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knight_toolworks
12-15-2010, 12:29 AM
I have been playing with these to get some samples in my shop and to some of the sign shops I do work for. for the most part they are pretty easy to make. I like to reverse the image so the face is uncut as someone here suggested.
the leds are pretty cheap about 10.0 for a 20" bar and 15.00 for the power and cord. I can cut the led bars to the length I need and I can get two from one bar.
one of the problems I have is getting the sign not to sit on the leds since they are not flat. so I found a simple way on each end drill a hole for a dowel cut them to length glue them in and the sign sits on that.
now my one question is these are wholesale so I need to keep the pricing low. I figure about 40.00 in materials for this size and a hour of work. but I would like at least 120 and a bit more would be better. does that seem reasonable for wholesale pricing?
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s266/knighttoolworks/photo1-12.jpg
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s266/knighttoolworks/photo2-12.jpg

sailfl
12-15-2010, 03:18 AM
Steve

Is that regular Acrylic and what size?

michael_schwartz
12-15-2010, 11:14 AM
I think 120 is a bargain. I don't think more than a few people if any make these with wood bases either. I wouldn't sell them any cheaper unless somebody wanted thousands of them.

knight_toolworks
12-15-2010, 11:46 AM
I thought it was regular acrylic but it has a green edge. it is cast though but I got it out of the scrap bin. the plastic is 13.5" wide.

upsman
12-16-2010, 06:33 AM
Hi Steve, I agree with Michael that’s a bargain. Could you tell me where you are getting your lights from?

knight_toolworks
12-16-2010, 12:34 PM
superbrightleds.com

jerry_stanek
12-16-2010, 02:47 PM
I get my led lights from here. They are a lot cheaper. here is a litho I did with those leds. There is only 18 leds in it and it lights up very evenly. I do the same kind of edge lighting as Steve for some of my name plates but some times I put a color sheet in to change the look. I get the color sheets from work we build trade show displays and the lighting come with these sheets that they just throw out.

http://cgi.ebay.com/5m-500cm-White-SMD-3528-Flexible-LED-Strip-Bright-300-/300492636236?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45f6c1c04c

knight_toolworks
12-16-2010, 03:17 PM
I have been thinking of laminating a solid color sheet and cutting through it. that way the sign would work well in daylight and night.

magic
12-17-2010, 02:59 PM
one of the problems I have is getting the sign not to sit on the leds since they are not flat. so I found a simple way on each end drill a hole for a dowel cut them to length glue them in and the sign sits on that.

Why not make the slot Stepped, inside, or is the entire undercarriage hogged out?

knight_toolworks
12-17-2010, 04:00 PM
better idea though I had to do a retrofit on this one.