Today dawned cool and very wet. And it rained harder as the day went on. Even so, today was the day we would install the Lark Rise sign. The client was responsible for the hole in the ground and did a great job. We arrived with the sign in perfect shape. Hailey mixed up the concrete while I untied and prepped the sign. The landscaper gave us a hand lifting it up and it slid into place in an instant. Four bags f concrete mix later the sign was permanently installed. I checked things with the level and then we stacked  few rocks around the base for the pictures. The client will landscape the area properly on a nice day soon.

The sign fit perfectly into it’s permanent home. I’ll go back on a sunny day to paint the metal brackets and structure. Today was just too soggy for the task.

-dan

Creative doesn’t stop with the fabrication of our signs and projects. From the design onwards I try to think of how we will support our projects while we build them, how to safely transport them (without a scratch) and how to securely and permanently mount them in their final home. The Lark Rise Sign proved to be especially challenging. We’ll dig a hole onsite and plant the base into some concrete to keep it upright. To fabricate and paint the sign I welded a flat plate to the bottom of the sign. It bolted to a stand for fabrication and to a post (which will go into the concrete). 

I could transport the sign upright as it would have been too tall. So we had to think up something creative. We don’t want to rub any blended paint off of the sign or post surfaces. So the solution was to support the sign by the sturdy metal points. It would be easy and quick to paint on site after the sign is installed. I welded up three metal cradles which I could fasten to the wooden deck of the trailer with some lag bolts. The sign would slip onto the cradle, suspended of the trailer bed for transport. 

I’ll tie a red flag to the bottom post and then strap the sign down tight to the trailer real good – all straps will be hooked to the melt parts of the sign. We don’t want any scratches to the finished paint.

-dan

Today was a busy one in the shop, both getting ready for the upcoming Sign Magic Workshop and also working on some projects. The Lark Rise sign got the bulk of the attention today with the final base oats and glazes being applied. The ladies did the bulk of the work and did a great job too!

In the shot below Sarah and Haley are just finishing the second coat of glaze on the post.

In the bottom shot the first coat of the colors are on with a couple more to go. The last step will be the 23K gold leaf on the lettering.

With the carving and sculpting now done it is time to kick off the painting process. First the usual coat of FSC 88-WB primer from Coastal Enterprises. This smoothes things out a little and also is used to apply a subtle texture to the lettering by using a small brush on those areas. We set up a shop fan for a few hours to suck out the moisture. Then it was time to apply the first coat of acrylic paint. The post got an even coat of light brown acrylic house paint. It will be allowed to dry overnight and then it will get a second coat.

The sign was the second area to get some color. I started with a medium metallic grey for a base color. the sign background will darken up to almost black before we are done, but some cool highlights will shine through to give the sign sone sparkle. The 23K gold and bits of color will give this sign a lot of class. The same dark grey with black glazes will adorn the ‘sandblasted’ areas of the sign post but they won’t be applied until after the glazes on the rest of the post are done.

Stay tuned for more progress…

-dan

Once the router was finished cranking out all the pieces of the Lark Rise project it was time to start in on assembly. The first task was to weld up a steel frame that would go through the sign and also down the post to provide structural strength. 

Although the sign board looks like it can swing it is actually welded in place. The horizontal steel pipe is welded to the vertical pipe that goes from top to bottom through the middle of the post.

I used my die grinder to carve in the woodgrain into the post. The vertical cracks and splits were done with a narrow bit in the same machine. 

 I have a little more work to do on the back before we begin the priming and paint but it is almost ready to go already.

Stay tuned for more…

-dan