Dan Sawatzky’s Blog

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.

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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.

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25 dimensional signs in a hurry!

The MultiCam has been kept running plenty of hours as the fronts and backs (and middles too) of the hole markers and rules signs have been cut.  The files were very large with all of the woodgrain detail and were cut overnight while I slept. While the rule signs were being cut I laminated the hole markers. Each had a piece of 3/4″ plywood laminated into the center to ad strength and also provide a secure attachment for the screws.

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Hole number markers

May has been one of my most frantic months I can remember in some years. At long last I seem to be getting my feet under me once more. After a week of having no time to build files I have at last got back to my desk once more. The WhistlePunk Adventure Golf signs are the next thing to be done. It is not often we do batch work where multiples of similar signs need doing but a project like the golf needs just that.

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Woodgrain bitmaps in the works

I often get asked if photographs will work to create textures. The answer is yes but the routed results will often be something quite different than you might imagine or expected and often not at all what you want. EnRoute translates the values of the photographs into height coordinates. Black does nothing, white is raised by the value of the measurement entered. Gray does something in-between

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More textures

This past year has been one of the busiest in my entire career. That is saying a lot! We’ve been busy with the construction of our new house (which has seemed all consuming at times) as well as a large project in the shop plus our regular work. Add in the recent workshops, plus the traveling to put on other workshops and attend trade shows and it has added up to being very busy. The house is now almost finished on the inside. I have a few more files to run and we have a bit more painting and ceramic tile flooring to lay, but the bulk of the work is now done ay last

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Small sign structure

With the big features now largely completed it is time to move to the next phase of the WhistlePunk Hollow Adventure Golf project. And that would be the signs, which are routed from Precision Board of course. During our recent workshop one of the re-occuring questions was in regard to the framework of structure in our signs

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