PB Bond-240 Contest!

Wow! What a great contest! Thanks to everyone for participating!

A few more pictures

The electrician is coming to power up the new router tomorrow at last. Wednesday morning, early, I am off to Atlantic City for the presentation of my seminars there. All this means I won’t be doing any routing this week. Hopefully by early next week we will have finished setting up the mew machine and then we’ll get to routing once more. The work is certainly stacking up for the new router!
But in the meantime we are keeping very busy! We continue to work on the painting at the Fox & Hounds pub with only the ceiling to go now. The electrician and contractor are doing their best to stay ahead of us. My friend Donna stopped by on Friday with her hot rod camera to take a few pictures. She captured a few areas I had not yet got good pictures of. One of those areas was of the rusty steel bathroom dividers we created some time ago. Notice the crowns on top of the posts.
Donna aslo got a great shot of the pub fireplace area. Unfortunately there is still one sign missing…  almost done in the studio!
She caught me as I was sculpting the vine around the brick arch entrance to the pub. I finished the sculpt on Friday and Bec did the painting today, finishing off this area. I’ll post more pictures soon.
In the shop there are lots of signs in progress. All are down to the paint stage and I will get more work done in the next couple of days.
Stay tuned for more pictures soon…
-dan

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

USSC Seminars

Wednesday morning I jump on  plane and head out to Atlantic City for the United States Sign Council  International Conference and trade show. I was invited last year to give three presentations. I must have had decent reviews for I was invited back this year to present three more seminars.
This year I decided to address three statements I often hear that irk me. The three statements are…  ‘I could never designs signs like that.’ ‘I could never build signs like that.’ and the final being ‘I could never sell signs like that in my town.’ In my talks I hope to show just how I have managed to do these three things. I want to peel back the mystery of just how it is done. 
The design talk will show how I find my unique ideas, how I puts the designs together from the first basic scribble through to the finished concepts, and how I has developed proven techniques for not only clever designs, but also how to present and sell these ideas to a prospective customer.
The marketing presentation will deal with how we get the word out about the unique product we create. I’ll deal with how to pick a business name, develop an image, design and build a storefront, why to fill the store with samples, how we do our web marketing and how to build a name and reputation of doing work that grabs attention for our customers.
It is one thing to dream up a three-dimensional sign like the ones we are known for, but quite another to actually build them. In the last presentation I will show what is behind and underneath the three dimensional skin of our projects using step-by-step pictures as well as detailed descriptions of how a series of various sized projects came together – from the inside out.
I’m looking forward to the sessions and meeting with many of my friends from the east coast. If you are going to be at the USSC conference I hope to meet you there too! Look for me at the Seminars or around the MultiCam or EnRoute booths.
-dan

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

here and there.

As the final painting is done we jump from project to project finishing various bits as the contractor and electrician signs off on each area. The progress continues to be a bit haphazard but definite progress is made on a daily basis.
Today I painted the lettering on the beam in the kitchen. Before the restaurant opened I jumped up on the counter and did the work while the cooks were busy behind me. By the time the lettering was done I was starting to get more than a little hungry after enjoying the aromas of the wonderful things being cooked behind me.
Across the hall way the owners and their staff were busy arranging the furniture in the new dining room. Although now done it will remain closed to the public until a final occupancy permit is granted – a formality at this point.
Many of the current guests, who have not frequented the pub since renovations were begun are now coming back once more. They are amazed at the imaginative work that has been done. It is heart warming to hear the many favorable comments from the patrons. 
We also finished sculpting the grape vine that winds around the brick archway onto the pub. I’ll be posting pictures of he finished project very soon. Stay tuned…
-dan

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

Christmas came early!

It was with great anticipation and delight I directed the big semi up our long driveway to where we would unload the new MultiCam. While I chased down and printed out the necessary papers to send off the old router the driver unchained and untarped the load. The machine was shrink wrapped in white plastic as I knew it would be. I quickly checked for physical damage and then signaled the unload to begin.
The rotary attachment was the first to come off the truck. It was squeezed into the router room doorway – a test for the big piece to come.
Next off was the HEAVY DUTY ROUTER. Weighing in at 4,000 plus pounds we were a bit worried the heavy rains of the last few days would give us trouble in the gravel drive. Our fears proved unfounded. The machine barely squeezed through the narrow drive up the back however, with mere inches to spare on each side. We slid one end into the doorway and then using floor jacks on one end and the forklift on the other we snaked it into the workshop. 
The new vacuum was the last piece to go in. Everything fit perfectly. The gantry still needs to be put into place and everything has to be bolted together and dialed in. Now we wait for the tech to come set it up for us.

The old machine was then loaded on the truck, chained into place and tarped securely for the drive back to Texas. I only missed it for a minute as I admired the shiny new replacement.
Now, the new adventure begins. Stay tuned…
-dan

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