WELCOME!

It is hard to believe that it was almost ten years ago I witnessed a CNC router in action for the very first time. I was fascinated and simply had to have one! Although I had been in the creative end of the three dimensional sign business for most of my life I didn't really know what I would do with one of these machines - but I just knew it could do fantastic stuff.

Along with the CNC router I discovered the wonderful material called Precision Board and the glues, primers and other companion products they offer. Since then we have gone through many tons of the material using it in most signs and projects we tackle. This journal will chronicle our many adventures both past, present and future. I'll talk from the perspective of someone who pushes these products to the creative limit on a daily basis. I'll be adding to the stories two or three times each week. -dan

Sunday, April 4, 2010

A little hand work and I'm done!

One of the things I love about Precision Board is that it tools just as well by hand as it does on the CNC machine or other power tools. In this case I wanted the wrench to look like the ones in my tool box - slightly worn and used with bits of grease and dirt lodged in the crevices. IOnce the glue had dried I used my air powered die grinder to clean up the seam lines between the two pieces. Then I eased the edges a little and added some dents and dings. If I'm wedged under a car and need a hammer or small pry bar I won't necessarily crawl back out and go get them. My wrenches have worked just fine in a pinch and they bear the scars to prove it.
Then I laid on a coat of Coastal Enterprises FSC-88 WB primer. I put on a heavy coat, but with a small brush, purposely leaving in brush strokes to add a little more texture. I put a fan on the piece for an hour as per directions and then when it was good and dry I added two coats of silver metallic paint. Once they were dry I slopped on the glazes wiping the wrench down well afterwards - except for in the cracks and folds of the metal. I started with a mid brown, then later added a dark chocolate/grey. I instantly had my used wrench looking like it came straight from the toolbox. It was a cool little sign without a whole lots of time invested - about four hours work from start to finish including machine time.

-dan
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