Rough Cedar Again

[Mayo]

Nice looking work Joe!

When you do these kinds of signs with pockets for letters of a different material than the sign background, do you just make them fit tight or do you have to leave room for expansion/contraction?

Has it ever been a problem for you with this method?

I've seen electric sign faces where they cut the plastic too big and then in the summer it bulges in or out like a pillow. Or worse, in the Chicago winters a piece cut too small can actually fall out of the frame.

[kevin]

Thanks for the post amd the effort

Joe Question cedar in Eastern Canada is is about 8 to 12 DOOLARS a board feet how much in Oaklhoma ?

What are your thoughs on African mahoney where I can get it at 5 to 6 dollars a board feet or exterior mdf sintra I bought 2 sheets from Halifax 12 hrs away it cost 55 dollars a sheet.
Foam is almost out of the question here plus I think foam is Okay on the side of a building not free standing like your new sign

[joe]

Mayo,


This kind of sign doesn't need exacting tolerances. I leave about a 1/8” clearance around my letters. Keep in mind, you'll be reading the black letter and not the pocket. I route down .35 yo .40. This lumber is rough cut and varies quiet a bit. The neat thing about this process, it replaces the tricky painting we used to labor over.


The letters are glued in place with GE Silicone 1.


Kevin,


What we have down here is called Western Red Cedar and it's rough cut and most of it is wet. There is no such thing as quarter sawn or vertical grain. Almost none of it is clear. It looks good for Lodge or Cabin signs. I pay $2.00 to $2.75 a board foot depending on it's size. In the past I had ordered some of your beautiful cedar. It's nothing like what we have down here. Your's resemlbes good redwood.


The sign below is another example of and pocketed/Dibond made during my workshop. On this one we combined pocketing with V Carving. It's still out front where the fellows placed it.

[joe]

Kevin,

I don't know much about African Mahogony. I believe it's beautiful and heavy. We use both kinds of Foam, HDU and EPS. and it's good for exterior use. The trick with these materials is a good topcoated.

You may have some Ponderosa Pine that can be used for signs. I get it in vertical grain from Lowe's. We blast it to get a beautiful grain. Hope you fina a good cheap sign material.

[dana_swift]

Hello Joe- as usual your work is absolutely inspiring. Glad I am not in the sign business, too many of my customers would be getting their signs in Norman!

D&B

[signtist]

Great stuff again! Love the real wood look.

[Big-Tex]

Mahogany is one of my favorite species. African is what you can buy these days as Honduras is not imported anymore. It machines nice and withstands weather as well. One more species that comes to mind that withstands weather conditions is teak but price does not justify to use for signs unless someone is willing to pay for it.....

[joe]

Thomas,

Don't forget Cypress. I'm starting a small custom sign using this wood. It's nature is to be a little stringy but with a little testing and the right bit it should be fine.

I have a couple hundred bd ft. of 12 quarter. It's been stickered for two years and I can hardly wait any longer to start working with it. I'll post a few photo's as I go throught the process.

We installed the Lindsay Chiropractic today. My camera pooped out on me so I don't have anything to show at this time. It went up without a hitch. After all there was only four parts to assemble.

Joe Crumley
www.normansign.com

[carlosgmarroquin]

Thank you anyway Joe.

[Big-Tex]

can't wait to wait cypres sign