I'm not sure how much interest there is in signage but I know that there are a few of our members who have just purchased laser engravers and are looking for new ways to get their business off the ground. I have had a considerable amount of success making commercial signs and in this thread I will share the construction details of my new hall signs. Those of you who do not own or have access to metalworking equipment could find a local shop to provide these services for you, it is worth the effort to find such a source since this type of work is less competitive than lower end designs.
Made from Corian these signs are engraved on both sides as they are designed to be hung perpendicular to the wall. The design required them to be modern style and it was important that they did not look Colonial so a hanging style mount which is the most common was out of the question. My second requirement was to keep the signs as maintenance free as possible and to create signs that would last for decades. I like to use Corian whenever I can, it is easilly obtained and a great material to work with.
My sign blanks were cut on a CNC Router however in the past I have engraved blanks with a border line as a guide for cutting the outside edge on my bandsaw, then sand the edges as required. Whichever method you have at your disposal you will need to engrave a plywood guide with the outline of your blank to help you align the blank for engraving the second side. Edge treatment on these signs was a simple roundover since both sides would be visible and I needed to leave enough of the edge to drill holes for the 3/16" diameter pins that hold the sign to the hanger.
The Corian was engraved using a paper mask then painted. After the paint is dry I removed the mask and used my random orbital sander with 220 grit paper to clean up the top surface. A very light sanding will not disturb the paint and you can wash the Corian sign in water to remove any dust that settles in the subsurface areas.
Photo 1 - Hallway photo with inset showing the signs installed.
Photo 2 - Signs after engraving and edge treatment including the small cover plates.
Photo 3- Closeup of the sign for the Music department.