Blogs
Stone Wall Plaque
So our friend and client Julian came in last week with an interesting project. He was looking for a creative way to present a plaque to a colleague as a gift using their logo as the artwork. So we came up with the idea of doing a carved “stone” look.
SEO For Your Sign Shop Website: Why It’s A Good Idea
Making sure your company is actively pursuing SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for your website is as important as keeping your customers happy. To put SEO, or Google Ranking, into perspective in the sign industry, take the two fictional sign shops of John's Sign...
Handy program
EnRoute is a at program to generate routing files and I use it for that every time I need a piece cut. But I also find EnRoute is a great program to use when I need to create a file of any size that needs to be precise. I’ve used it to generate the plans for all sorts of projects including layouts for the Adventure Golfs we build and our property layout for when we were building our house. Yesterday I needed to draw a plan I would send off to the folks who were cutting us a thick glass coffee table top. We had hand sculpted the base of the table to look like the 400 year old trees of a plantation my clients had visited in Florida
Onsite work
I absolutely love designing in EnRoute on the computer and then routing our pieces on the MultiCam but the truth is that this most often gets us about 50% of where we are going. It’s a good thing I also love to do the hand work and finishing. The WhistlePunk Hollow Adventure Golf project is now in it’s final stages after more than six months of production. All of the features except the small signs we built with the help of the software and machine are now installed
Its All In The Details: Hand-Carved HDU Perfection
The latest hand-carved sign made from Precision Board Plus PBLT-18 HDU by Paul Martin of Piccadilly Signs in Winnipeg, Canada. We will be posting an in-depth blog soon showing step-by-step how this sign was made. Be sure to check back in and take a look!
Hybrid SAE Racing: Can Electricity & Combustion Work Together?
The University of Michigan Formula SAE team recently competed in the Formula Hybrid International Competition. Closely related to the Formula SAE competitions we have written about in the past, Formula Hybrid is widely regarded as the most challenging of the SAE CDS...
Final concept
The projects I build all start with a pen and ink concept drawing (now digital). This drawing is my way to work out many of the challenges. Even so it is kept loose – all freehand in order to allow lots of ‘wiggle room’ to facilitate the addition of new and better ideas as the build begins. The Institute for Study of Mechanical Fish challenge sign is no different
A sign challenge
When I was in Bridgeton, Indiana last week I was sitting at a table with Doug Haffner and Jamie Oxenham. Jamie had done a nice sign a while back that we commented on. I love a challenge (probably more than almost anyone) and a challenge was thrown out to design and build a new sign that would push the bar upwards from this fine example.
Workshop in Bridgeton, Indiana
Last week I was in Bridgeton, Indiana, helping to teach a 3D sign workshop there. I was one of the teachers that included Peter Poanessa, Sandy Baird and Jamie & Jody Oxenham. Rob & Deb Jones were our hosts who did a wonderful job! With about 50 attendees it was a busy time with lots of sharing and learning all along the way. The setting was beautiful with the centerpieces of the town being the covered bridge and the old mill – both spectacular attractions! For those interested it is going to happen next year about the same time once again.