Craig Thompson
Forum Replies Created
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Craig Thompson
MemberApril 18, 2024 at 12:24 pm in reply to: fixing plastic locators to composite, help?I have always sanded where we put the locators and the back of the locator itself to give them a better bond, we use Indasol 2 part glues. I have had one or two fail in the past and these have been where the area was not sanded.
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Have used the Hi-tak from Spandex for several jobs and its great, should do the job. Only available in some colours though, like the air release.
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Amazing guy’s – thanks so much…. Been a nightmare of a job so far, will post pics of it complete as should look pretty good.
Thanks again 👍👍
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Craig Thompson
MemberJanuary 25, 2023 at 2:29 pm in reply to: Looking for a small saw to cut small dibond pieces. Please send ideas. TIAWhat about a small heavy duty guillotine?? No mess and clean edge?
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Craig Thompson
MemberDecember 7, 2022 at 12:51 pm in reply to: How to acheive printing blacker blacks?We have Latex and we find blacks better with CMYK all at 100 using illustrator.
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Craig Thompson
MemberOctober 21, 2022 at 11:40 am in reply to: Do you expect extra material from Sub-Contractees?Always supply extra… If I’m doing a job further than next door I take spare with me, amount of times I’ve cut a new letter by hand by taking a rubbing with pencil / crayon on site… saved my a**e on many occasions…..
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Hi Paul,
We have an ALB letter bender which takes aluminium coil profile for built up letters, works great for cheaper built up letters or the back tray cabochon letters but if you still want top quality you can’t beat a proper hand made stainless steel built up letter. Don’t get me wrong, I have made some cracking signs and still are with it. Your main thing is the glue you use and the prep for gluing.
We get our coil from the people we got the machine from…
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I have had this sort of thing done before by a local bespoke joiner 👍
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Craig Thompson
MemberJuly 25, 2022 at 3:33 pm in reply to: Advice needed on Sign pricing software or similar?I made our own with an excel document for pricing signage, it has all the relative things we use down the sheet in a process that you make – ACM > ACR > CNC time > Labour > Ali angle > Glues and so on all marked up on a percentage that at the bottom I can see how much to customer and how much it costs us. If they haggle as they do, or a good customer, we know how much discount we can do and be happy with.
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Craig Thompson
MemberJune 15, 2022 at 12:40 pm in reply to: Installing Steel Sign Posts, advice needed? -
Craig Thompson
MemberJune 13, 2022 at 12:29 pm in reply to: Installing Steel Sign Posts, advice needed?This has worked for me in the past, obviously just a guide.
Sign channel applied to back of sign with UHB tape with primer & rivets.
Lay panel on the floor (if you can) and attach posts to the sign channel then you have your hole measures,
dig holes same depth / width as you need, offer sign up, if level get concrete or post mix in and square up, if you feel you need riggers install these after.
Hope this makes sense.
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Thats the stuff, knew there was something but mind was blank…. Cheers Rob 👍
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Craig Thompson
MemberApril 26, 2022 at 11:35 am in reply to: Wrapping a horse trailer box, views and opinions please?Lengthways for me, hide’s the join more plus less chance of water / dirt getting in while cleaning / raining and would look much better in my opinion….
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Craig Thompson
MemberJanuary 28, 2022 at 12:31 pm in reply to: Freestanding Sign fail, any ideas why you think this happened?Personally I feel they should be reported for making something like that, it is a danger to the public. Always over manufacture for safety…. 😮😮
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Craig Thompson
MemberJanuary 14, 2022 at 1:19 pm in reply to: Finger Post System, help locating a supplier?Thanks Rob and Andy. Managed to find it, its a Geo furniture system from Marshalls that they no longer manufacture 😡🤬
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Craig Thompson
MemberJanuary 14, 2022 at 1:15 pm in reply to: What is the best adhesive to glue acrylic to aluminum?We use a UHB D/S tape from Indasol with primer and silicone around after, works a treat and have been doing it this way for many a year!
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Craig Thompson
MemberDecember 2, 2021 at 2:04 pm in reply to: Advice needed on how to fix individual illuminated built up letters on a glassI believe this sort of job the glass is ordered with holes for the wires / fixings. I think Topman / H & M and the like have this sort of thing…. You have a normal built up letter with back try fitted to outside of glass then another back tray installed to the inside of the glass through the holes in the glass. Very expensive.
Hope that makes sense??
Speak to SignFab, they would advise best!
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Craig Thompson
MemberNovember 30, 2021 at 12:14 pm in reply to: Sign Posts, Clips and rails. Who do you buy from?Righton Blackburns for me – sold in packs of 10 with nut and bolts, do the whole range including square and the fence D clips 👍
https://www.rightonblackburns.co.uk
- This reply was modified 2 years, 4 months ago by Craig Thompson.
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Craig Thompson
MemberNovember 17, 2021 at 1:38 pm in reply to: Anti dust and static tools. What do you use?We use the sticky rollers but just keep off-cuts of scrap vinyls rather than the pads, after-all, they are to only clean the rollers and just gonna throw the A4 or A3 scrap vinyls in the bin or ends of print / lam vinyl….
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Craig Thompson
MemberAugust 10, 2021 at 12:07 pm in reply to: Laminating Acrylic, advice needed please?Tensol is your best bet – Indasol sell it, external one is Tesol 70, you need to mix it in small application bottle but when it drys it is totally clear and solid.
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Craig Thompson
MemberAugust 9, 2021 at 12:31 pm in reply to: Banner eyelet questions, opinions please?Got one of these 2 weeks back, ordered a 2nd one last week, blooming great bit of kit!!
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Tensol for me also – I use Indasol for D/S tapes and glue and they do an equivalent
version.
Be sure to remember, Tensol 12 (Internal) and Tensol 70 (external)
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Craig Thompson
MemberJuly 29, 2021 at 12:44 pm in reply to: paper and pvc application tape. advise needed please. -
I tend to use Signwaves, good selection and price.
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Cheers for this Rob.
We use Nova aluminium as just down the road in Bristol – they do the sign comp but also there own that is less fiddly with the plastic clips.
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Craig Thompson
MemberMay 27, 2021 at 1:48 pm in reply to: Banners, how do you suggest fitting them?We have done this with sign channel top and bottom and bolts with wing nuts – put your eyelets on the print file then same every time you change the banners 👍
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Could do it with a key clamp system?
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Craig Thompson
MemberMarch 5, 2021 at 5:10 pm in reply to: AP Signs & Print: Phtos of recent Sign work and Projects -
Craig Thompson
MemberJanuary 30, 2021 at 5:42 pm in reply to: AP Signs & Print: Phtos of recent Sign work and ProjectsThanks. The mercedes wrap was a white car, we wrapped the black trailer ‘the box’ while he was doing a live DJ stream on YouTube and Facebook 🤣
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Craig Thompson
MemberJanuary 30, 2021 at 1:39 am in reply to: AP Signs & Print: Phtos of recent Sign work and Projects -
Craig Thompson
MemberNovember 17, 2020 at 1:36 pm in reply to: Braille Signage, trade supplier recommendations, please?I have used https://www.bespokemanufacturingltd.co.uk before – done a good job!
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Yep, as above – Really nice font, got the traditional hand painted look to it!!!
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Craig Thompson
MemberAugust 21, 2020 at 12:16 pm in reply to: Shop Management Software, what would you advise?We use Zoho – can input items as such and save them, but I have done an Excel spreadsheet with all our items in, cost and mark up, work your way down the list as if making a sign, (tray/print/acrylic/led’s/router time/labour/fixings) total price at the bottom showing the cost to them, cost to us, and total profit. https://www.zoho.com
Works well for us. -
Craig Thompson
MemberAugust 19, 2020 at 10:00 am in reply to: Vehicle Measurement Software, advice needed on source please?Same as Robert, 23 years of Impact
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Craig Thompson
MemberAugust 19, 2020 at 9:57 am in reply to: Failed Vehicle Wrap, who’s right, the guy or the girl?Far too cheap…. but also the “wrapper” is at fault and should either re-do properly or give money back….. shocking that people are doing this bad of a job…..
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Craig Thompson
MemberAugust 18, 2020 at 12:19 pm in reply to: Avery Dennison Magnets, source and advice needed please?metamarks magnets are a very fair price, just got some and are pretty decent.
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Craig Thompson
MemberMay 5, 2020 at 2:08 pm in reply to: Social distancing signs for a carpeted showroomquote Graham Scanlan:As long as it’s a low pile carpet there are plenty of vinyls to choose from
We have a product called Simply Wall and floor. It has an R9 skid rating it’s textured so no need for lamination. (Hopefully I haven’t broken any rules by posting this)Product is suitable for
• Short to Mid Term Application
• Indoor Use
• POS Signage/ General Signage
• Wall Graphics
• Floor Graphics – Applicable to
– floor tiles,
– pvc flooring,
– concrete/stone floor
– wooden/laminated floors – carpets (low pile carpets –
but should be tested on small area to prove performance)Hi Graham, where is this from as we have a job coming up for this??
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Craig Thompson
MemberJanuary 30, 2020 at 1:07 pm in reply to: 1.5mm Acrylic White Sheet, suggestions please?Was gonna suggest same as above – I use CSI laserables in Clevedon for our laser sheets, sheets are 600mm x 1200mm
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Craig Thompson
MemberDecember 12, 2019 at 12:44 pm in reply to: push-on fixings and alumin composite (dibond)Agree also, nylon locators perish and get brittle……
If it has to stand off – 10mm foamex strip spacers screwed to cladding with letters then screwed to that???
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Craig Thompson
MemberOctober 15, 2019 at 12:48 pm in reply to: Alernatives for powder coated posts systems?Nova aluminium in Bristol – Great service for us!
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Craig Thompson
MemberAugust 7, 2019 at 12:05 pm in reply to: Cut lines within script font using illustratorin illustrator its called pathfinder… All the normal weld functions are there!
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Craig Thompson
MemberJuly 16, 2019 at 7:53 am in reply to: Trying to source an embossed aluminium sign supplier, help please?Thanks Robert, that’s all I can find also,
Signs are 2 @ 350mm x 200mm and 15 @ 250mm x 50mmWe have a CNC but the letters need to be infilled in blue and panels white – not sure how to do that??
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Craig Thompson
MemberDecember 7, 2018 at 1:23 pm in reply to: Supplier of Aluminium troughlight extrusion neededTry Nova Aluminium in Bristol
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Craig Thompson
MemberSeptember 18, 2018 at 11:49 am in reply to: Does anyone recognise this Flex-face sign system?this looks like a Nova aluminium system to me.
Cheers,
Craig -
Craig Thompson
MemberOctober 26, 2023 at 12:16 pm in reply to: Wrapping my new van. How would you do it?Agree also…
We tend to wrap back doors and normal vinyl graphics to the sides and maybe wrapped bonnet, a little extra work but looks so much more!
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Craig Thompson
MemberOctober 18, 2023 at 12:27 pm in reply to: For Sale: Oce Arizona 350 XT, flatbed UV PrinterHi Dave, what condition is the static brush in? Ours has had it here.
Maybe interested in the loading and take up rolls if you have a price.
Also, has the machine been on? As could be interested in the black head a sours is on the way out.
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The sign guys weren’t allowed to finish the job, tried to do it with no permits and got told to jog on by the police….. Bet musk was like “Do you know who I am” 🤣🤣
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I would chem-fix the thunderbolts – drill, blow dust out, chem-fix in hole, slam in thunderbolt, post going nowhere!!
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Craig Thompson
MemberJune 16, 2022 at 10:53 am in reply to: Installing Steel Sign Posts, advice needed?That is a great idea – I have done a CAT scanning course to detect cables and services but I still dig carefully and look after each bit of dirt I take out…..
I’m sure it would cost a small fortune £££
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Craig Thompson
MemberJanuary 28, 2022 at 3:24 pm in reply to: Freestanding Sign fail, any ideas why you think this happened?I agree with learning as an apprentice, but this sort of sign (post mounted in a public area) should be overseen by someone with a more extensive background. There are many trade sign supply companies that you could enquire with and they would inform you of a safe way also.
For me, no excuses for a sign that unsafe.
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Craig Thompson
MemberJanuary 28, 2022 at 12:56 pm in reply to: Freestanding Sign fail, any ideas why you think this happened?I’d hope not for the shoddy workmanship – car garages get done if they don’t MOT a car properly why shouldn’t they for not building a sign safely, makes me angry when there are many a good company not getting jobs because of shortcut cowboys like these.
I hope they are on here to see these comments….
- This reply was modified 2 years, 2 months ago by Craig Thompson.
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Craig Thompson
MemberJuly 26, 2021 at 1:01 pm in reply to: Laminating cost losses, how do you do it?@RobertLambie this is exactly how we do it, lucky enough also to have 2 x mounters, one for 1370mm and one for 1600mm – both facing one another on a 6mtr bench 👍
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I was thinking that was the way but worried that putting holes in a tensioned banner may cause issues?
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Craig Thompson
MemberMarch 11, 2021 at 1:02 pm in reply to: AP Signs & Print: Phtos of recent Sign work and ProjectsWe do some here, we have an ALB (Automatic Letter Bender) really clever kit but if you want stainless we still buy in..
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Craig Thompson
MemberJanuary 31, 2021 at 9:26 am in reply to: AP Signs & Print: Phtos of recent Sign work and ProjectsThanks Rob. We try to make as much as we can in house, we have a very recent upgrade from a piranha to a Texcel EXR, a small laser and a letter bender.
I think you have to offer it all, we still buy in from trade suppliers when it suits, to save time mainly and try to support local companies first.
Thanks for your nice comments, will post more again. 👍👍