I've had come into my posession a very cool antique glass sign, and if I can figure out how to get photos posted, I'll put them up here.

Since gingerbread trim isn't a structural element, why not use HDU/Signfoam? Easy to cut and machine, doesn't rot or take on water and holds any kind of paint. High Density Urethane is what manufacturers of pre-made moldings and trim are using and I would think it very applicable to custom work as w...

Well, somebody must be getting all our snow! January was the warmest on record here. We had a couple of small snows before Christmas but since then it's been 40s - 50s. Feb. promises to be colder, we'll see...

I've added some other photos of work done for the same client. Thought you might enjoy them.
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/bracketgu ... .dir=/fe57

I wish the colors came up better in the photo... I didn't get to photograph it in the shop before delivery, so it was taken in place. The top panel reads "diarmuid" in burnished XX gold, with a background of stippled arterial red, backed with white gold, and in person the red just glows. T...

I completed my first commisioned glass piece a few days ago; just waiting for UPS to deliver the frame. When I get it framed I'll photogragh it and see if I can figure out how to post it.

Earlier in this thread, I wrote about a project I'm working on currently. It's a 4'x5' swinging sign, rectangular with a re-curve bottom (a shallow "bell curve" and crown molding and cap on top. Installation is with 1/4x1 & 1/2" steel straps going up each side on the edge, through...

I too have had relative success with MDO (relative to some other substrates) and I continue to use it for its ease of cutting, dimensional stability, and availability. I also make a point of specifically asking my supplier for their top-quality MDO; I see no point in saving 10 or 15 bux and having t...

:evil: ...is something you never get used to. I had been working on a fairly large glass piece, about 32" x 30" quarter inch plate, which I had just finished glue-chipping. Because it was too big to soak off the excess glue in the shop sink, I took it home to soak it in our big tiled showe...

I had gold leaf on a truck door for several years, and one day decided to spin it to change the look - the spinning did not show up at all , not even using a drill motor. I had gilded it with slow size and it was at least four or five years old. Since then I've noticed that spinning parts of the sam...

The glass was etched at Jeff Lang's a coupla weeks ago; we did a bunch of pieces at various times over the weekend. I just gilded another piece from that session and it came up perfect. Because I didn't gild it right away I can't say if the cloudiness was there from the start. Since etching the glas...

I'm working on my first couple of acid etch pieces, and have run into an issue - on one piece, portions of the areas that were etched have a milky or cloudy appearance. On the other piece the etched areas were quite clean and bright. I had gilded both pieces on different days with seperate water-siz...

I confess to being very much in the dark about acid and it's different applications. What I'm planning is to acid-etch centers of letters; I believe - correct me if I'm wrong - this is done with acid "paste" and mica. I don't think I'm up to submerging a whole piece in an acid bath anytime...

In planning a glass piece using both gc and acid etch(on differnt areas), which process should be done first? I'm planning a job with glue-chip background and acid-etch on the letter centers, but don't want to get ahead of myself.

My own glass samples box is virtually identical to the box in Danny's post. I traded truck lettering with a cabinet maker for it.

It's remarkable how little most property owners care after a year or so. There's an theory I have that signs become "invisible" to there owners after about six months, often less. The sign becomes an overlooked part of the landscape and the owner doesn't notice that it has faded or peeled ...

From what I can tell, the standard was "individual gold letters" and the tenants have been left to interpret that according to how much they were willing to spend. To begin with the landlord sought bids on the gilded letters to maintain consistency; as soon as that stopped, everything went...

About five years ago, I did several sets of gilded Gemini letters for a nicely restored historic brick building in the next town; the main building ID and three storefront tenants. At the time the building owner had said this type of sign would be "standard" for all tenants - not cheap, bu...

I'm planning to backscreen a couple of glass jobs in the near future, and need a source hear on the east coast for pre-made screens and emulsions. Any recommendations appreciated.

I was just given an old (don't know how old) can of Kurz-Hastings yellow oil gold size. It's a pint can with a friction lid, never opened. I'm curious about it and if it might still be usable (it's not dried out!) or is it something rare/valuable enough to simply keep "as is".

My first thought was Mark Fair, though I could well be wrong

Geet, we went to Tucson where my Deb had a banking seminar, then drove to Phx by way of AJ, with a side trip out to the Flat. I lived in Phx back in the '80s and know my way around. From Phx we rented a Harley for three days and went through Bisbee and Tombstone - saw a lot of Scott's work (great st...

GEET, if I'm correct, the Goldfield ghost town is on the road from Apache Junkyard to Tortilla Flat? Went out there last September. Sounds like a neat place for a meet in February...keep us informed.

Kimberly, on my last visit to Prague in 2003 I visited the Mucha Museum, and came home with a valise full of books and posters. This guy was THE master of Art nouveau, and so much of his influence is seen in work by Atkinson and Strong. Great stuff!

Thanks for the thoughtful responses. As I said, I use the computer to design most of my work, and the 30" plotter to make pounce patterns. What I like about the computer is the ability to tweak a design - adjusting line spacing, kerning, etc. very quickly - then, when I'm satisfied with the ima...

Within the last year I made a decision to change some of my work habits, specifically, to hand-letter as much as possible and/or practical. I am by no means anti-technology; I use the 'puter for 90% of my layouts and patterns - but I just never much cared for the weeding, taping, sticking, and ultim...

Doug, have you used Commonwealth Bulletin varnish for finishing glass gold? I think the Percells still carry it at Letterhead Sign Supply.

The Chromatic products are becoming very rare anymore.

These responses have it exactly right. There are two kinds of sign shops - the guys who work themselves to death trying to beat everyone's prices, and the guys who only work for people willing to pay them what they are worth. The first kind spend nights and weekends away from their families, never t...

Even those of us who still hand-letter a great deal use the 'puter for a lot of the patterns, if only because it's easier and faster to fine-tune a design on screen than on paper. Having done signs for many years with all hand-drawn patterns, I can well remember looking at finished patterns - the re...