"walk of fame" sign

[edcoleman]

Folks:

I've just gotten a request to do a sign for a "walk of fame" where an organization wants their logo inset into a brick walkway. I'm looking for ideas for material to use for this project...it needs to stand up to weather and foot traffic. I was thinking of perhaps using Trupan or Extira then coating with epoxy for durability and spar varnish for UV protection. Any ideas if this would be appropriate?

Also, the sign will be 24" in diameter so I probably have to give some thought to how slippery the finish will be - don't want someone sliding on it!

Thanks in advance for any feedback...

-Ed

[ckurak]

Ed,

How about making a mould (the logo in reverse)? Then pour concrete, or some other material, to make the 24" logo.

[paco]

That's a VERY cool idea and simple too!!

[Brady Watson]

Ed,
I think Charles is right on the money with the mold idea.

I took Polytek's moldmaking class last year and bought urethane mold material specifically to do what you want to do. I was planning on making concrete tesselating pavers with it...just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Contact me for details...I believe that I have 6 gallons of the rubber and release agent designed for casting concrete. I'm west of you in South Jersey.

-Brady

[gerald_d]

Concrete may be a little "cheap". We have made molds for someone that makes a granite or marble look-a-like. I also remember some posts here on cutting marble (http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/cgi-bin/discus/show.cgi?tpc=315&post=12596#POST12596) or soapstone (http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/messages/29/2010.html).

[Brady Watson]

Gerald,
Concrete has come a long way in the past 10 yrs...there are businesses who only make concrete countertops, for instance.

There's a whole bunch of ways that you can add aggregate, color, texture and other effects to simulate just about anything by using concrete.

-Brady

[edcoleman]

Thanks for the inputs, guys. I hadn't thought of making a mold - that'll probably work out well. I was going to post a question about color until I read Brady's last post

[gerald_d]

It is all in the terminology Brady - nobody here would call their granite or marble look-a-likes as concrete, because then it won't fetch the same price. We seem to be talking of exactly the same stuff.

Ed, this link (http://www.concretenetwork.com/concrete/decorative/index.html) may help you.

[ckurak]

Ed,

Sometimes you just have to invert your thinking. (pun intended) :-)

Anyway, I am glad I could help! It's a small donation for the countless gems that I've mined from this forum.

[edcoleman]

Thanks for the link, Gerald. As usual the forum has come thru and provided me with more than enough info. Now my problem is that I have too many soloutions


As far as "problems" go that's a pretty good one to have.

[krfitz]

Has anybody tried using Corian as a headstone? I was thinking of making a V-carved Corian headstone for my daughters late cat.

-Kevin

[kerrazy]

Hey Kevin,
I did one for one of my students dogs who passed away, Cut real nice and I back filled the letters with acrylic enamel paint.
Dale

[joe]

Ed, and all the guys:

This is such an interesting project. Wish I had that contract. All of the responses are top notch. Really good information.

I'd propably go with Dale on this one. There are some really beautiful dark Corian's available, and you could back will the letters with a gold or complementary color. These backfill products are available from the dealer, which is a pour on product.

Sence you are only doing one, making a mold and casting seems a long way aroung the job.

Like Dale I too have V carved corian and it is really clean and sharp. I picked up throw away scraps from a local dealer to do my tests on. It cut like butter. You sould ask the manufacturer for their recommendations.

Another consideration is Marble. We would simply sandblast it. "Looks good and lasts a long time".

J

[billp]

Kevin,
As Joe has suggested above Marble with some appropriate color ( "One Shot"silver lettering enamel here) can work very well for a job like this. The piece in the picture is one third of a "sill plate" from the Depot
P.S. This was carved with a 90 degree V bit, not sand blasted
5684

[edcoleman]

Joe:

I've carved corian with excellent results as well. As a matter of fact, that was my first thought when this job appeared. However there was concern by the customer regarding the wearability and slipperyness of the corian surface when subjected to alot of foot traffic. I had finally decided to go with a mold and concrete for the job (thanks to Brady for the time he spent with me re: mold making)

All of this has become academic, since the customer cancelled the entire project (not related to this sign).


-Ed

[joe]

Bill,

Interesting, the marble sample above.

Where can I get a V bit for carving marble. Sure opens up possabilities for us.

My only concern with stone, is the old back. Extira is heavy enough. But I've got to do it now, seeing yours.

J.

[joe]

Bill,

Interesting, the marble sample above.

Where can I get a V bit for carving marble. Sure opens up possabilities for us.

My only concern with stone, is the old back. Extira is heavy enough. But I've got to do it now seeing yours.

J.

[billp]

Joe,
I use a regular carbide tipped V bit when cutting marble, BUT I do it in three successively deeper passes. In the plaque above I did passes at .05", .15", and .25". between each pass I took a small brush and wiped a little water into the letters that had just been cut, to act as a lubricant for the following passes. The only problem with the water is that it will create a slurry which can then wind up splattering all over the place, so it's a good idea to spread a sheet of plastic around your machine as this stuff sets like cement when it hardens.
A good place to get "test pieces" are tile stores, Depot etc. from their "sample rack".....I'm hoping someone gets around to trying some inlay work with marble...

[fleinbach]

Joe

My back is getting better since I installed my lift system. I made a boom 8' long to swing over the pile of MDF. Cost $90.00 worth of steel. I then purchased an electric winch from Harbor Freight capable of picking up 800lb. Cost on sale $89.95 I got a great deal on a Gast 1HP vacuum pump from a local flea market for $150.00. Next I made a 12" diameter puck to pick up the sheets. I was amazed at the capability of it all. I have a sheet of 2" X 49 X 96" MDF that weighs 300lb and it picks it up without any problem. I also have some 1/2"X 49" X 121" MDF and when I put the puck on the pile it picked up 6 sheets at once. They said MDF was porus but until I did this I never thought it was that porus. It was amazing to think that only a 12" diameter of vacuum pulling through 5 other sheets that's 2 1/2 inches thick was capable of picking up another 75lb sheet of MDF.

[matt_r]

Frank - that is amazing. I would have never guessed that you could pick up 6 sheets of 1/2"MDF with that.
I will add my 2 cents on the Corian. I've been cutting it for a while now. Cuts great. The picture below shows the back of a cutting board that I did for a friend for a wedding gift. You can see that the letters are sometimes hard to see unless you fill with some sort of paint or epoxy.

Matt

5685

[Brady Watson]

Frank,
What type of gasketing are you using on that 'puck'? How thick? etc...

Thanks!
-Brady

[fleinbach]

Brady
It was just a stick on rubber weather seal from Home Depot. Here's a picture of it. Eventualy I want to make a little more sofisticated one but for the time being this prototype works great.I made it out of a piece of 1" MDF and for a quick seal just taped saran wrap over the puck.

5686

5687

Here is a shot picking up a 3/4" X 61" X 97" sheet of MDF. Believe me when the vacuum is on you can not seperate the puck from the sheet and I have tried. A few times while picking up a sheet from the rack I have accidently picked up aginst the stack above and it does is bends the sheet.



5688

Here is a shot of the boom over by the stack. I pick the sheets up here and swing them over to the table.

5689

[Brady Watson]

That's really great Frank! Thanks a lot for the pics & info!

I often dream of making a rig to transport steel sheet stock on the plasma table...so far I have been too chicken to experiment...I like my feet!


-Brady