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This is an interactive Bulletin Board on the topics of Sign making, design, fabrication, History, old Books and of coarse Letterheads, Keepers of the craft. The Hand Lettering Forum features links to resources, sign art history, techniques, and artists profiles. Learn more about Letterheads at https://theletterheads.com. Below you'll see Mchat has been added as a live communication portal for trial, and the Main forum Links are listed below.

Search found 225 matches

by Lee Littlewood
Fri Apr 05, 2013 12:57 am
Forum: The Hand Lettering Forum
Topic: Problems with glue chip
Replies: 11
Views: 7518

Re: Problems with glue chip

Pat wrote:
"Varnish attracts, oil/asphaltum repels."
Is true?? I thought that varnish was solvent (oil) based, and so would naturally repel hide glue - it certainly makes water pull away.

Confused
ly
by Lee Littlewood
Fri Apr 05, 2013 12:49 am
Forum: The Hand Lettering Forum
Topic: a different boston gild.......
Replies: 4
Views: 5193

Re: a different boston gild.......

I thought that LeBlanc described the Boston Gild as a 2 tone effect from one leaf, using varnish to get a matte when watergilded over. As I've never watergilded with palladium I would stick with 12k.
Vance, were you looking at matte centers, or high lights, or bevels, or something else???
by Lee Littlewood
Sat Mar 30, 2013 11:12 pm
Forum: The Hand Lettering Forum
Topic: The $277,050 Calligrapher
Replies: 15
Views: 10772

Re: The $277,050 Calligrapher

You know, another way to feel the effect of an inscription is one we all do frequently. I probably get 3 letters a week that are addressed to me in a type that mimics handwriting, and I'll bet most of us get about the same. How does it feel? Here there is no question of skill, of practiced form - th...
by Lee Littlewood
Thu Mar 28, 2013 1:13 pm
Forum: The Hand Lettering Forum
Topic: chester cunningham.......
Replies: 7
Views: 6110

Re: chester cunningham.......

That's funny - my copy went missing after we moved our shop too...
You don't suppose they are getting together in an alternate dimension, maybe with all the missing coathangers ???
by Lee Littlewood
Sat Mar 02, 2013 10:01 pm
Forum: Hand Lettering Gallery
Topic: Signs From Sydney Australia
Replies: 33
Views: 22429

Re: Signs From Sydney Australia

Anthony, Doug;

Please tell all about "Glass Mat Paste". What does it for you, or do to you?
by Lee Littlewood
Sat Mar 02, 2013 10:01 pm
Forum: The Hand Lettering Forum
Topic: Signs From Sydney Australia
Replies: 33
Views: 23012

Re: Signs From Sydney Australia

Anthony, Doug;

Please tell all about "Glass Mat Paste". What does it for you, or do to you?
by Lee Littlewood
Mon Feb 25, 2013 12:42 am
Forum: The Hand Lettering Forum
Topic: Framed
Replies: 5
Views: 4001

Re: Framed

I've done a few Nielsen frames for glass pieces. The profiles are different widths and depths, and generally either flat-faced or rounded. But they are easy to assemble and fairly sturdy. Also they make a little "lock" that will keep the frame from being lifted off the wall. I've not used ...
by Lee Littlewood
Mon Feb 25, 2013 12:28 am
Forum: The Hand Lettering Forum
Topic: Cutting glass with scissors ?
Replies: 13
Views: 9478

Re: Cutting glass with scissors ?

Got them old glass grozing blues /
stick a little shard in my heart, dear /
'cause ain't no mountain high enough,
ain't no river deep enough,
to keep me from bleedin' on you...
by Lee Littlewood
Wed Feb 20, 2013 2:04 am
Forum: The Hand Lettering Forum
Topic: New to the forum, new to lettering...
Replies: 11
Views: 7768

Re: New to the forum, new to lettering...

I agree , you have some nice friendly letters going - leave them alone for a while and work on the layout. I suggest "thumbnail sketches" - little rough sketches with a pencil that may not even show the letters, just the different parts of the sign. VERY QUICK! - like a minute per thumbnai...
by Lee Littlewood
Wed Feb 20, 2013 1:38 am
Forum: The Hand Lettering Forum
Topic: Cutting glass with scissors ?
Replies: 13
Views: 9478

Re: Cutting glass with scissors ?

Yup, it was Kevin. I thought that I brought up the subject, because I had read it somewhere and it seemed so unlikely, but maybe Kevin mentioned it. As I recall, there was a bit of laughter and disbelief and then this young guy took some scissors and somebody found him a tub of water and he cut a fu...
by Lee Littlewood
Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:26 am
Forum: The Hand Lettering Forum
Topic: Backing up Silver Gild
Replies: 19
Views: 14952

Re: Backing up Silver Gild

so, the rococo border. One easy thing to do is to put a piece of paper behind it, to get an idea of what a straight color will do (remembering that the glass will tint any color you paint on - as you saw with the 1Shot silver). I am not convinced that you need to have more metallic color in the wind...
by Lee Littlewood
Thu Feb 14, 2013 3:18 pm
Forum: The Hand Lettering Forum
Topic: Backing up Silver Gild
Replies: 19
Views: 14952

Re: Backing up Silver Gild

"I have plans for palladium leaf, engine turned in the S, and water gilded 12K outside the S but within the oval. And then silver paint inside the frame." There's gonna be a lot of silver color, with a touch of gold in the wolves and all the black rococo. So a spun "S" inside a s...
by Lee Littlewood
Wed Feb 13, 2013 5:04 pm
Forum: The Hand Lettering Forum
Topic: Backing up Silver Gild
Replies: 19
Views: 14952

Re: Backing up Silver Gild

Jen, are you going to be water gilding over paint (or palladium leaf, if I read you right)? LeBlanc refers to the gelatin size crawling away from the painted lines, I think he calls it "irritating". "Disastrous" is closer to it. LeBlanc suggests a bit of dishwashing detergent in ...
by Lee Littlewood
Sun Feb 10, 2013 1:41 am
Forum: The Hand Lettering Forum
Topic: Backing up Silver Gild
Replies: 19
Views: 14952

Re: Backing up Silver Gild

Hot Stuff! You're sure this is your first glass job? Watergild is of course in it's own class, and you're gonna have fun with it - 23K or 12k. But don't forget the possibilities of the powderpuff or 'snapper special' technique. Apply a clear varnish (or goldsize), let it tack up a bit, then go over ...
by Lee Littlewood
Sun Feb 10, 2013 1:06 am
Forum: The Hand Lettering Forum
Topic: Once again, THANKS to the Colorado Letterheads
Replies: 12
Views: 9007

Re: Once again, THANKS to the Colorado Letterheads

Kent,
could you supply an address and name to put on cheques?
(something like: The Kent Smith Retirement Fund / 1010 Vista Drive / Bridgetown, Barbados Island...)
by Lee Littlewood
Sun Feb 10, 2013 1:00 am
Forum: The Hand Lettering Forum
Topic: Skirting for ACID
Replies: 24
Views: 15008

Re: Skirting for ACID

Ingrid's link is to the University of Kentucky hydroflouric acid safety list. It is chilling. I could not get the link to work, but I found the info via Google and made a Tiny URL that seems to work: http://tinyurl.com/a4g8zh2 It does not say if fumes are heavier than air or not, but it specifically...
by Lee Littlewood
Thu Feb 07, 2013 2:34 am
Forum: The Hand Lettering Forum
Topic: Once again, THANKS to the Colorado Letterheads
Replies: 12
Views: 9007

Re: Once again, THANKS to the Colorado Letterheads

Well, is there an address to send a donation?
by Lee Littlewood
Thu Feb 07, 2013 2:32 am
Forum: The Hand Lettering Forum
Topic: Skirting for ACID
Replies: 24
Views: 15008

Re: Skirting for ACID

Is hydroflouric vapor heavier than air or lighter?
Does anything change when the HF reacts with the glass?

What about a loose fitting lid over the etching pan, with a tube leading to a suction fan outside the roll door and the roll door almost all the way down?
by Lee Littlewood
Sun Jan 20, 2013 11:45 pm
Forum: The Hand Lettering Forum
Topic: Which comes first the mirror or the sign?
Replies: 16
Views: 10939

Re: Which comes first the mirror or the sign?

Roderick, We buy our chemicals, either from Sarah King or Peacock. I have great respect for those of you who make your own, but I would worry about consistency if we did it. We do both spray and pour; although I am more familiar with the spray technique, Ron in our shop does reproduction beer signs ...
by Lee Littlewood
Sat Jan 19, 2013 4:14 pm
Forum: The Hand Lettering Forum
Topic: Which comes first the mirror or the sign?
Replies: 16
Views: 10939

Re: Which comes first the mirror or the sign?

Hi Megan, are you in the fire area? It sounds terrible. We always silver first and letter second. We have had poor results when mirroring over paint, but as Roderick says if the result is to be an antique mirror then some haze around the letters might be a feature, not a bug. And as he mentions, cle...
by Lee Littlewood
Wed Jan 16, 2013 8:31 pm
Forum: The Hand Lettering Forum
Topic: Variegated Red Leaf
Replies: 4
Views: 3531

Re: Variegated Red Leaf

Sepp Leaf in New York has a couple of brands of varigated, but no pictures on the website. I think the VARIEGATED AMORPHIC LEAF is more mottled, and the Japanese CELESTIAL had some really nice subtle colors, if I remember right. Easy Leaf in LA seems to show only black and blue varigated (no red? ha...
by Lee Littlewood
Thu Jan 10, 2013 4:44 pm
Forum: The Hand Lettering Forum
Topic: Biker piece
Replies: 3
Views: 3635

Re: Biker piece

W A A Y cool Jerry. Love that shell. It is hard to get good pix of glass stuff, The light meter has a hard time deciding when ther is a lot of relctive metal, and the auto-focus seems to prefer to use the reflection, not the glass. I have tons of pictures of a reflected me, in crisp focus, on top of...
by Lee Littlewood
Thu Jan 10, 2013 3:55 pm
Forum: The Hand Lettering Forum
Topic: Question about quils
Replies: 10
Views: 6039

Re: Question about quils

Padma, If you are intending to do 1/16" high lettering you might consider a pen rather than a brush. Even for a pen that is pretty small, but there are metal nib pens, felt tip nib pens, and one can cut one's own pen from bird quill or bamboo. When you're working that tiny it is easier to use i...
by Lee Littlewood
Wed Dec 19, 2012 4:54 pm
Forum: The Hand Lettering Forum
Topic: silver leaf question
Replies: 12
Views: 9505

Re: silver leaf question

Also note that you can get the aluminum in rolls.

Also in rolls: 23karat gold, silver (I think), copper, brass, and varigated leaf.
by Lee Littlewood
Sat Dec 15, 2012 4:56 pm
Forum: The Hand Lettering Forum
Topic: Signs From Sydney Australia
Replies: 33
Views: 23012

Re: Signs From Sydney Australia

What catches my eye is: (Mark's post) "...then carefully scratched those openings with pumice, to abrade the glass for chipping." and (Doug's post) "The reply describes etching with acid before applying "noodle" glue which was made from horse hooves." We have always bee...
by Lee Littlewood
Sat Dec 15, 2012 4:56 pm
Forum: Hand Lettering Gallery
Topic: Signs From Sydney Australia
Replies: 33
Views: 22429

Re: Signs From Sydney Australia

What catches my eye is: (Mark's post) "...then carefully scratched those openings with pumice, to abrade the glass for chipping." and (Doug's post) "The reply describes etching with acid before applying "noodle" glue which was made from horse hooves." We have always bee...
by Lee Littlewood
Sat Dec 15, 2012 4:21 pm
Forum: The Hand Lettering Forum
Topic: from the past
Replies: 2
Views: 2884

Re: from the past

Cool.
What is a "fountain brush"?
by Lee Littlewood
Sat Dec 15, 2012 4:19 pm
Forum: The Hand Lettering Forum
Topic: Fast Gold Size
Replies: 19
Views: 14796

Re: Fast Gold Size

I like the 1Shot fast size for matte centers on glass because it dries clearer than Rolco, and since it dries quickly you can rub it with steel wool the next day (maybe the same day, I dunno). But for surface gilding it has an awkwardly narrow window to work in; I have always used the Rolco for that...
by Lee Littlewood
Sat Dec 15, 2012 3:57 pm
Forum: The Hand Lettering Forum
Topic: Price of Gold Leaf
Replies: 14
Views: 10957

Re: Price of Gold Leaf

Me too (or is it three?) - Wright's of Lymm is nice to deal with (e-mail because of the time difference) and their website is packed with good stuff (but be prepared for a lot of opening and closing windows). That said, one of the reasons they are cheaper is that their leaf size is a bit smaller tha...
by Lee Littlewood
Sun Nov 11, 2012 7:30 pm
Forum: The Hand Lettering Forum
Topic: Want to repair window gilding in Florence, Italy?
Replies: 4
Views: 3818

Re: Want to repair window gilding in Florence, Italy?

Stopping by Florence on a Snowy Evening ********************************************* Whose sign this is I think I know. His shop is in the village though; He hopes that I could make it here to fix his "8", so bleak and drear. ************* Sounds like a great excuse for a trip. Do we have...