The Ark 1808

Leo Voisine

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5,703
Location
East Freeetown, Massachusetts
For many years my family has attended many events at Monadnock Bible Conference in Jaffery, New Hampshire.

We grew close to the staff there. My kids were both staff members at different times. My son lived and worked there for several years.

The main building was build in 1808 as an Inn and eatery. Monadnock Bible Conference bought it in 1965 and has been operating there since.

The main building was named The Ark a way long long time ago - way long ago before it was bought in 1965.

There was a sign "The Ark" on the property and stayed as the name all along the way. Everyone knew the main building as "the Ark"

mbc1-ark.jpgMvc-045f mod.jpg

These are two pictures of the Ark on Dublin Rd.


mbc29-1808Sign - mod.jpg

This is a picture I took of the sign before it was stolen
It is a painted sign
Oh Yeah - Try to find THAT font

In late 2012 the sign --- "went missing"


I called the staff and told them I would make a sign to replace the "missing" sign.
Of course I will NOT take any money from them for this.

True to my nature I have procrastinated for far too long.

They recently asked me if I was still going to do it for them.
They are celebrating a 50-th anniversary this year.
Sooo - I need to get this done as well as the New Bedford sign.


I have already done 80% of the work on it, so I will post the progress from design to completion and delivery and installation.

This is now on my workbench and will be in process this weekend.

The New Bedford sign is also in the works - so I will be posting progress on both at the same time.

Unfortunately - the home remodeling will be in a ____ s - l - o - w ____ m - o - t - i - o - n ___ mode.


Sooooooo - yer gonna see Leo at work in the shop now.
 

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I've seen that building quite a few times. I've always thought about stopping in and seeing if they have any 18th century furniture around that I could measure out.

When you deliver it Let me know. I know a nice spot for lunch close by. I could meet up with you.
 
Some Design Work on the Ark

Well, Like I said I have done a lot of work on this one already - so - I only need to post some of the stages.

Sorry - I don't have any videos on this project - only stills. I will work on some videos when we get to the stuff I have not done yet.

In a previous post I showed a picture of the sign. WOW - lucky to have it. Few few people have a straight on close up of a sign. People look at me funny when I take those shots. Pays sometimes.

Ark - dual monitors.jpg

I am lucky enough to have a dual monitor setup - so I put the picture of the sign on the right and I did my work on the left.

There are several methods to trace the JPG image to get vectors. I choose the hardest way - I zoom in and manually trace. When zoomed in - it is sometimes difficult to see what you are looking at - so the picture on the right is quite helpful.

Ark Screen-3.jpg

Once I have all the vectors and get them cleaned up - even - symmetrical smooth, and looking like I need them to look - I can continue.

Ark Screen-4.jpg

I then can create a 3D model using some of the features in Aspire. Sorry, Desktop or V-Carve Pro does not have these features, neither does ArtCam Express. Desktop DOES have the ability to make prismatic letters, but via standard windows fonts. My process is very different from that process.

Ark Screen-1.jpg

Each of the individual characters is created into a 3D model. There are many options as to how to create the model, but I opted for a prismatic topped letter.

Ark Screen-2.jpg

This is what the sign will look like.

It will have a border - but there was no reason for me to model a border. It is not going to be CNC made. If I were going to make a preview for a customer to sign off in approval I would have created a border - just for show.

More to come
 
Beyond the Design Computer

YES - I do actually DO stuff in the shop.

It really starts in Design before I can go out to the shop.

I want this sign to be lasting 150 years - so material selection is important.

Sorry - there is NO wood in this sign.

I do love wood but not on a sign - at least not on an exterior sign that I want to last 150 years.

The letters are PVC. Like the PVC trim you cam buy at the Borg - you can also buy it in 4x8 sheets. It's a GREAT sign material and less expensive than HDU, but more durable. Everything has it's place.

Ark Letters.jpg

I fit all the letters into a 13 x 24 x 1" piece of PVC. This is what is called nesting. I actually got the letters to fit tighter manually than the automatic nesting did.

plate.jpg

This is the full sheet on the machine.

8.jpgcorner.jpg


I had more than a little bit of trouble cutting the letters. My machine kept going wacky in me. I had to several over again and I still have one squigly thing to cutout.


T.jpgh.jpg

PVC does have a grain pattern to is and it does need to be sanded. Regular sandpaper and it is easy to sand.

There is a hole in the "T" that I need to fill - well actually, I already filled it. After painting it will never be known
 

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Looks like you're coming along with your project, Leo.

I've been "practicing" with different materials, including a piece of pvc trim from the borg. I also got some 1/2" hdpe for some brackets and was having lots of trouble until I got some single flute bits. I'm still not satisfied with the quality of cut, but I'll keep plugging away.
 
FINAL stage

Sorry for the delay.

I've been really busy lately and have not posted progress.

I finished today 5/27/15

I will be delivering to Jaffry New Hampshire on Saturday 5/30/15

Since I last posted I cut out the final letter piece. I sanded all the letters and I primed and painted the letters.

I also made a frame to border the sign. The original did not have a border



final-1.jpgfinal-2.jpg

The white backing is a Alubond product.

There is a black PVC core and thin aluminum clad on both sides. One side is a satin finish white and the other side is a gloss finish white. The finish is very durable. The aluminum clad is about 1/64 thick.

This is a new process for me as the sign is 42 inches long and my machine is 24 inches. I tiled for the first time. Before I did the tiling I needed to modify my machine. I did a temp modification and cut the 1/32 deep pockets for the letters. This is mostly so I could accurately position the letters, and also so I could bond PVC to PVC - instead of PVC to painted aluminum.

I have already done some testing on the Lord Adhesive bonding the PVC to a variety of materials. There is NO problem with the bond - it will NOT fail.

I do have a process for bonding - so I can cover that in detail at some other time.

final-3.jpg

I made the frame / border out of PVC trim wood from the local Lowes. The grain showing. I cut the pocket out on the table saw and the Miters on the SCMS. I bonded the miters with some epoxy I had left over from my Mr. Handyman franchise business. I bought the Epoxy in 2006. I tested it and it set up just fine, so I used it.

I painted the frame with Krylon black plastic spray paint.


final-5.jpgfinal-6.jpgfinal-4.jpg

I rough sanded the area on the back of the alubond that contacts the PVC.

I used the Lord epoxy to bond the alubond into the PVC frame.

I also used the Lord epoxy on the letters and weighted with taped up bricks


final-9.jpgfinal-10.jpg

This is the finished sign with the letters epoxied in place.



final-7.jpgfinal-8.jpg

I hung the sign on a bracket I have for a 36 inch sign. It it not going to stay in that bracket. I just wanted a display spot and that bracket worked.
 
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