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Has anyone Hand Carved ceadar blanks? How does it carve? How does it take paint? I'm looking at a job right now. Foam is out of the question. It will be mahogany, cedar, or redwood. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks guys and gals!!!
-------------------- Rob Larkham Rob Larkham Signs & Lettering 21 Middlefield Road Chester, MA. 01011
413-354-0287 Posts: 517 | From: Chester, MA | Registered: May 2001
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Rob, how big is your sign ? One sided or two?
-------------------- John Smith Kings Bay Signs (Retired) Kissimmee, Florida Posts: 822 | From: Central Florida - The Sunshine State | Registered: Jan 2000
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Rob, All three will work! For carvability my personal choices would be Handuran Mahogany, then Red Wood, and western red cedar last. Good luck! Joe, Makin Chips and Havin Fun!
-------------------- Joe Cieslowski Connecticut Woodcarvers Gallery P.O.Box 368 East Canaan CT 06024 jcieslowski@snet.net 860-824-0883 Posts: 2345 | From: East Canaan CT 06024 | Registered: Nov 2001
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Rob, I would laminate two pieces of 1" or 1.5" reinforced HDU together with stainless fasteners embeded in epoxy for the hangers. I would choose HDU a thousand times over just due to the weight factor and it will definately, without a doubt, curl if done in wood. Give this some more thought before you go with wood of any sort. I will be giving instructions on how to do this technique next week at my meet. Sure wish you could make it. Just my dos centavos here.
-------------------- John Smith Kings Bay Signs (Retired) Kissimmee, Florida Posts: 822 | From: Central Florida - The Sunshine State | Registered: Jan 2000
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Curious to know if you've ever tried AllWood's cedar product(?). I think you might be very pleasantly surprized! They will gladly provide you with a sample... web page
Ask for Andy...tell him Jon from ND sent you - and let us know what you think.
Rob: You should ask for a sample, too!
-------------------- Jon Aston MARKETING PARTNERS "Strategy, Marketing and Business Development" Tel 705-719-9209 Posts: 1724 | From: Barrie, ON, CANADA | Registered: Sep 2000
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I am a professional woodworker and certified Woodwright by trade. I have many years of personalized experience in most of the finer woods used in the construction of furniture, boats and signs. It is only within the last two years that I have really switched to HDU vs wood. Granted, handcarved and gilded mahogany is absolutely beautiful!! I have used many thousands of board feet of teak, mahogany, oak, cedar and redwood over the past 30 years. HDU provides me with a lightweight and stable medium that I am comfortable using for trouble free larger signs. Especially the ones that have little or no structural support such as hanging freely on chains. As I said . .. .Just my two cents here
-------------------- John Smith Kings Bay Signs (Retired) Kissimmee, Florida Posts: 822 | From: Central Florida - The Sunshine State | Registered: Jan 2000
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My only trouble with a hanging HDU sign is the wise-ass teenager who WILL wip a beer bottle at it. I don't want to replace it every three weeks. Is there anyway I can strengthen it? Thanks for the help John!
-------------------- Rob Larkham Rob Larkham Signs & Lettering 21 Middlefield Road Chester, MA. 01011
413-354-0287 Posts: 517 | From: Chester, MA | Registered: May 2001
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I would suggest sandwiching a piece of mdo in between two pieces of hdu. I do this with any double faced hdu sign. Single faced also get it unless wall mounts. I've had carved hdu signs in the absolute worst neighborhoods and in Ybor City, the local drinking district with no real problems. Hdu is also easier to repair if it is damaged. The paint on the hdu really helps harden the surface and make it much more durable than you might think. The ease in carving also more than make up for any perceived weaknesses.
-------------------- Dennis Goddard
Gibsonton Fl Posts: 1050 | From: Tampa Fl USA | Registered: Apr 2000
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Rob, a beer bottle will inflict just as much damage to a HDU sign as redwood or cedar. Like Dennis said, if you prep your sign "correctly" for the application, you will have much less headaches with HDU than wood. I have developed a very unique and cost effective method of mounting HDU signs.
Personal note: For those of you that want to learn more about the fantastic world of High Density Urethane, it will be more than worth your while to attend my Spring Fling meet next weekend. We will be doing hands-on seminars of HDU signs and mounting methods.
-------------------- John Smith Kings Bay Signs (Retired) Kissimmee, Florida Posts: 822 | From: Central Florida - The Sunshine State | Registered: Jan 2000
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Rob, I'm doing a hanging arm doublesided one now. I am using 3/4 HDU on both side of a 3MM piece of Dibond. The Dibond should give me a good surface to mount a Bracket for chaining. The costs are much reduced by using the thinner HDU (150.00 for HDU 4x8, and 88.00 for Dibond) and with laminations on both sides prodruding out like salami hanging out of the bread, you can use a tougher frame to the outside as an edge protecter. I am carving 2.5 wide copy plenty deep and not even close to through it. Unfortunately, my outer frame is fairly scrolled, so I will have a softer edge than I really want. I may leave the Dibond edge proud and router the outside of my moulded outer frame back to give more protection. I think I can work it nicely into the design.
You asked about Redwood,Cedar etc. I have done redwood, and find HDU much faster and longer lasting, One thing I can warn you about is that when you hang the sign be ready to turn it around a few times while it is curing (hours/weeks). If you don't the sun side will draw the paint, and bow the hell out of the face side of the sign. There will be no getting it fixed with wood. This can also be a problem with HDU and even with waterbase paints. Dark colors is the only place that I have had major problems, as they get much hotter and dry faster. Flipping the sign a few times will eliminate the problem. Actually setting in the sun for curing for a few days before hanging would be a good option. Take care, Bronzeo
-------------------- "Don't change horses in midstream, unless you spot one with longer legs" bronzeo oti Jack Davis 1410 Main St Joplin, MO 64801 www.imagemakerart.com jack@imagemakerart.com Posts: 1549 | From: Joplin, MO | Registered: Mar 2000
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