posted
I had posted the design for a doctors sign a few weeks back. The base of the sign was to be faux river rock. I ordered the fake rock I wanted from my brick supply house, only to be told a few days later it was unavailable for a number of weeks - no guarantees. I substituted my second choice of stone then a third and had to settle for a fourth choice before I could get delivery in a reasonable length of time. It finally came in a few days later costing a whopping $400 and change.
I've done plenty of the faux rock before and each time I swear I'll never do it again for the choice of stones is so limited unless I buy much more than I need, and on a small project like this often I'm not happy with the result. Just the same I kicked the project in gear. Sure enough it was a real chore to get the rocks to fit. They seemed to be roughly all the same size and shape, far worse than I remembered from last time. I struggled with the stones for about an hour before I decided it simply wasn't going to work. They all came off and hauled out to the scrap pile out back. With the cement stuck on the rocks I couldn't return them.
I mixed up some new batches of fiberglass reinforced concrete and set to sculpting my own rock from scratch. In about an hour and a half they were done to my satisfaction. A couple of days later I spent another hour painting the base colors and then speckling them with an undercoat spray gun at low pressure. A bit of paint for the grout and I was done.
I sized the lettering last night with a 12 hour slow size and spent this morning leisurely pressing on the gold. The project finally came together to my satisfaction - well worth my frustration with the rock work along the way.
I think I'm going to put a permanent notice near my phone to remind me the next time I do one of these type projects... no more bought faux rock from now on.
With a lesson learned (hopefully for the last time) it's on to the next project in Yarrow...
-grampa dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8739 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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[edited to add that I'm a bit slow this morning-I should have said "That rocks!!!(Fred Flintstone would have been proud to live in that one!)"]
[ June 20, 2010, 07:22 PM: Message edited by: Ian Stewart-Koster ]
-------------------- "Stewey" on chat
"...there are no limits when you aim for perfection..." Jonathan Livingston Seagull Posts: 7014 | From: Highgrove via Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | Registered: Dec 2002
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posted
When you can make faux rocks that look that good, why on earth would you want to use real rocks? I bet the faux rocks didn't cost $400. either!
Great work Dan! I'm sure you enjoyed it after you got started. The results is amazing. I wondered why I hadn't seen any posts from you lately. You were busy sculpting rocks!
Sign-cerely, Steve
-------------------- Steve Luck Sign Magic Inc. 2718-b Grovelin Godfrey, Illinois 62035 (618)466-9120 signmagic@sbcglobal.net Posts: 870 | From: 2718-b Grovelin Godfrey, Illinois 62035 | Registered: Dec 2004
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posted
I like to use a real simple method of mounting most of our signs. I get the client to pour a flat footing below the finished grade of the surrounding land. Our sign (which had bolting lugs welded on the bottom simply plops on top, and then I drill four holes with my concrete drill. I pop in four expanding anchor bolts tighten them down and backfill the hole. Installation takes twenty minutes tops.
In this case a mounted planter will surround the sign raising the sign up so it sits over a split rail fence which is in front of it. If you look at the picture close you will see an eye bolt that is screwed into the sign structure. My client will have crane truck there when I arrive. We'll lift the sign off my trailer and over the fence. Then I'll unscrew the eye bolt, plug the hole and touch up the paint in a couple of minutes. Since this installation is about 30 miles from my place I'll give the client a small vial of paint and a cheap brush to give that tiny area of the sign a second coat a day or two later.
-grampa dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8739 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
I can't believe it took you this long to realize that you could fabricate your own rocks! Sometimes one can't see the forest for the trees though. Glad you changed the color on the accents, it really made the gold stuff pop. Love....Jill
Posts: 8834 | From: Butler, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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posted
Great stuff Dan, love the green and gold, great combination. Your story sure rings true as to things that have happened here over the years. Stone looks great.
-------------------- Pat Welter Masterhand Signs and Designs Unity, Saskatchewan.Canada Posts: 1304 | From: Unity, Saskatchewan.Canada | Registered: May 1999
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But, since Letterville is suppose to be like an on line meet where people get to see how things are done, instead of just showin' off your projects, how about an occasional step by step? I'd love to see an Alicia type video of how you did that.
-------------------- Dave Sherby "Sandman" SherWood Sign & Graphic Design Crystal Falls, MI 49920 906-875-6201 sherwoodsign@sbcglobal.net Posts: 5401 | From: Crystal Falls, MI USA | Registered: Apr 1999
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-------------------- Catharine C. Kennedy CCK Graphics 1511 Route 28 Chatham Center, NY 12184 cck1620@taconic.net "Look at me, Look at me, Look at me now! I't's fun to have fun, But you have to know how!" Posts: 2173 | From: downtown Chatham Center, NY | Registered: Feb 2004
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For those wondering the sign is six feet wide to the points on the sides. It measures 74" high from the base to the top and hopefully about 20-24" of that will be buried in the mounded planter when we are done.
I'm working on the video capabilities but there is a step by step posted on the blog I do for Precision Board... www.precisionboard.blogspot.com To see all the steps of the project you may have to go back to the previous/archived entries. This project is mixed in with other projects we had going on during the same period.
I move the sign outside into the sunshine today... can hardly wait to see the gold sparkle in the sun!
-grampa dan
[ June 22, 2010, 09:27 PM: Message edited by: Dan Sawatzky ]
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8739 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
Dan...another beauty to be proud of...I know you paint your backgrounds with several color glazes to enhance the grain...I try to do something similar but you've got it down to a science...I always apply the darkest color first to get down in the grain to enhance the shadows...then I do some wet blending and dry brush in the lighter on top...from pics on your blog it looked like you laid in the lighter color first...that would be a reverse of what I'm doing...I'm confused...I would love to know your process.
posted
We include the pixie dust for free with every workshop!
On this sign we painted the lightest color first - two coats of a bright lime green. Next came a slightly darker glaze (half way between the light green and the final dark shade of the border of the sign. This was brushed on liberally starting at the top...(keeping a wet edge) then wiped off with a terry towel cloth. Once it was dry I then mixed up a dark glaze (same color as the border, sides and back of the sign) which was brushed on and then wiped off once more. THe area around the edges and around the lettering was left a little darker with both glazes.
Since the wood grain is fairly deep the towel wipes the glaze off the high points and stays in the deeper areas... hence the magic. It all goes smoother if you sprinkle some of that pixie dust on before we start. (Raymond must of been napping when we did that part at the workshop he attended.
The process has been covered in the Precision Board blog... just go back to previous entries. I remember covering it in detail there on the Dhillon farm sign I did a while back. I also wrote a step by step article on the procedure for SignCraft a while back. SignCraft # 167 June/July 2009
-dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8739 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
Just don't get pixie dust confused with magic smoke!
Magic smoke is the stuff they insert into all power tools in the manufactureing process when they're brand new. Later in their life, if they get a bit of abuse, the magic smoke escapes in a quick huff. Once the magic smoke's out, the tool will never work again unless you can catch it all-every bit- and put it back inside.
-------------------- "Stewey" on chat
"...there are no limits when you aim for perfection..." Jonathan Livingston Seagull Posts: 7014 | From: Highgrove via Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | Registered: Dec 2002
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posted
Very fine work Dan. All your projects are great!
-------------------- Maker of fine signs and other creative stuff. Located at 109 N. Cumberland ave. Harlan, Ky. 40831 606-837-0242 Posts: 4172 | From: Ages-Brookside, Ky. Up the Holler... | Registered: Jul 1999
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Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity. — Charles Mingus Posts: 6730 | From: Mendocino, CA. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
The sign is laminated around the steel. It won't ever come apart. With a sign this large the cost to dig it out, lift and transport would outweigh the cost of touching up or repainting on site in my opinion.
The mountings are to be buried with dirt. I welded heavy plates to the bottom of the structural steel. These will be bolted to the footing and buried with about 1' of dirt which will form the planter.
The cement mix is two parts sand, one part cement powder and a pinch of fiberglass fibers mixed in a five gallon bucket with a paddle mixer in a half inch drill. Even though the fiberglass is relatively minute it adds a lot of strength to the concrete.
-grampa dan.
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8739 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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