19 Precision Board Signs For The Price of 9 Wood Signs

Its not everyday we get to see pictures from a single project consisting of so many signs. Our friend John Dungan at T. Ham Sign Company emailed pictures of a 19-sign job they recently finished.

Originally, John was contacted to replace the apartment complex’s aging sandblasted wood signs. After taking a look at the project and examining his options, he suggested that they could replace the signs using Precision Board Plus at a much more cost-effective price than wood. In the end it turned out using Precision Board Plus saved them over $7,000, with the added benefit of the signs lasting much longer.

Not long after that call, they received the go-ahead to start building the signs using Precision Board Plus PBLT-18. Even though T. Ham Sign Company has the capabilities to either sandblast or CNC rout, they decided to CNC the signs because it would require less overall time and labor.

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To make sure the signs have enough strength to handle harsh weather, each of the signs has 2″ x 2″  x 1/8″ aluminum angles attached to it with stainless steel bolts. These provide an extremely strong attachment point for the sign posts. There are also 3 horizontal aluminum bands running across the back of each sign for additional strength.

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T. Ham Sign was able to successfully replace all 19 signs for the apartment complex, incorporating the new complex logo and management company’s info onto the lower portion of the sign, using a better-priced, higher-quality substrate. Be sure to visit the T. Ham Sign Company website for more information and pictures from them!

If you would like the breakdown on HDU vs. Wood, please visit our previous blog: HDU Vs. Wood Signs.

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Signs With Authority – A 55′ long Precision Board Sign

Talk about a sign with some authority! Jeff Wisdom, owner of Oregon SignWorks in Springfield, OR, sent in some pictures of a particularly impressive project he recently completed.

Suspended under a massive 11,000 lb., 85′ long, 36″ diameter Douglas Fir timber is a 55′ long Precision Board Plus sign. Built for the Oregon Garden Resort, the sign consists of 6 full 4′ x 8′ sheets of 1″ thick PBLT-18 and one additional 36″ wide piece. The words “Oregon Garden” were spelled out using 1″ thick PBLT-18 letters cut on Jeff’s MultiCam CNC router. Dibond was used as a core material for additional strength.

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Using some critical thinking and elbow grease, Jeff was able to hand-carve realistic looking wood grain into the sign. To accomplish this, several custom tools were used: a 3-prong garden hoe Jeff bent into a custom shape for the larger grain lines and a Nu-Pride Adhesive Spreader with the teeth filed down for the finer grain lines. The knots were shaped using a traditional v-groove wood carving tool. After the wood grain simulation was finished, Jeff primed the sign using FSC-88WB Primer/Filler and painted it with Sherwin-Williams acrylic paint. As you can see, the sign turned out beautiful.

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Supporting the sign is a massive timber structure that was constructed by Nash Logworks, located in Cottage Grove, OR. Each upright log was held in place by two 1/2″ thick x 6″ wide and 8′ long metal plates attached to each side. For structural strength, 4′ of each metal plate was tied down into the concrete and secured with rebar. Coats of Sikkens exterior stain provided weatherproofing and coloring. Total dimensions of the timber structure are 22′ tall x 85′ wide!

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Not to be overlooked is the beautiful 3-d sign located beneath the larger, hanging sign. Cut on Jeff’s CNC router out of PBLT-18, there was a whopping 6 different layers of Precision Board used to create a sharp 3-d look. The finer details were carved into the CNC cut sign with hand tools, and it was finished with the same primer/paint process as the larger sign.

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Jeff started making signs out in Los Angeles, CA in 1987 and eventually opened his own sign shop in his home state of Oregon in 1994. After spending a couple of years making vinyl signs, a visit to a trade show sparked his interested in dimensional signwork and he has specialized in them ever since. As a big fan of hand-carving, Jeff likes Precision Board Plus because of the absence of wood grain and the ease of cutting/carving.

Be sure to check out his website at: www.oregonsignworks.com to see more amazing signs!

 

 

Sign Pro's In Chantilly, VA – M & M Signs & Graphics

Josh Guevara, Head Fabricator at M & M Signs & Graphics in Chantilly, VA recently made a sign for the Rainbow Child Development Center. Having worked with Precision Board Plus HDU for many years, M & M Signs has become quite proficient with Precision Board Plus and were able to build this sign very quickly. For this particular application all of the letters and rainbow were CNC routed out of PBLT-18 and back with PVC for additional strength.

Josh has worked for M & M Signs & Graphics for 6 years and is involved in many aspects of the sign making process in addition to operating M & M’s AXYZ 4008 CNC Router. Josh enjoys working with Precision Board Plus because it cuts easily, is more forgiving that other sign-making materials and is available in so many different sizes.

You can see more info and pictures on the M & M Signs & Graphics website.


 

Congratulations to Our Contest Winners!

Congratulations to Wray Bassett and George Leone, winners of the Coastal Enterprises Facebook Contest!

Mr. Wray Bassett, owner of Graphic ID Studios in Dover, PA won the Best Design category. Wray’s entry was a sign designed to match the 209 year old building that it hangs on. The sign panel was carved from two 3″ thick PBLT-18 sheets bonded with PB Bond-240 onto a steel armature. The sign was primed using FSC-88WB and painted with an acrylic latex enamel. The lettering is 23k Gold Leaf.

George Leone won the Best Engineered category with Primal 2, the human powered vehicle built by him and his team that can go 70 mph. Check out the full story in our previous blog post.

Thank you to everyone who competed in the contest! Twenty-five runners up will all receive a free 16 oz. bottle of PB-Bond-240 for their participation!

24k Gold Leaf Masterpiece!

Have you ever wondered how gold leafing is done? We had the opportunity to speak with Francis Bastow, Owner of Donehere Inc., located in Newark Valley, NY and he shared a couple of his most recent projects, and some gold leafing tips with me. Having been involved in the signage/bronze industry for most of his life, he is now retired and strictly does high-end work for churches.

Many of the projects he does involve gold leafing and lots of it. Francis has done work in churches all over the country, and most recently completed 2 separate Seraphim’s for churches in Warren, OH and Binghamton, NY.

Historically, many of the art pieces inside churches are done using basswood. Unfortunately, over time, humidity changes cause basswood to crack. On these last two churches, Francis opted to try Precision Board Plus HDU because it holds up well in extreme temperatures and will not absorb water.

These particular Seraphim’s were designed using ArtCam and routed from Precision Board Plus PBLT-18. Francis then primed them using FSC-88WB Primer/Filler. He then proceeded to the gold leaf stage. While many sign makers use 17k gold when gold leafing signs, Francis prefers to use 24k, which is pure gold. The benefits of using 24k gold leaf are that it will not tarnish, especially when touched by people.

Starting out, he applied sizing to the primed Precision Board Plus – he prefers a “slow” sizing, giving him more time to work. Once the sizing was applied, he knew when it was ready to apply the gold leaf by pressing his knuckle against it, and feeling it slightly stick to the surface. According to Francis, this is an old-timers trick. He then painstakingly applied the 3.5″ squares of 24k gold leaf until the Seraphim was completely covered. Once it was finished, he then applied raw umber to highlight the darker areas for definition.

You can see a  great guide on gold leafing by Sign & Digital Graphics here.

Additional info can be seen on Francis’ website at: http://www.donehere.com/.