posted
i'm doing a "freebie" for some friends going up to "Burning Man" (its a bunch of freeks gettng together in the Nevada desert to carry on for a week). they agreed to pay for materials. so...
i need to make them a sign that will withstand 60 mph wind, sun, rain, etc. It needs to be cheep and light. suggestions? MDF? I was thinking MDF or waferboard with the letters cut out of building insulation (for depth). will that last for a week? will it be in good enough shape to repaint and use next year? the colors they want are gold letters on a red background. oh, and the finished sign will be about 24' long x 8' high (in panels). i DONT have to erect it, but i do need to give them some guidlines on what fasteners to use.
help!
------------------ :: Scooter Marriner :: :: Coyote Signs :: :: San Francisco :: :: don't blame me... i'm just a beginner ::
Posts: 1356 | From: Oakland (and San Francisco) | Registered: Mar 2001
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posted
well... i would walk away except they're paying for the materials. also, they all have good jobs at companies that will need signs, so i expect some work out of it.
the nice thing about the job is that i don't have to haul it or set it up, and it can be as wacky as i can make it. i think i'll try some sponge techniques on the background (just for practice). its a big "opportunity" to experiment on somebody else's dime. (and, since i'm starting out, materials cost me more than my time).
------------------ :: Scooter Marriner :: :: Coyote Signs :: :: San Francisco :: :: don't blame me... i'm just a beginner ::
Posts: 1356 | From: Oakland (and San Francisco) | Registered: Mar 2001
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posted
In the first place...I think you're a little over the top to be giving away a 192 sq ft of signage..thats a lot of work even if you paint it with shoe polish! Id think twice about that one.. How bout a enamel receptive banner...heavy duty . Hang it on a wire with the clips that banner suppliers make.Tie off corners with bunjee cords.... String the wire between 2 trees or between 2 trucks. Set the sign 90 degrees to the wind Around here some towns are strict on sign sizes so the people have learned to outsmart em by using tractor trailers for signs. If you can rent a van body for a week from a trucking co...you can attach a cheap sign to the side of it..banner,coroplast,anything like you can buy cheap.The "weirdos" can git in the van if it gets really nasty...
posted
I'm thinking a banner for a freebee. I have been involved in the freebee deal before. I promise you when you are done you will think less of your friends. Always be leary of the guy who wants something for free and promises you work down the road. Give me a deal on this truck because I have 15 more just like it that need to be lettered. I have heard this a time or two. BANNER BANNER BANNER. I'm familiar with burning man. One wild A$$ party for a week. What ever sign you build will end up in the bon fire. Trust me!
------------------ Rob Larkham RL Graphic D-Sign Chester, MA rldsigns@aol.com
Posts: 517 | From: Chester, MA | Registered: May 2001
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posted
I dont think you need to worry about the sign lasting til next year, cause based on past experience at Burning Man, everything there gets tossed into the fire on the last night when they torch the "statue"..
Anyways.. how about good ol' plywood? cheaper and lighter than MDF, and MDF just soaks up water and swells up like a pregnant lady's ankles.
------------------ Mike Pipes Digital Illusion Custom Graphics Lake Havasu City, AZ http://www.stickerpimp.com
Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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posted
Listen to these guys, Scooter, they're tryin' to help you. Can you add a profit margin to your materials? And maybe a 3 x 6 or 3 x 10 banner will be as good. Next year they will DEFINITELY want another freebie. And the next, and the next... __________________________________________
Hey, did they invite you to the party?
------------------ "If it isn't fun, why do it?" Signmike@aol.com Mike Languein Doctor of Letters BS, MS, PhD ___________________
You know what BS is, MS is More of the Same, and it's Piled Higher and Deeper here
[This message has been edited by Mike Languein (edited June 11, 2001).]
posted
Let me see, 5 days in the desert with no money for a sign.
Beer, alcohol, drugs, party time with generators and music, no wonder they want it for free......
What a joke on you if ya go for it!
------------------ HotLines Joey Madden,47 years in the Classic Art of Pinstriping Grants Pass, Oregon Learn something...... http://members.tripod.com/Inflite
posted
Ya know I remember my Dad always trying to save me some grief and I seldom listened to him.
Who am I to rob you of your own learning lesson.
Build it out of MDO 3/4 preferably cuz it will be strong and straight, and it will burn, then practice till you arm falls off.
Remember to take pictures, and whatever you do don't expect future work from a free bee. If it happens, great but don't hold your breath. You'll die waiting. And remeber the only Opportunity this is, is the opportunity to learn from a mistake.
Just look at it as a practice piece then and you'll be fine.
Hey if you want to jump out a window and I can't stop you, at least I can wish you a safe trip.
------------------ Bob Rochon Creative Signworks Millbury, MA bob@creativesignworks.com
"Some people's kids"
[This message has been edited by Bob Rochon (edited June 12, 2001).]
Posts: 5149 | From: Millbury, Mass. U.S. | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
I'd consider doing the sign as a banner with pole pockets large enough to insert 1" PVC. At the corners would be cutaways for ELL's, and every 8' on the run would be a cutaway for a coupling. The banner could be rolled up and transported with seven sticks of pipe and a few fittings. The weight factor would be less than a sheet of 1/2" plywood. You might do well cutting a few wind smiles in the banner also. The corner fittings couls be T's rather than ELLS for mounting purposes. Scooter, to send them off with three sheets of material with cut out letters and watch them trying to slide them into a truck would be a nightmare for anyone but a Bekins mover. If the person handling them has no financial burdon, knowing the full replacemant value, they will be miss treated. Value your gift more than that, bro.
------------------ The SignShop Mendocino, California "Where the Redwoods meet the Surf"
Posts: 6803 | From: Mendocino, CA. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
thanks for all the help and suggestions guys. i decided to go with the big banner route myself. (i arrived at the idea about the same time you all did!). we're gonna wrap the banner around all 4 sides of the tent (48' per side!). it will be a fascia sticking above the tent, so i may need some engineering advice once i get it sketched out...
yes, i agree that free work doesn't guaranty future work. what i'm getting out of this project _right now_ is: somebody else paying for a WHOLE LOT of banner material for me to PLAY with. i can do anything i want (roller, brush, vinyl, sponge, bag, spray) and they'll pay for the materials.
(yes, i will mark up the materials - i said i'd donate the labor, i didn't say i'd give it to them at cost!).
i'll also get a WHOLE LOT of people seeing a really big sign - it is "dead center" of the Playa. if i get one job out of it, its time well spent. this group is an "official" arm of the Burning Man folks - its the main "Information" booth, in the center of the event. these folks wont be tossing the banner in the fire (these are the anal retentive burning man people who help put on the event). Last, i'll have some cool pics to put in my portfolio of a really big sign. (since i'm starting out, i really need stuff to show people.) i figure they're paying for my education and experimentation. its a fair deal.
------------------ :: Scooter Marriner :: :: Coyote Signs :: :: San Francisco :: :: don't blame me... i'm just a beginner ::
Posts: 1356 | From: Oakland (and San Francisco) | Registered: Mar 2001
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