Jumpin in

[chunkstyle]

Hi all,

The shop that I used to outsource to is asking if I would be interested in doing a job for them on my shopbot!

Attached is an image of a sign that needs to be done exactly the same way again. The shop is requesting that I bid it for machining of the blue painted elements only, unpainted, delivered to them.

Signage is not really my line but times being what they are....I'm willing to give it a go. Only problem that I can see is how to reproduce the book and ribbons on the medal using Partworks. Looks like a job for 3-d as seperate elements and attached to the sign? Is there a way to do these elements in partworks? If not, would anyone be interested in doing the toolpathing in a program that could?

Would anyone have a guess as to pricing for the scope of this one. Sorry for the newbie questioning. I would like to get more if this type of graphics work as the cabinetry work has been very quiet.


Thanks for any advice,
Tim

[signtist]

It's much quicker to machine the profile shapes and then hand chisle (carve) some details. It really is easy. Looks like HDU.
Wholesale signs like this $50-$55sf.
$95 sf for the carved stuff. The ribbon is all flat except one area.
5 minutes with a chisle and a rasp.
The book - maybe 30 or 40 minutes.
John www.signgraphics1.com

[chunkstyle]

Thanks John,

I appreciate the pricing insight. By the way, your online portfolio looks awesome. Love the illustration work as well as the typography.
Looks like this job won't start anytime soon, if I actually have to do it. I'm reading as much as I can from the forum. Anyone have any good books to recommend that deals with the construction of, materials for and finishing signs? It would probably be wise to get as much schooling as I can between now and then. Thanks a lot. I appreciate the advice.

Tim

[joewino]

Tim - go to www.letterville.com and check out some of the responses on the "Bullboard". It is a discussion group like this only it is made up of sign folks.

There are links there to suppliers, journals, and some "how-to" articles.

[chunkstyle]

Thanks for the link Raymond.

Looks like a really good place to start learning. Just finished registering. Much appreciated.

Tim

[joe]

Tim,

Congratulations on your commision.

I encorage you to jump in and learn a few new techniques however projects of this scale can take some time. Experienced sign artists like John Arnot can do this work in their sleep. First timers will need lots of luck and study time. Although you may not make much money on the first one, you'll learn lots of new techniques.

You could do this forum a favor and post your progress as you work through the work. Letting all of us learn from you.

Be sure to tell your client what this is going to cost them. For me it would be close to $1,500.

Joe
www.normansignco.com

[chunkstyle]

Hi Joe,

I don't know if I'll get the job or not. Have to wait and see if the bid gets accepted. If I do get it I'll do as you suggested and post the progress (or lack of).

$1500 for just the routing out? Jeeze, I already learned something.

Thanks,
Tim

[joe]

Tim,

I did a double take on the calculation and it seems about right. What you would be doing is building the complete sign. The job of painting and gilding is a minor part. You'll be doing the heavy lifting. As a newbe with this kind of work, you will spend a consdierable more time figuring the best approaches and calculations. That's the fun part.

For your information, a gilded sign of this size will retail between $125 to $140 a sq ft.

If you get it, I know you'll do a good job.

Joe
www.normansignco.com

[john_hartman]

It's much quicker to machine the profile shapes and then hand chisle (carve) some details. It really is easy. Looks like HDU.
Wholesale signs like this $50-$55sf.
$95 sf for the carved stuff. The ribbon is all flat except one area.
5 minutes with a chisle and a rasp.
The book - maybe 30 or 40 minutes.
John www.signgraphics1.com

John- from a pricing stand point; do you separate the 3d carvings from 2.5d carvings? So if there is an object, in this case a book, that is 3d; does the entire sign get the 3d carving rate?

Also, for a sq. ft. pricing, what if there a lot of detail/lots of areas to sand and just generally a complex design? The sign pictured looks about as easy as it can get. How do you make a standardized sq. ft. pricing structure work? Or do you? I can see how a wholesale client may want this, but don't you need to price each project as a custom job?

I'm also a full time cabinet maker and have been approached with the same signage offer. This sign shop would like to have a sq. ft. price from me. Is this how this industry works?

Many thanks. John Hartman

[signtist]

I price just the "book" as 3D rate.....it's not a human face or anything that has to be exact. It's real simple. I look at that part and just add some time to it. After you cut out the contour shape, it would most likely take a hour to carve.
The ribbon part would only take a few minutes, even if it was wood.