The good news however was in the router room the router kept chugging away doing things right. The file was massive, the detail was tight and the file ran a long time but it ran flawlessly. While I was frustrated in the shop and running back and forth to town the machine kept working, and working and working. It worked through the night while I caught up on my sleep. This morning when I came out to the shop it was done, perfectly. I had no worries. This is what I love about my MultiCam. Even the tools were put back in their holders. It doesn’t get better than that.
The file was one I created in EnRoute last week. Since I posted the mantle project here I changed things up a little and added a few more pieces for the bottom and top of the mantle. It now covered a full 4×8′ sheet of 1″ thick 30 lb Precision Board, wasting little material. Tomorrow we’ll glue the pieces into place and then build the rest of the new fireplace front around it. 
Stay tuned for pictures of the progress…
-dan

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