christmas signs project

Dan Noren

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did a bit more with the christmas signs project today. cut the parts for the signs during last week's fun. today it was hand sand any odd edges, and ends. then it was on to paint one half of the bunch green, and the other half red. in a couple of weeks (hopefully) once the paint is fully set, i'll put on the blue tape, and head on over to the cnc machine to mill the lettering and borders. one half of each set will be happy holidays, and the other merry christmas.
 

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back into this one again, now that i have the tostoneras out of the way. time to test out the code. first run went pretty much ok for the lettering, but went deep on the border. the test with the taped board wasn't as good. starting from the same height, and such, it went deeper than expected, and the tape didn't hold too good. i may just wind up cutting the lettering and such with a 60 degree bit, rather than the 90, and skip the painting of the lettering and border as well.
 

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Looks good. Some folks have had good luck with contact paper. If you want just the lettering painted, might try doing them a hair deeper and sanding or planing off after painting. The Avery paint mask has been working well for me, cuts through clean, but is pretty sticky and will take some of the base paint with it, so I've been doing a light coat of wax before applying it on some projects. I'm also using a spiral V-bit (http://www.ebay.com/itm/60-degree-a...hash=item23493c3117:m:mdkiTXDVAVt0GDohb1jsy7Q), dunno if that is helping since I haven't tried a bit like yours.
 
Like Darren, I use an Avery mask and it has worked well. I spray the wood with a waterborne sealer, let dry, sand, spray again, let dry, then do a final light sanding before applying the mask. That process has worked fine for v-carving that is at least 1/8" deep.

I've done a couple of projects with etching that is typically about 1/32" deep. In that case, I seal and sand the wood, then apply at least two top coats of finish before carving. I use a 30° v-bit to make the cut. Then, I wipe a contrasting dye or paint color on and quickly begin wiping it off. The color doesn't stick to the finish.
 
Like Darren, I use an Avery mask and it has worked well. I spray the wood with a waterborne sealer, let dry, sand, spray again, let dry, then do a final light sanding before applying the mask. That process has worked fine for v-carving that is at least 1/8" deep.

I've done a couple of projects with etching that is typically about 1/32" deep. In that case, I seal and sand the wood, then apply at least two top coats of finish before carving. I use a 30° v-bit to make the cut. Then, I wipe a contrasting dye or paint color on and quickly begin wiping it off. The color doesn't stick to the finish.

Yeah, like Bill I've been sealing with shellac then doing my base color, then applying mask.

I've also seen some pretty cool veneering techniques lately that look quite nice too. ;)
 
picked up some more poplar, and cut it a bit longer than the sign. one blank i left plain, the other i taped. then, it was off to the testing races! the plain board came out pretty good, so i went on to the taped blank. the 60 degree bit did a pretty good job with the carving, without the the tape being torn up as with the 90 degree bit. with that test done, i used some black spray paint (better contrast than white), waited a bit, then peeled off the tape. i'm pretty happy with the results. now, it is on to working on the production hold down for the real signs.
 

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more tests! i thought that it looked a little bare, so i added a bit of holly with a bow. started out the second test with using a 60 degree bit for everything. lettering and border came out ok, but the holly was a bit roughed up. on to a third test. for this one i used a 60 degree bit for the border and lettering, and a 20 degree bit for the holly. this worked quite a bit better. i couldn't wait for the paint to dry (i know, purple, and it is on my fingers too), and started peeling the tape (hence the odd lines), and i liked the way the holly turned out this time. i think for the production run, i'll do the borders and lettering first, then the holly, as i only want to change bits once.
 

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the rest of the pics....
 

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Dan would it not be better to do these in mdf? Cheaper and given u painting, i would think less bleed and smoother cut as you don't have to deal with cutting through annual rings ?
 
rob, i'll be doing that with the 57 chevy nomad cribbage board. but that's a whole new thread. it will be half finished when i start the carving. as for using poplar, it is cheap, and some times better to test on the real thing. as for the bleeding, i did spray a little heavier than i wanted. i'll be a bit lighter with the real thing.
 
did a bit more with the christmas signs project today. cut the parts for the signs during last week's fun. today it was hand sand any odd edges, and ends. then it was on to paint one half of the bunch green, and the other half red. in a couple of weeks (hopefully) once the paint is fully set, i'll put on the blue tape, and head on over to the cnc machine to mill the lettering and borders. one half of each set will be happy holidays, and the other merry christmas.


keeping yourself out of trouble I see.
 
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