Rough Cedar Again

[joe]

I'm finishing up on another Rough Cedar sign with DiBond letters. Cedar is one of the less expensive wood in our area. This versionof Cedar has considerable resistance to weather. I'm using Sikkens Cetol SRD as a stain.

This sign is 12' wide and stands about 5' in height. The posts are 8"X8".

One of the big advantages to this kind of sign is how fast they are to make. This is partially due to the rough nature of the wood and cutting out the pre-painted letters that we plop in place. It's necessary to put braces on the backs. I've been using Weldwoods plastic resin glue. It's mixed to a pancake batter consistancy. With a heavy mix it stays in place and there is very little mess. Five dollars of this glue will make up several big sign signs.

Tomorrow is installation day. We have a contractor, Bob Cat Jim, who digs the holes and gives us a hand getting it all strait and plumb. I'll take a snap shot or two of the finished sign.

Joe
www.normansignco.com (http://www.normansignco.com)

[joewino]

Great work, as usual, Mr. Crumley. You never stop thinking, do you?

[cartar929]

I'm a fan. I have never gotten to use cedar on project, and would love the chance. Those posts look like beasts...

what are DiBond Letters?

[curtiss]

Do they give you some help moving that stuff around ?? How many pounds are you currently rated for ?


Look's like another "Joe's Secret" in Picture 4 in the Campbell's tomato soup can...

[scottbot]

Fantastic work, as always, Joe.
Thanks for sharing the pictures and especially the process and materials you used.
It helps a lot to see what the pros are doing.

Scott

[joe]

Thanks fellows for the kind words.

One item I forgot to mention which is very important. There should be special considerations for large, heavy, swinging panels like these. They can self destruct under the harsh Oklahoma winds. I've seen lots of this kind of failure over the years and the failure point is most often at the top connecting point. Another, equally important, consideration, when using wood, is the, cross member, truss from which they are held. It must be supported or the sign will twist it off the posts.

To shure up the sign panels I have made two steel trusses with flanges at top and bottom. The signs are carried along for a free ride. They are under no stress.

As you can see the top truss has a steel bracket and is inset by 1.5".

Curtis,

Yep there is some weight with kind of sign. I truly like working with this kind of structures. My back surgeon hates me and my daughter, who's also a doctor has given up too. You got to have a little fun in life.

[Big-Tex]

Joe
You just gave me inspiration for my next project.

[myxpykalix]

Under that shirt Joe has the muscles of Charles Atlas (guys my age know the reference!) He could pick that thing up himself...

As usual another materpiece....

[wberminio]

Nice job,Joe!

[ken_rychlik]

That ain't no shopbot in the background. lol

Looks like and EZ

[Mayo]

Nice looking work Joe!

When you do these kinds of signs with pockets for letters of a different material than the sign background, do you just make them fit tight or do you have to leave room for expansion/contraction?

Has it ever been a problem for you with this method?

I've seen electric sign faces where they cut the plastic too big and then in the summer it bulges in or out like a pillow. Or worse, in the Chicago winters a piece cut too small can actually fall out of the frame.

[kevin]

Thanks for the post amd the effort

Joe Question cedar in Eastern Canada is is about 8 to 12 DOOLARS a board feet how much in Oaklhoma ?

What are your thoughs on African mahoney where I can get it at 5 to 6 dollars a board feet or exterior mdf sintra I bought 2 sheets from Halifax 12 hrs away it cost 55 dollars a sheet.
Foam is almost out of the question here plus I think foam is Okay on the side of a building not free standing like your new sign

[joe]

Mayo,


This kind of sign doesn't need exacting tolerances. I leave about a 1/8” clearance around my letters. Keep in mind, you'll be reading the black letter and not the pocket. I route down .35 yo .40. This lumber is rough cut and varies quiet a bit. The neat thing about this process, it replaces the tricky painting we used to labor over.


The letters are glued in place with GE Silicone 1.


Kevin,


What we have down here is called Western Red Cedar and it's rough cut and most of it is wet. There is no such thing as quarter sawn or vertical grain. Almost none of it is clear. It looks good for Lodge or Cabin signs. I pay $2.00 to $2.75 a board foot depending on it's size. In the past I had ordered some of your beautiful cedar. It's nothing like what we have down here. Your's resemlbes good redwood.


The sign below is another example of and pocketed/Dibond made during my workshop. On this one we combined pocketing with V Carving. It's still out front where the fellows placed it.

[joe]

Kevin,

I don't know much about African Mahogony. I believe it's beautiful and heavy. We use both kinds of Foam, HDU and EPS. and it's good for exterior use. The trick with these materials is a good topcoated.

You may have some Ponderosa Pine that can be used for signs. I get it in vertical grain from Lowe's. We blast it to get a beautiful grain. Hope you fina a good cheap sign material.

[dana_swift]

Hello Joe- as usual your work is absolutely inspiring. Glad I am not in the sign business, too many of my customers would be getting their signs in Norman!

D&B

[signtist]

Great stuff again! Love the real wood look.

[Big-Tex]

Mahogany is one of my favorite species. African is what you can buy these days as Honduras is not imported anymore. It machines nice and withstands weather as well. One more species that comes to mind that withstands weather conditions is teak but price does not justify to use for signs unless someone is willing to pay for it.....

[joe]

Thomas,

Don't forget Cypress. I'm starting a small custom sign using this wood. It's nature is to be a little stringy but with a little testing and the right bit it should be fine.

I have a couple hundred bd ft. of 12 quarter. It's been stickered for two years and I can hardly wait any longer to start working with it. I'll post a few photo's as I go throught the process.

We installed the Lindsay Chiropractic today. My camera pooped out on me so I don't have anything to show at this time. It went up without a hitch. After all there was only four parts to assemble.

Joe Crumley
www.normansign.com (http://www.normansign.com)

[carlosgmarroquin]

Thank you anyway Joe.

[Big-Tex]

can't wait to wait cypres sign

[toych]

Joe, you cannot promise us pictures and then say the camera crapped out.

We are like 8 year old boys waiting for Christmas morning.

We want pictures!

Did I mention we were spoiled 8 year old boys?

D.

[joe]

Darren,

I'm encouraged to hear someone is still listing to my exploits.

This sign was installed in Lindsay, Ok which is a full hour away. I'm looking forward to taking a nice bike ride this weekend, and Lindsay is on the route.

Thanks for the interest.

Joe

[loriny]

If this sign was to mount directly to a wall would you still attach the wooden ?staves??? and just eliminate the back layer and metal brackets?
Seems like between these 2x2s would be a beautiful spot for some french cleats for mounting.
Thanks for posting. that is a style I love.
Lorin

[joe]

Lorin,

One has to keep in mind, when a mounting a wood sign to a wall, trapped moisture can cause problems.

I'd apply two or three angle brackets on the wall for the sign to set on. I'd double up on the wood cleats but make them much thinner.

There's a strong debate amoung cabinet makers about cleates. Those opposed claim they prohibit the wood from moving. It was hard for me at first to go against this theory but with rough cedar there doesn't seem to be a problem. Of course, a panel can be constructed using cleates with no glue. The main problem with that is sealing the edges of the boards where water accumilates.

[joe]

This is one of the most simple signs I done in a long time. It's built to freely swing in the Oklahoma winds.

[kevin]

Thanks Joe

I like seeing the more simpler aproach compard to some of your master pieces.

The ceader looks great for 2.50 a board ft.

The brackets set it off nicley

Thanks again for your posts I get a lot out of them

[toych]

Very nice, I like the rugged look.