Coastal Enterprises, manufacturers of Precision Board HDU, is proud to host guest blogs written by some of the signage industry’s biggest movers and shakers, posted to the Precision Board Blog.  This guest blog is written by Mike Goulet, The Sign Specialist, based in El Mirage, California.  He describes how he CNC routed an incredibly detailed 3″ long model of a boat using Precision Board HDU as part of his ISA Sign Expo 2020 entry (now cancelled).

In Mike’s own words…

Ideas for projects come and go throughout the year.  Most of them fall away, but sometimes an idea sticks.  This was the case with multiple projects I have been working on this year for the ISA 2020 Expo. I had an idea for a boat as one of the detail pieces on my entry and was debating the best way to fabricate it.

I chose PBLT-30 Precision Board HDU because of its exceptional ability to hold fine details and how robust the material is. I set off using Vectric Aspire to design the boat in 3D, then made it a 2-sided machining operation.

Once our Laguna Tools Smartshop M2 was set up with the material and our new #46582 tapered ball nose from ToolsToday.com, we started the program with speeds and feeds settings of 400 IPM at 18,000 RPM. Machining the boat took a total of 3 minutes but the details were all immaculate, from the keel on the bottom to the lip all the way around the top of the boat. It was amazing to see the level of detail we could achieve with such a small model.

Next was the process of making our beautiful model look good enough to float as a real boat that had been shrunk down to a tiny size.

I called in a specialist with miniature designs. My grandfather, Rollan Wittkopf. He has made so many small projects over the years that range in size. His work is unparalleled, and I could not have anticipated any greater results.

The stand that holds the boat is a ½” thick piece of PBLT-30 that was hand carved and painted to look like waves. All of the pieces were primed with FSC-88 WB Primer and hand carved to add detail such as wood grain and water effects.

FSC-88 WB allows me to add the details I want in the final project and also doubles as a primer for my ISA project. After I had primed the boat, I handed it over to Rollan and let him take off with the final colors. He started with carving the boat and the base. The boat was painted using 1Shot paint with a base of brown, with darker brown used for the deeper carved areas for the grain effect. The same effect was replicated throughout the rest of the project utilizing different colors.

We love the way this project turned out and look forward to its debut in the ISA 2020 Expo when this calms down.

The Sign Specialist is a small company that specializes in the design and creation of dimensional signs and augmented reality sign projects. They tackle projects of any size. Their work has been published in Signs of the Times Magazine.

Michael Goulet describes himself as a visionary with the intention of being a trendsetter in the dimensional sign industry. His art career started in 2015 and although new to the industry, aims to bring vision, tenacity, and more artists to the field. Michael is passionate about creating new techniques that will help to bring the world of dimensional signs into the next century of innovation and to create more visibility for such a unique world of signs. Oh and to eliminate boring channel letter boxes all together.

Coastal Enterprises manufactures Precision Board HDU, a versatile, cost-effective and eco-friendly urethane sign material that is particularly effective for making professional-looking indoor and outdoor dimensional signs.  It is a closed-cell rigid substrate that does not rot, warp or crack.  You can request free samples, get a quote or sign up for periodic newsletters packed with helpful information.

Coastal Enterprises, manufacturers of Precision Board HDU, is proud to host guest blogs written by some of the signage industry’s biggest movers and shakers, posted to the Precision Board Blog.  This guest blog is written by James Matthius with Knotty Flag Co., based in Staten Island, New York.  James tells us how he killed two birds with one stone by making his first shop sign AND fabricating it from Precision Board high-density urethane, his first time making a sign out of HDU.  We think the results speak for themselves!

Q & A with James Matthius…

How did you hear about Precision Board HDU?

Mike who is a fellow woodworker, and owner from Veteran Wood Co. and put me onto the HDU scene. He’s been very inspiring to me and super helpful. I saw him making really awesome signs, and said I got to try this stuff out.

Tell us about your project?

I have been wanting to make a shop sign for myself for the longest time, just never had the time to do it. When I finally got my hands on the Precision Board HDU I figured why not treat myself and give it a shot. I used pocket tool paths with texturing to make the background pop. I love the way the texture looks on HDU.

What density of Precision Board did you use?

PBLT-15…15lb urethane foam.

Tell us what you used for a router, bits and software for this project?

For the router I used a Carbide 3d router.  I ended up finishing with the Makita trim router. All of this was done on Carbide Create software. I’m still learning Vectric Aspire software. Huge learning curve for me. I just got into the CNC world in December 2019 so I’m learning as I go with the help of fellow CNCers. For the bits I went with all Amana tools foam upcut endmills from Tools Today. I used 1/16 to line out the company name, and a 1/8 bit to do the texturing pocket cuts.

How long did it take to cut the board?

Wooof lol, I’m a little embarrassed to admit this. All in all it was about 22 hours! I later learned how to use different bits and separate sections into different tool paths.

Tell us about the priming and painting of the sign?

I used Kilz latex WB primer and used regular arts and crafts store acrylic paints for the top coats. Actually worked out pretty well. Next time I’d like to use higher end finishes.

How will the sign be mounted?

The sign will be fixed to a wooden backer board with a frame built around it, all made by me of course. I used Total Boat Epoxy Resin to fix it to the backer itself.

You said this was your first time using HDU. Any tips or tricks you discovered while making the sign?

Tips and tricks. I’d like some myself!! Definitely do your research for toolpaths, feeds/speeds. Dust collection is a must. It’s a little pricey, so if you are unsure, run a test pass on something else to make sure your design comes out the way you want it to.

Why do you like Precision Board HDU?

I like the light weight of it, the machinability of it, the fact that it’s weather resistant and the way textures come out.

James started out doing woodworking, making furniture and home decor pieces for himself, friends, and family. Everyone always loved what he could create for them. He said to himself,  why not try and start something and see where it goes. So here he is giving this a go creating beautiful furniture pieces and decor for everyone! CNC and sign making is his new obsession.  He loves everything about it and is very pleased and thankful for all the support that he’s had so far from his customers and friends!  The Knotty Flag Company can be found on Instagram and on their website.

Coastal Enterprises manufactures Precision Board HDU, a versatile, cost-effective and eco-friendly urethane sign material that is particularly suited for making professional-looking indoor and outdoor dimensional signs.  It is a closed-cell rigid substrate that does not rot, warp or crack.  You can request free samples, get a quote or sign up for periodic newsletters packed with helpful information.