Cedar, white oak, cypress.

 

HDU is used often for outdoor signs and carves easily.

 

What ever wood you use, a good quality exterior would be the best finish. Your friend's choice is correct. UV light is the primary factor in the deterioration of exterior finishes. Paint is best at shielding UV.

 

signs ? I like signs !!
correct - usually the paint fails first - then, moisture, mildew, mold and rot gets into the wood which leads to an ugly sign.
there is NO "one and done" in signs. . . . they ALL need regular maintenance, repainting and upkeep to stay pretty.
do it right the first time and you won't be redoing it again in 6 months.
100% with David: check your local "sign" shop for HDU (High Density Urethane) or any other solid material product they may be able to sell you. Even 1/2" thick PVC will work for a small sign. (larger than 2x2' you run the risk of it warping in the sunshine).
Looking forward to following your project, please keep us in the loop.

 

@Plant Powered Woodworks
JohnSmith_InFl (Above) is the man. He is/was a sign painter.

If you are a woodworker/artisan/craftsman, woodworking tools also work very well on plastic, urethane, etc.
As a side note, if he wants painted, not carved and stained, I would drop the subject. If you push anything other than what he wants, it will definitely backfire on you.

 

@Plant Powered Woodworks
JohnSmith_InFl (Above) is the man. He is/was a sign painter.

If you are a woodworker/artisan/craftsman, woodworking tools also work very well on plastic, urethane, etc.
As a side note, if he wants painted, not carved and stained, I would drop the subject. If you push anything other than what he wants, it will definitely backfire on you.

agreed, he's a fellow dad in my town and we're friendly so i suggested it but he said he wanted painted so that's what i'll offer him
thanks!

 

If you milled the letters into the face of a durable wood, such as Batu or Teak, and painted the back and sides of the recessed letters with an epoxy-lamp black mixture; and then painted the face of the sign, repainting the old face paint becomes easy - sand and paint the front, rear, and sign board edges, and there is no fiddling around with repainting the letters. They remain black.

 

My understanding is that epoxy does not stand up well to UV. For exterior use it needs to be coated with something like spar varnish for UV protection.

 

in my opinion, your cnc is the perfect tool for machining signs, wood or otherwise. the sign can still be painted (acrylic is the preferred for exterior), not sure if you have tried the masking/painting technique yet. it s a foolproof method to paint letters, anchors, etc.coming off the cnc.

 

I'm going to build a sign eventually for my "retirement business" if that ever happens have to build a new shop first LOL.

I've got a lot of red cedar and thought about using it for the back round and I'll cut the letters out myself no sure what material to use..

The sign would be facing west and get some brutal sun/heat in summer.

I think John referred me to someone here but I've lost the info.

Do I need to resign myself to paying someone $2000 for a sign?

 

I'm going to build a sign eventually for my "retirement business"
Do I need to resign myself to paying someone $2000 for a sign?

absolutely NOT !! I will be more than glad to come up and help you.

 

Actually, wood is not very durable unless maintained well. I would consider Lexan, or Plexi-glass or steel. The metal would require a water jet or laser cutting. Theplastic you can do on your CNC. You can combine materials as well.
Trex is another plastic material used for decks that will hold up well in all types of weather. The boards can be trimmed so they butt together without the "V" grooves for a flat surface.

 

I've got a bunch of 8' Trex boards off the old deck

Wondering how I could make a panel. Mount to angle iron? I researched glues that work on Trex a while back and couldn't come up with anything surefire.

Thank you WNT.

 

To make a panel, trim off the tongue and groove joints to a get a flat edge or use a 1/2 lap joint so there's smooth surface without any small grooves.
A waterproof adhesive like Liquid Nails will hold them together if you want both sides visible and no fasteners showing. An angle iron frame or wood frame will also work.
The real question is what paint will adhere to the plastic surface? A call to Trex may help?
My Trex boards are two colors, red on one side and black on the other.

 

He'll make any sign, any color for $1,995. No Ups! No Extras

 

@DrRobert asked if he needs to "resign myself to paying someone $2000 for a sign." Am I the only one who wonders why he needs a new sign if he already has a sign? (He needs to re-sign himself)

 

yes, one of my colleagues over in Jax Beach has a CNC shop.
There surely should be someone there in the O/P area that has a CNC.
For the price of CNC work, it would be cheaper to buy a used scroll saw and make your own letters.
OR - cut them out with a bandsaw and fine tune with a router.

 

It’s a while off yet I’m in the middle of making deck chairs (of course I couldn’t pick something simple!)

I had planned to do exactly that but ran into a bit of an obstacle finding stencils or letter patterns.

If the sign is 50‘ away, how big should the letters be?

 

Dr. Robert, instead of bringing this into an existing thread, please start a new thread and I can assist you in the templates and patterns dept.

 

WHITE OAK, MAHAGONY, SPANISH CEDAR,

 

so the unfortunate thing is i told him i can certainly make his 18x27 sign out of wood and then seal it to defend against the NY elements.

full disclosure, I've been making things out of wood for fun, family and friends and am just now trying to start a business. I told him the price would be $150 and 2 days later havent heard back yet. if i just used "Big Box Store" wood and rattle can paint and then shellac am i charging too much?

 

am i charging too much?

No. But I don't know how well that finish will hold up so you might have to do some touch up or replacement unless it holds up ok.

 

The problem is not in charging at this point, but is in the quality. The big box stores are the equivalent of K-Mart which is a notch lower than Walmart. I would strongly advise that you refuse to build anything for anyone you know or anyone that knows anyone you know.

I know this sounds harsh but trying to sugar coat things will not help. Incidentally, shellac is used in the sugar coating of candy. Its been over a hundred years since the furniture making industry used shellac. Might want to question why.

 

i agree about the quality, at some point i would love to work with higher quality hardwoods but in all honesty this guy is looking for a sign to put on a post next to his pool and is moving in 3-4 years. Woodworking has been my meditation for years now and it will always be a passion, paid or not. I'm starting with pine/plywood and hope to get more comfortable with the overall process as well as using the CNC so i can move up to bigger and better projects.

my "real" job is in Television Graphics so signs, coasters, etc seem to be the gateway projects to join my 2 skillsets. I like the idea of signs because they are quick turnaround, the costs can be reasonable and i dont need a ton of space to work in. any pricing guidance, advice or info would be immensely appreciated

 

The only pricing guidance I can give is to call other sign makers in your area and see what they would charge. If you charge too little no one will take you serious - just the bargain hunters and if you raise your price just a few dollars, they will be gone and you will feel like you are starting all over again. That is one of the lessons I learned the hard way in my first business.

 

I bought a book in 1981 and it was my inspiration into the craft.

doing the google search now, I see times have changed a bit.

 

just added to cart! thanks

 

Seems like a lifetime ago I was distraught by the thought computers were taking over everything. Thjere would be no need for craftsman. What a terrible predicament we put ourselves in. Then one day I had a revelation. What about all the artists that cant express themselves in the art world because they lacked manual dexterity. All these talented people that live in their own mind and cant break out because of physical difficulties. Now with modern technology almost anyone can express themselves and their idea. Just hit the keyboard and let the CNC or 3D printer or whatever and let the thoughts turn into reality. The true creativity and talent lives in the mind and so those without the physical capability, can now become creative talented artisans.

 

ok, i'll be in the bathroom if anyone needs me ;-)

 

rut-ro

5 years after I got my book, I had a "supporting sign business" with a part-time worker as I had a full time Day Job with Lockheed-Martin Aerospace as a custom woodworker. A few years later, I resigned from Lockheed and had six full time employees and never looked back.
so - be careful with what you wish for - - - - - -

oh - the next books are for Painting and Varnishing techniques.
you need (REALLY NEED) to know what to coat your signs with after they are made.

 

I've been working in television since i got out of the military in 1997. My little ones arent so little anymore and will be out of the house and off to college in 1 year and 3 years respectively. I'm thinking about the next chapter in my life and i always knew there would be a heavy amount of woodworking/creating involved.

So yeah...i love this stuff and kick myself in the butt every time i make a mistake. It's my therapy and i know turning it into a business will be an uphill battle but if the support of the various "maker" communities is any indication then I see i already have a great support system.

I'm ready to do the work and thankfully my wife is my biggest cheerleader. She would think i was a pure genius if i could find a use for all the scrap wood i refuse to throw away ;-)