Ken Salisbury and Terry Hatfield Signs

[Keith Outten]

Well they still need to be polished and I'm not sure just when they will be done but here is a sneek peak at your Corian signs. Given my current dayjob workload and two very large sign projects I am trying to land time is really precious right now.

[Greg Heppeard]

Awesome job, Keith. As soon as I get a real name for my shop, I know who I'm going to for my signage.

[Keith Outten]

Thanks Greg,

I'm using alot of Corian these days for signage and these are the first ones to have dual layers. The Corian stock is from sink cutouts, the white pieces are 15" long and about 11.5" tall. The dark gray Corian backing plates are 16.75" by 13" and were templated from the small pieces using the Corel Draw contour feature. I vector cut a clear acrylic template for the backing plates since they were too large for my engraving cabinet. A simple half template did the job nicely.

I use an engravers paper tape placed on top of the Corian before engraving, afterwards a quick coat of spray paint, then pull the tape off. There is very little cleanup using the tape as a mask. The paint can be removed and changed easilly should the new owners want to change colors or just be a little more creative.

[Ken Salisbury]

WOW !! Can't wait to hang that on the shop. With something that professional looking I will be able to raise my rates at lease 35%. :D

[Greg Heppeard]

Ken, I heard you were giving everything away lately (FPP). So, let's see,
$0.00 + 35% = $0.00. Hmmm quite a profit there Ken. But then, I've seen the profit from the FPP in the form of the return emails. Sure makes you feel like a millionaire doesn't it?

[Kent Cori]

Keith,

The signs look great but I'm trying to figure out the engraved faces above them. Is that you, Terry and Ken? :p

[Keith Outten]

Kent,

I'm the good-looking one in the middle with the horns :)

Actually they are called "Wood Spirits" and are patterns I purchased from carvingpatterns.com last year. I have over 30 of the Spirits patterns and I believe they are supposed to be used as door knockers. You carve the pattern and connect a brass knocker to each side of the carving.

I purchased all 1200 patterns from the Carving patterns web site, they are a great source for engraving graphics, their art work is really nice.

[Terry Hatfield]

Keith,

WOW!!!!! I can't wait to see it in person.

Thanks!!!!

t

[Terry Hatfield]

Kent,

If Keith is the one in the middle, I must be the happy looking one on the right and Ken is the grumpy looking one on the left. :D

t

[Chris Padilla]

Very pretty, Keith! Sigh, must ignore lathes and now lasers...sigh....

[Jim Ketron]

Thats a great looking sign!!
Hey Keith that would make a great Freestuff drawing:D lets see "Clinch Mountain Woodworks" yea that sounds good!
Or you should auction one off for the FPP Im sure most everyone would like to have a sign that looks like that! (ME) :D
BTW how much do you charge for a sign like Ken's and Terry's?
Jim Ketron

[Keith Outten]

Jim,

Actually Terry's sign was a Freestuff Drawing, I am so backed up that I just found the time to make his sign and decided to take care of Ken's sign at the same time. Since both signs are similar it made sense to work them concurrently.

These Corian signs are in the neighborhood of $300.00, there is over 2 hours of engraving time on each one and lots of time at the bandsaw and spindle sander as well.

I would be glad to offer one of these signs for a Freedom Pen auction if we could get a minimum bid of $200.00, the Freedom Pens Project can sure use the funds.

[Lynn Kull]

Hi Keith, a couple questions on the corian signs if you don't mind? Are you cutting a template on your laser from 1/4" Acrylic and then routing out the corian with like a flush trim router bit or do you cut corian with band saw?

Also wondering what glues you use for acrylic and corian?

And one more, I am making a few door signs out of 1/16" lasermax I am asuming doublesick foam tape would work for applying the signs? thanks in advance Lynn

[Rodne Gold]

Those signs are great , impressive work
I dont have a pic on my website , but we do a lot of Corian "inlay" work (We actually dont use corain as its very expensive , lots of alternatives avialable).
For "proper" inlays we use a large format overhead router and mill the corian using various software. We use 2 part epoxys or silicon marine sealant as the "glues" , mostly the inlays are almost interference fits.
For lasering (which cant go that deep) we either fill with automotive ducos or for some stunning effects , with clear resins seeded with translucent pigments. (looks like stained glass).
What we do with corian is also apply polyester vinyl to it (laser friendly , most mirror vinyl is polyester) and use the laser to ablate it to form a resist for sand blasting.
For lasered inlays , we use formicas which are really thin , really cheap , are VERY durable and come in a zillion finishes and colours. The not only laser cut superbly , they also laser engrave superbly and can be easily colour filled. The laser can easily engrave the corian to a depth that allows the formicas to be flush fitted. These can be used as work surfaces (like "proper" inlays can , whereas paint filled or resin filled cant. (especially for food prep) Have a look at my website to see what I do with my lasers
http://www.tokerbros.co.za
Most of the acrylic awards etc are done with em. (under trophys)

I also have posted a nice list of laser applications at
http://www.nbm.com/index.php?page=aemsg&select=Discussions
look at "stuff you can do with your laser and some tips"
Regards
Rodney Gold