First Job to Cut Sign Foam

[ron_moorehead]

Hi,

I got my first job to cut a sign out using sign foam. As I have never cut sign foam before what type of router bit should I use, I was thinking of a down-cut ¼” spiral bit. Would this work? Does the plastic fingers on the dust collector shield cause damage to the sign foam? The sign will be raised letters and I am cutting out around the letters or clearing the back ground. Any help would be great.

[joewino]

I just use a straight bit for most of my HDU work, especially when just cutting out profile shapes. When doing 3D work a 1/8" round nose seems to work well.

You didn't mention what density foam you are using, but if it is very light you might experience some damage from the dust collector....also depending on how small the details are. We use 15# and 20# for most of our signs and have not had too many problems with damage from the dust collector.

[ron_moorehead]

Thanks Raymond,

I am not sure what the density will be as they are supping the sign foam and I have not seen the art work yet.

[jhicks]

Ron, regardless of the final bit you choose, you will probably find HDU cuts fast, clean, and well. Your note indicates you will be cutting away the background to leave raised letters. Understood.
You want to think about how you will be finishing this sign as well. If you choose to cut 1st and paint 2nd, you'll need to determine HOW you will keep the paint on the letters seperated from the paint on the background and edges. How will the sign be mounted? What primers and paint will you use?
If you try to cut, prime, paint, sand, paint, and detail in multiple colors, you're in for some tedious work and perhaps more time and head aches than you may have anticipated.
Check the forum for masking, painting, and assembly/adhesive, and mounting techniques before you start cutting. The cutting is generally the easy part, it's the sequence and strategy for assembly and finishing that makes a lot of difference in time, appearance, and functionality.
End result is you want a well designed, robust sign that is an advertisement for you as well as your client. Plus make a profit right?

[ron_moorehead]

Thanks Jerry,

The nice thing about this job is all I have been asked to do is cut the sign out, I am sub contacting to a shop that will do the design and all the finish work and mounting. So I guess I got the easy part.

[jhicks]

Thats good news for you and hopefully they will be skilled painters/finishers.
When you get your material in, do some test cuts in scrap areas and you will quickly determine best direction and bits for the task but this stuff cuts like butter so you should do just fine.