As The Wood Chisel Carves:
Hi! as the wood chisel carves is a new feature I hope to update daily or weekly about sign making or wood working in general.
Using the grain of the wood to obtain special effects
This weeks issue is about using the grain of the wood to make a great design in a wood sign .I recently got a job to make a wood sign for a bar and I thought I would do something different. Most of my signs are vee carved and I decided to do a sign this time with raised lettering. Of course the customer has to go along with this but usually when they see the resulting design they more than usual go along with it. This time I decided to use contrasting colors of wood instead of paint to make the letters stand out on this custom carved wood sign. For the back ground I chose a dark brown walnut base that was basically flat . the edge was cove routed to make the edge more dimensional and finished. I cut and routed the lettering in a very pale white pine and beveled and shaped the lettering with a pointed crown. I then milled a .060 pocket for each letter into the base to locate the individual letters for their graphical design. Along with other design elements the wood sign came out outstanding and the customer was very pleased. This sign stands out and grabs attention and that what signs are supposed to do. With very little effort the sign was finished completely in a natural finish yet the desired visibility was obtained without gold leaf or contrasting paint colors. The same holds true with sandblasted or carved texture signs where the background wood texture is used to accentuate the main message of the sign which is spoken in lettering. The real beauty of a carved wood sign is that the attention is garnered without gaudy lights LED's or any other distracting techniques. It has always been my firm belief that an advertising device such as a carved wood sign can be made to be attractive by merely its quality presence. Wood grain can be cut , sawn or arranged in many ways to achieve vary looks and design objectives. I've seen many an attractive sign that was made by simply stacking flat two by fours together and then routing to a very attractive sign simply by being creative with grain and texture. I've even seen a lot of manufacturers of foam signs (myself included) who have simulated the grain of wood to make their foam sign have a little extra zing or style. So as you look at my signs and your thinking of way to make it stand out. Think of the grain and color of the wood and how contrasting species can compliment each other to deliver your quality advertising message. If we get together and talk about your new design bring up the subject of contrasting grains and woods and how they might benefit your sign and we will dial in a design that you will surely be proud of and will last for years to come. You never know you might become the architect of a future landmark.
Mark.... |
