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hand carved signage: headstone
First, the marking on stage, just a propelling pencil, plenty of .5mm leads, a steady hand and top and bottom lines…ohhh and a dictionary.
Secondly, the finished job, Portland stone, fine rubbed, hand-carved 60 degree V cut letters, Self styled roman and cursive lower case.
Stone was about 4′ high x 26" wide..and very heavy… 😮 😮 😮
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35 Replies
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About a weeks work from start to finish!
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For those of you wondering what this has to do with signs, I am a trained sign painter and hold a degree in lettering, this is what I do when I am not cutting or painting signs. Sort of fell into it really (not the hole that goes with these pictures 😆 😆 ) the trade…… 😉
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bloody good nobby!! great to see it hand done!! 😆
i’m away to show ed, he is itching to get back into the hand lettering again, maybe this will spur him on again, he has been a bit dormant recently, due to fact of putting up signs!! 😀
great to see!!
Nik
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Yes, it seems a lot more satisfying somehow doing thing the traditional way, we all seem to get into the mechanical way of life, I am lucky that I can do both and I share my time between cutting vinyl, fitting and letter-carving. If I fancy carving one day, I do, if I do not fancy it next I get on with signmaking side……
If Ed needs a little more motivation, put him on to me….My powers of persuasion may make it happen…
Cheers Nik
Nobby 😕
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i dont suppose youd be interested in taking someone on as an apprentise would you? i put a post on a couple of months ago , but had no luck, rachel
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Hi Rachel,
I have just finished doing some Lettercarving with one person and am in the process now of trying to catch up on lost work, as you can appreciate, teaching someone skills like Letter-carving is incredibly time consuming, I went to college for 3 YEARS full time, to leave with a lot of ideas in my head, but then it took another 4 years as a full time commercial lettercutter to even begin to make any money at the game, as lettercarvers are on piece-rate these days, the less you carve the less you earn. I will bear you in mind should I take anyone else on for a short taster spell though Rachel, If you would like to do a weekend workshop sometime, please drop me a PM, I am sure something could be arranged.
Kind regards to you
Nobby
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Spare a thought for poor old Christine 48 is no age!
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very true Steve,
When you do things like this every day, you tend not to look too much at the inscription funnily enough!!
Sad ol’ game really
Nobby 😥
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…..yes but a great place to be sad old Weymouth
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Oh yes…that’s what makes it all worthwhile my friend, you been this way??
Nobby
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Many times, I love the South Coast I work regularly in Brighton and Bournemouth on exhibitions and conferences
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Let me know when you about this way next mate and will welcome you round for a coffee.
Nobby 😀
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Invitation cordially accepted
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Small world I lived in Radipole and then Broadwey (The Old Manor)as a teenager, worked for the Foots biggish farmers, and worked extra behind the bar at the Somerset Pub by the station in Weymouth late 70’s, when Curly was landlord, he lost his licence eventually we got busted so many times, for drugs etc. I remember the Terminus next door was the bikers pub, after the Somerset things moved to the Gloucester Hotel (bar) and what about Cellarvino is that still going.
I was in Weymouth a few years ago took my mother to the dentist and stood outside the Somerset, a guy came up and asked where he could buy some smoke, I just said 20-25 years ago I might have been able to help smiled and walked away! 🙂
Got lots of fun memories from Weymouth, in my teeenage years and my time at Kingston Maurward (formerley Dorset College Of Agriculture), before I moved up to Mid-Wales……and then here!!
Edited: Forgot to compliment you on your work! Which is why I started to post and then noticed Steve’s comments about Weymouth, and looked at your location…great work.
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Classy bit of carving, although as Steve says, subject matter, I mean 48! 🙁
Did you do it all by hand Nobby? What a skill to have! I’m only just starting out doing things by hand, but blimey, if I was able to do things like that, my lounge would be full of hyraglphics!! 😉 😉
Cheers, Dewi
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thankyou so much for the offer! 😀 rachel
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Nobby,
Very fine work! I really like the hand rendered font!
I imagine it might take a little longer to carve letters in stone than wood 😕
Joe
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Yes Dewi, all i need is a pencil, selection of chisels, a hammer, oh and a lump of stone of course!! nearly forgot that bit……
believe me, I go nowhere without thinking what I could carve of paint. -
Actually it depends….I like stone, you like wood, I would guess it would take me longer to carve letters in wood, and you to carve letters in stone…..I find wood tricky believe it or not….
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Well done Nobby
Keep the flag flying for traditional methods
All I remember about Weymouth is the hospital!
Was involved in a head on collision with a Removal van that was trying to overtake a TRACTOR! It was the road between Dorset and Poole not far from the sufferagettes. I was very lucky! You might have been carving a stone for me!!
Anyway, Handcarving is definitely something I want to try my hand at as well as a few other crafts such as airbrushing.
The Roman Trajan is the font I like the best of all.
Had to gild in some adjustments to a church board in Trajan
This particular church sits on site of a church going back to 1076
(St Marys Church in Stoke Newington, London N16) and possibly has links further to Athlestan 980 circaJohn
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excellent work mate, as ever… can i ask.. the work you have posted. how long would something like this take and is there good money in it for you? if not.. there bloody should be…. top notch mate
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Thanks for all the postive responces, quite overwhelming actually. With regards to time and costing for above works, It is broken down as follows:
Materials (Stone) £250.00
Labour: £2.40 per letter
Fixing: £55.00 (specialist job in itself)
Total for headstone inc. fixing was around the £700.00 mark I guess, can’t remember exact price. Take of the cost of stone and fixing, pre-tax profit, £400.00 and this would have taken about a week from marking on to fixing. -
I get mine to £329.00, unless you class the comma as a letter. 😉 Don’t take this the wrong way Nobby, I really hope I don’t require your services for the next 40 years 😀
Cheers, Dewi
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I take it Nobby that you are not doing this sideline for the money but purely for the joy and satisfaction.
Sometimes I take on jobs that I know are not good earners but ones that will give me immense satisfaction and pride.
Its what keeps us motivated I guess
John
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This is what I do for a living alongside signmaking/writing, I guess it is actually about 70% lettercarving and 30% signage but percentages change during various stages of the year.
I also carve housenames Dewi…not just headstones… 😉 😉 😉
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Sometimes when I’ve discovered a signwritten mistake early enough it possible to wipe out with white spirits and correct but in stone that isn’t possible.
I remember some years ago the manakin cigar advert of the sculptor who was carving out a beautiful Venus: He stood back at his completed work with pride but just thought a little nick more would perfect it. So he laid the chisel gently to the arm of the Venus and struck it gently only to have the arm fall of: 😆
John
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One of my worst nightmares, and yes it has happened on numerous occasions, part and parcel of the trade I guess……….but no too frequent I’m glad to say. 😮
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If it was wood and most were 2″ letters, it would take me about 10 hours to carve (115 letters) @$5 a letter…..plus materials ….plus finishing.
I’ll make a deal with ya, I won’t carve stone if you won’t carve wood…….ok? 😀
Joe
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It’s a deal Joe, I think it may be good for the respective crafts if we stayed doing things we know best!!! 😕 😕 😮
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Obviously you guys know what you can charge for this type of work, but..
I honestly think the price per letter is too cheap. Ok, so maybe you charge that amount because you have lots of letters, but even at that.
We charge about £1.15 for a 4 inch high letter in vinyl. Its cut weeded & taped in a minute. Were as you have to mark out carve & concentrate. That and the fact “not” anyone can do this.. It’s obviously an art itself..I’m ignorant to it, never realised it was done by hand these days. Thought it would be done by lazer or something..
Great work as ever guys, & thanks for sharing your talent with us…
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Robert,
Whats E1.15 in US dolars?
Thanks,
Joe
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i always thought the new way of doing the lettering, was sandblasted, using blue masking vinyl, after being cut on a plotter? i may be wrong, maybe someone can let me know!! i do know a couple of folk who still do it the hard way!! 😀 it really is a terrific skill!! 😛
Nik
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hi joe
1.15 GBP
United Kingdom Pounds= 2.03645 USD
United States Dollars.
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Thanks Robert!
I do sell a lot of house markers……maybe I should raise my prices. Then again, $50+ dollars an hr. ain’t too shabby. I have no rent to pay and I spend less than $2,000 a year on promotion. The only consumables are wood and paint and that is tacked onto the labor charge.
OK, you talked me into it…..I’ll give myself a 10% raise 😀 😀
Thanks!
Joe
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Sandblasting is the way forward for most things these days and there is also a CNC machine on the market at a colossal cost, but just plodding on in the ol’ fashioned way is my cup of tea….Weymouth is such a laid back place that I fit in rather well with my somewhat horizontal approach to work, and life in general come to that!! 😀
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