Sandblast texture

[joe]

Richard,

We have a couple of Cedar's available. None of which is vertical grain or kiln dried. I am using more of the Rough Cedar but it's used only for less detailed work.

I seldom, if ever, recommend YP to other sign artists because most don't have a CNC. That's the deal breaker. Even on this forum there aren't many folks familiar with gluing up sign panels. We started up years ago when that was the way it was done.

About longevity: With a well prepared YP panel, I can't see why it wouldn't last. One little note, I've been treating this material with Borax to eleminate bugs or wood eating pests.

To my knowledge, I'm the only sign guy using this material on a regular basis. It's been a couple of years and all looks good so far.

My HDU use is to close to nothing and my Redwood is 0. All of which reflects considerable increase in profit.

[rej]

joe,
i'm confused about the dot above the letter i.
the outline around the dot seems different than the letters.
it is raised but has grain going thru it.
am i seeing things here?

[joe]

Good pick-up Robert.

I had posted this process earlier and another SBer picked up on the dot. It was a router design error. I fixed it with a plug. You may choose to do a search to see the process. Most of my signs are done with the background of the letters larger. That way I can cut the actual letters and apply in the finishing process.

I'm not suggesting anyone follow my lead. It is however my way of getting signs done quickly with cleaner lettering


51727.jpg

[rej]

while i've got you here,
what paint mask do you prefer for hdu?
and which is your choice for sandblasting?
thanks

[joe]

I don't have a favorite paint mask. Hand lettering takes care of most of that. Any of todays SB masks seem to work fine. My blasting is so light almost anything would work.

[mjindustry]

Joe, Nice work!

What type of wood is the "Oaks Property" sign sandlasted from, is it YP as well? Amazing sign!

[joe]

Jason,

This sign is made with HDU. Signs of this size can be made much faster and will last longer without the issue of warping, spliting or cracking we find with wood.

Sometimes it's necessary to use the real thing. I have one in the shop now which is 40"X72" which will be made with vertical pine. This is for a Bed & Breakfast and the customer wants a natural look which will feature the knots. It takes special attention to make sure it will last for years and years. I'll be coating this one with Sikkens Log and Siding.

Keep in mind, to survice in this arena, correct pricing is essential. Carved sign, where the background is removed or textured, with raised letters will need to be priced at a minimum of $100 per square foot. That's the bare minimum. A 3'X6' sign should be invoiced somewhere in the 2K area.

I see a few low ball signs of this kind but they don't last long.

[signtist]

Let me try posting a picture in here.
This one is about 30 square feet of HDU. It took 32 houre to run, using a 1/8 " ball but. The grain is about 1" deep!
John
www.signgraphics1.com

[joe]

Thanks John for posting your Fire Department sign.


This is a classic example of how grain looks when a jpg is enlarged to replicate woodgrain. For years I've been trying to find a way around this problem. For those who haven't worked on this, let me explain what happens.


Lets say you take a photo of a beautiful sandblasted board thats 8”X48”. If you enlarge the photo to double it's size, you also increase the grain pattern which looses much of mother natures delicate patterns. I went so far as to laminate a 4'X8' redwood panel up and sandblast it, thinking I'd have a model to use on the router. I placed the camera on tripod, got the sun at the right angle and set my Nikon to it's highest resolution and too the photo.


I've made several attempts at making a reasonable router duplication of sandblasted wood and my best attempt was a cartoon look. It's also very time consuming. Here's a couple of examples I worked with which looses out when routing. I think you can see the deliclate nature and how difficult it is to maintain. To underscore this situation: Why aren't there lots of wood grain pattern files offered by ArtCam and Vetric 3D? I'm a owner of ArtCam and they have some very weak examples but nothing you can make money with.

[GlenP]

Hey guys. Has anyone bought and tried Dan's texture collection? Here is a link to is site. Man he is one creative guy.
http://www.imaginationcorporation.ca...res/index.html