fixing cut letters to an irregular surface

[Gary Birch]

quote Hugh Potter:

I have some cut letters to fish to a timber building,

I don’t think you have got your mind on the job here Hugh have you :lol1: :lol1:

[David McDonald]

Hi Hugh

We take a 10mm diameter plastic tube/rod with us and just cut lengths off as appropriate to pad out the locator cup to an even projection, hope that description makes sense.

Cheers
Dave

[John Harding]

Hugh you dont say what type of locators but if plastic cup as Dave sais if threaded rod however just fix template to ply first then drill through remove template and cement letters in place.

john 😀

[Mike Grant]

Draw out a paper plan with the wood joins and lettering. this will give you a good guide where to put the fixings. try and fix each letter to the highest point.

[Eddie Gracie]

can they not be bonded/taped onto a piece of clear 5mm acrylic shaped to the ark.with polished edges then the acrylic fixed upon the cladding using the hign profile parts to fix into,

simply cut a nice slightly over curve from clear lay your template underneath the sheet bond letters then fix away

[Martin Pearson]

I would do them the same way as David just using a plastic tube cut to size, easy to do and will give a good finish.

Eddie, Hugh said in his initial post that he didn’t want to fit them to a rail. I don’t blame him as I think they look bad as well, the closer you view them from the worse they look.

[Hugh Potter]

thanks guys, some food for thought there,

Eddie, thanks but on a job like this where the customer’s clients will be walking within just a few feet of the sign (it’s only 6-8ft off the ground), i wouldn’t be happy with rails or acrylic, acrylic gets dirty quickly and would just look nasty from close range.

thanks for all taking the time though.

thanks,
Hugh

[Robert Lambie]

As a quick easy solution…. Big Head fixings

they have a vast array of fixings… you are after the metal threaded rod with 2p size type head with holes in it. along with fixing liquid.

turn the letter over.
squirt some bonding adhesive on key spots.
press head into liquid and allow to cure.
create paper template to show were locators are.
apply paper template as normal, and drill with drill bit, making hole slightly deeper on risen areas.
squirt anchor liquid bonding adhesive in holes.
press letters "evenly" into holes. better to have a space slide down behind letter to keep depth level consistent, then slide out.
allow letters to set.
job done.

i am being brief on this… its best getting proper advice from the suppliers.
i have these and used them several times. but be sure not over buy on tubes of adhesive because they have a shelf life. i have that t-shirt too. 😳

i appreciate buying fancy fixings and the like may not have been budgeted for. but educate your customer. tell them the normal way to do this is using this and that method, but using your advised method eliminates this and that unsightly fixings methods.

They get what they pay for at the end of the day….

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Attachments:

[Hugh Potter]

Thats perfect Rob,

Thank you! I’ll give them a call later,

Hugh

[Robert Lambie]

no probs, would help if i gave web address! 😕

http://www.bighead.co.uk/

[Hugh Potter]

quote Gary Birch:

quote Hugh Potter:

I have some cut letters to fish to a timber building,

I don’t think you have got your mind on the job here Hugh have you :lol1: :lol1:

Well spotted Gary,

I’ve no idea what I was thinking!

Huugh

[Hugh Potter]

quote Robert Lambie:

no probs, would help if i gave web address! 😕

http://www.bighead.co.uk/

Thanks Rob, now you’ve explained it as you did, I can see that that’s what John was getting at too. It’s funny how you can be. So unaware of such a good product! I suppose that’s usually the case though, you’d never look for it if you didn’t need it, makes me wonder what else I’m missing!

Thanks again,

Hugh

[Hugh Potter]

Hey guys,
I’ve emailed big head but he’d no response yet, does anyone have a rough idea of the cost of these in m5x 30mm mild steel?

M5 is a bit heavy, would prefer m4 but they only go 25mm long. Seems a lot of (big) 6mm holes to drill into a new building!

What size would you guys use? Acrylic letters, max 170mm high.

Cheers

Hugh

[Ian Johnston]

go for the threaded nut version, with m4 bar

[Hugh Potter]

quote Ian Johnston:

go for the threaded nut version, with m4 bar

thank you Ian, I didn’t think of that, do you buy the rod ready cut? seems a lot of work if i have to cut them all but hand!

cheers,
Hugh

[Ian Johnston]

you can get the bar in 100mm lenghts,
easy to cut, Sharp Snips and a welt with a hammer :lol1:

[Hugh Potter]

quote Ian Johnston:

you can get the bar in 100mm lenghts,
easy to cut, Sharp Snips and a welt with a hammer :lol1:

won’t be sharp for long if i do that!!

thanks for the suggestion though!

[Hugh Potter]

hey Guys,

Just had this customer come back to me, while it would seem I was more expensive, they like my design and have asked me to match the ‘average’ quote, I’ve looked at the price and the killer is these ‘big head’ fixings, they’re damned expensive for a little bolt with a flattened head.

are there any alternatives you use? the principle is easy enough, it’s the finding something suitable i’m struggling with!

cheers,
Hugh

[Glenn Sharp]

what thickness are the letters Hugh?

have you got enough thickness to drill and tap the letter to accept threaded bar?

[Hugh Potter]

quote Glenn Sharp:

what thickness are the letters Hugh?

have you got enough thickness to drill and tap the letter to accept threaded bar?

HI Glenn,

Probably as it’s two layers of acrylic, I had considered using 60mm m4 countersunk bolts, putting them throught the bottom layer and gluing the top layer on to hold then in place.

my dilemma is time, I would like to explore cheaper alternatives which are as simple as the big head, if i spend three hours drilling and fixing letters together it’s not gonna be cost effective!

cheers,
Hugh