Another "Train" Sign

[benchmench]

This one was for a local zoo that wanted to honor volunteers and also drum up new ones. Similar to a "Donor Wall", this has removeable plates (Rowmark phenolic plastic) that can replaced when the names or categories change. I was a little concerned with engraving this material since it is only 1/16" thick but the 'bot came through perfectly. The rest of the sign is HDU....and some magic from Dr. Crumley's Rootin' Tootin' paint mask on the text.

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[jb_chu]

Dan, An exquisite sign and superb workmanship! Did you use a sealer on all of it? I assume you came up with the great design too. Thanks for letting us see it.

[ssflyer]

Looks great Dan,

The phenolic turned out very well - what speeds and bits did you use?

BTW - what is Dr. Crumley's Rootin' Tootin' paint mask?

[benchmench]

Thanks guys,

JB - No sealer was needed - all paint is exterior Behr paint (Home Depot). Gold letters are Modern Masters Iridescent Gold metallic.

Ron - To engrave the Rowmark, I used a 1/16" ball nose from Centurion tools at 12k RPM and a 1/32" depth of cut. I wanted the lower case letters to be crisp at 3/8" in height and very readable. A 1/8" ball nose was too big and V-Carving was risky since the bit would be going up and down, perhaps not going far enough into the material to make a distinct line. I used an Arial font where the letter paths are all the same width and no serifs.

The actual name is "Dr. Crumley's Rootin' Tootin' Snake Oil Mask" and it is the greatest method for painting incised letters and carvings since "off-the-shelf" post holes (another Dr. Crumley product). See http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/messages/315/31314.html?1213286013 for more info.

The text, train and all incised carving on this sign was done using the "Snake Oil" mask.

[toych]

Dan, very nice. Did you put a UV sealer over the Modern Masters? I've been using One Shot UV Speed Dry 4005A over MM. No long term outdoor test yet.

Darren

[benchmench]

Yes, I did use their water-based UV sealer over the gold. As you mentioned, time and exposure will tell.

[benchmench]

Another "lesson learned" from this project is to limit the use of black paint in carvings since it completely eliminates shadows. The text on this sign may as well be vinyl letters since you can't tell by looking at it that they were actually carved into the material. On the upside, I'm sure the carved letters will last longer than vinyl.