Today was another day at the Fox and Hounds. We tidied up a few more details. The contractor had painted the cooler door edges and surrounding trim from bright white to dark brown. It looked pretty good!

We hung the hostess sign in the entry. I had done a few modifications from the original design. 

We also pulled down a bunch of the direction and rule signs through the pub and brightened up the raised lettering, making them more readable in the dim light of the pub. 

I double checked some measurements for one last routing project for the inside of the pub. I’ll be creating an overlay panel for the back door that will be similar to the one I did for the cooler door.

Stay tuned…

-dan

We are down to the final bits and pieces for the pub project. As they begin to operate for real in the renovated facility the need for an abundance of operational signs immediately became apparent. For these signs we opted for a faux copper look. The signs do what they are supposed to but blend into the scenery.

The files are simple but effective – still dimensional but not overly so. The signs are simple flat reliefs with a subtle texture (from the TEXTURE MAGIC collection) 

 The washroom sign reliefs were all built separately and then merged (highest) as a separate step. The front and back of the sign were build in separate pieces and glued tougher after routing. The eye bolts were welded to a steel rod which was laminated into the center for strength.

The lettering was added as a last step as a slightly domed relief.

The pieces were routed from 1″ thick 30 lb Precision Board. The signs were roughed out with a 3/8″ ball nose bit and the find pass on the MultiCam was done with a 1/8″ ball nose bit.

I sculpted the hand using Abracadabra Sculpting epoxy. It was all painted with metallic acrylic paints, then aged with dome dark brown glaze.

There were lots more of these small signs throughout the facility and the list seems to be getting longer all the time.

We also hung the Keep Calm sign today. It looks at home in its final place.

-dan

This morning I loaded the front seat, back seat and box of the truck with completed signs, materials and tools I would need and then headed to the Fox & Hounds Pub.  The dart board was the first piece, then the cooler (CELLAR) door. Above it I finished sculpting the fittings and taps onto the purposely exposed telephone conduits. When I added the rich copper paint and then the aging it instantly became one more magical area that makes this place so special. 

I replaced the temporary signs with the faux copper ones we had fashioned.

I also added the ‘licensed’ plaque to both sides of the restaurant sign. 

These many small details add so much to the overall feel of the pub. It is looking better each day and at the same time my to-do list gets ever smaller.

-dan

Today’s project didn’t happen on the router table, nor on a computer. It was all hand done with the help of a plasma cutter and my trusty grinder. The project wasn’t complex nor did it take long. But it’s one more small piece in a complex puzzle that is the Fox & Hounds Pub. The details matter a great deal, and we are down to the details. With all the work we put into the dart board surround the score board simply could’t be ordinary.  My client had suggested some carbonized darts stuck into the top of the dart board but after a little research I discovered the center of the bull’s eye needed to be 5′ 8″ off the floor. With the dropped ceiling in the stage area the darts would have even lost or even squished visually where the dart board was to hang. We had decided on a rusted steel chalk board(painted with some blackboard paint) Instead of welding three darts to the board I decided instead on one dart, abandoned after puncturing through the steel blackboard but bent and rather stuck in place. It struck me as funny as – well the ‘deadly serious’ game of darts.

Since the blackboard brush has a habit of getting lost I came up with  sure cure. A sturdy chain is welded to the bottom of the board. The other end will be securely bolted to the blackboard brush. It will stay put for a long time.  🙂

Now it in on to some more details…

-dan

It’s not often we would encourage anybody to throw sharp things at something we have labored over but as always there are exceptions. today’s project was just such a case. I put the finishing touches to the dart board Frame for the Fox & Hounds Pub. With the rich reds and the deep green felt it looks pretty cool. Installed in the pub it will look even better.

I wonder how long it will be before the first dart hits the frame…

-dan