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Emma austin
06-29-2011, 12:23 AM
Hi everyone. As mentioned earlier, I am a firefighter, and have done a dew signage jobs for various stations. Just been asked by my station to come up with a duty board.
Basically all it is is a board with either slots or places for the names of the 4 guys on duty. We have four watches, red, green, blue, brown. Each watch has 4 people, who will each need their name on a colored tag of sorts.
Any good ideas? First thoughts were something like rowmark acrylic that is surface colour with another underneath. But then obviously quite costly as would only need a tiny amount of each colour, which I don't have.
If I jut used 3mm general purpose acrylic I could engrave that, but the names would only show up white. I do have lots of colours on hand though and it is cheap.
Also not sure how to make it, if I made it slots I would have to layer two boards on top of each other?
Love to bounce sone ideas :)
Thanks!

Carrol Fleming
06-29-2011, 2:06 AM
What about engraved acrylic colour filled with paint.
A board with two hooks (those L shaped screw in ones would work) for each name and then name tags with two holes in the top corners so that the tags can hook onto the board?

Regards
Carrol

Emma austin
06-29-2011, 2:55 AM
Hi Carrol. Thanks for the ideas. I have never done colour fill but feel this might be a good opportunity. So that way I would be able to engrave a say white piece of acrylic and make the writing appear black? Without using a Rowmark or IPI product?
The tags I think still need to be the colour of the watch.
I like the hook idea, I had done somethign similar with an evacuation board, but I feel with the name tags being quite small, and 16 of them, it might look too busy with all the hooks?

Carrol Fleming
06-29-2011, 3:39 AM
Hi Emma

For colour fill you can use any colour acrylic and any colour paint - I have just done some badges, yellow with black writing - they were very effective. I have found that the deeper you go with the text the easier it is to fill and clean up so I actually raster the name twice at 1200 through a mask and then either use spray paint or a watery acrylic. Leave for a few hours and avoid the temptation to clean too early or you just wash the paint out the engraving and have to start again.

If the tags are small perhaps you could cut out a disc, or diamond with curved points, in acrylic. (I visualized larger rectangular name tags needing two hooks) If the acrylic is going to be put on and taken off a hook often I make a slightly bigger hole so that it does not catch and put undue stress on the top.

The other option is to get the Chewbarker anodized dog tags on ebay. I do 100's of keyrings using those. A bit more pricey as you have to factor in postage but even with postage to Zambia I find they fall within the affordable range. The downside is you have to have spares for changes. Acrylic is more versatile there.

Regards
Carrol

Emma austin
06-30-2011, 6:18 AM
Thanks for ideas.
I think I want to avoid tags. Had the idea of doing the actual board in wood, and inlaying small circular magnets. Then backing the tags (madeof rowmark or similar) with magnets.
So when the names aren't in place there will be two little metal dots in the wood, and still look 'nice'.
Then I could use gold foil for the fire service logo, or engrave. Will keep playing...