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

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Assembling the crab submersible

Building the crab submersible model proved to be a whole lot of fun! Peter started the assembly but didn't get very far before he was called away to other things. With the deadline beginning to press I took up where he left off. We crated a rough shape by hand with the four pound foam.

I did a quick coat of sculpting epoxy and then mounted the leg and claw bases. To keep things aligned I carved small support blocks from the four pound foam and propped everything in place.  Then I let it all set up overnight.


 After leaving it harden overnight I could work on the piece easily without having things slide around or droop. I drilled for the supporting dowel and mounted the body at the right height and angle. Then it was a matter of gluing on the balance of the pieces and mounting them to the base board. Easy. Once I had sculpted the undersides and added the detail on the lower body I again set it to the side to harden.




With the piece set up I could handle it easier without fear of handling the fragile model. I spent a little time adding the extra details. Once it had set up again (a couple of hours) I could add some primer, primarily to add more texture.



Tomorrow I'll spend a few minutes bending some wire and gluing it in place to simulate hydraulic hoses and electrical lines. Then we'll be ready to begin the paint process. It's going to be fun!