I don't know about the rest of the people, but I think they read fine.

Mike Jackson

Robare, I don't recall owning a book specifically dedicated to train car lettering, but there are references in the ICS books. http://www.theletterheads.com/signphotos/railroadletters.jpg This plate was lettered in 1893 and copyrighted in a folio collection of other ICS oversized plates in 1899. I h...

Most people probably already know how to make a rubbing, but just in case, here goes: Over the years, Darla and I have made hundreds of rubbings off existing vinyl lettering AND hand lettering. Normally we use a stick of graphite. You can buy them at almost any good art supply store for around a dol...

In another thread, Catharine Kennedy asked about applying Abalone and Mother of Pearl. We have been posting Signmaking 101 threads lately, but this is more advanced. Just for kicks, I labeled it Signmaking 301.

The rest of this post actually comes directly out of the Rick Glawson section of http://www.theletterheads.com That information is available at any time. Hopefully, newcomers to The Hand Lettering Forum know about the rest of the site. Click the link above to visit the site sponsored by the Denver Chapter of the Letterheads.

Here's Rick Glawson's comments:

Rick Glawson's Guide to Laying Abalone
(thanks to Larry White for typing up the instructions)

The shell available in the past was for the most part small, thick, and crudely ground flat on one side. They were randomly placed in letter centers or backgrounds with damar and quick rubbing varnish, then the gaps filled in with various material, the most common being crushed pearl, gold glitter, or diamond dust, also wrinkled or embossed tin foil was widely used, more to fill gaps than for reflection. The shell’s greatest effect is from light reflecting off the face. Light passing or reflected through the shell gives a neutral or lightly opalescent look but does nothing to enhance its iridescence. The availability these days is limited to thick material (approx. 60 thousandths, compared to our 8 to 10 thousandths) for musical instrument inlay when and if you can find it. Hence was our incentive to produce our own supplies and progressively for other sign artists.

To form the shape desired, score the face with an x-acto knife with or without a straight edge, then snap it in half between thumbs and forefingers (with score upwards) to separate. Small pliers may be used for curves and to nibble off narrow edges, much the same as cutting glass or thin plastics. A carbide wheel glasscutter may also be used for curves or for where a knife blade wants to follow the grain of the shell. For tight seamed mosaic, clean up edge lightly with a small fine file. I prefer to entirely finish the work, saving only clear portions for the shell and the final protective coat.

To do a letter fill, with the work laying flat on the bench, mix up some damar and rubbing varnish (as for an embossed center) apply liberally to both sign and pearl face, randomly laying pieces (approx. ½â€￾ square on a 3â€￾ high letter) one at a time and partially covering letter outline with about 1/16â€￾ to 1/8â€￾ gaps between pieces. Lightly press with finger to force out any bubbles, then sprinkle seams with “fillâ€￾ material. Let dry overnight or until pieces are set. Clear coat over the entire job as you normally would and after it sets up use back-up color to clean up any ragged letter outlines. If foil is desired, after pearl is set, re-varnish heavy over the back and press in foil to cover entire inlay. I have normally found foil back up only where the work was to be framed and the rear obscured. Two notes- be sure to let the clear over the pearl completely dry before cutting in with back-up, and prior to setting in shell, check each piece by rotating for optimum iridescence.

For vertical work, let the varnish on both faces flash off so as not to slide when affixed to the glass. Smaller areas without fill such as bullets are better suited for varnish affixing. In vertical work, I successfully use an industrial grade instant “cyanoacrylateâ€￾ glue (an optically clear, no fogging formula which we carry in stock.) This adhesive allows you to fill large areas of center, 25 sq.in. or so per letter without sliding and and tightly fitting them together in a mosaic style without open seams. Runs with this material do not immediately lift surrounding japans and take roughly an hour to evaporate when left open to the air. I lightly wipe runs over the back-up, but not over areas to be inlayed. I set the abalone using a 6â€￾ length of dowelling with a lightly rubbed tip of double sided tape, dry fitting first with each piece, then applying adhesive to to pearl face only, shaking off excess and lightly placing pearl in place only as far as to force out bubbles then separate from dowel. Do not press too hard or air may be sucked back under shell, in which case force bubbles back out and flood glue at edge to draw back into air pockets. Do not attempt to remove piece if it has come in contact with gold, paint, or back-up. When finished back and clean up as before. If down the line, the job must be removed, a sharp razor blade poses no problem. Personal experience will dictate your favorite methods, but I recommend testing a few pieces on plain glass to be sure of inlay procedures. --Rick Glawson--

Sometimes I look over the Forum and see my name a lot more than I would prefer. I don't know how many here have made posts, only to check back in later to find that no one has responded at all. Silence. I am always concerned, as one of the hosts, that people will quit posting if no one seems to want...

I'll throw this out, not necessarily that it is right or wrong, just the way I learned from George Seelander and Glen Newcomer. Both of them had a roller tray on their bench with brush oil in the basin part. After cleaning their brushes, they swirled the ends in the basin and then laid the brushes s...

Rick, I believe he did much more than scheme and plan. Walter Hartlauer made a very nice pin router--great for duplicating letters and shapes following masonite patterns. I bought two of them and one is still at the old shop. I don't think they know what it is or what it does. Unlike many commercial...

Rick, I believe he did much more than scheme and plan. Walter Hartlauer made a very nice pin router--great for duplicating letters and shapes following masonite patterns. I bought two of them and one is still at the old shop. I don't think they know what it is or what it does. Unlike many commercial...

Rick, I didn't catch the string being tied on the pins, but it would work doing the lower half and then the top half. Normally, we put the third pin at the point where the pencil is illustrated, then tie the string around all three. The bottom pin is then removed and the pencil slides around the tri...

I just paid a company to finish painting our new addition on three walls. With two mature blue spruce trees in the way, and no way to maneuver a skylift in our yard, ladders, ladder jacks and walkboards were the only other means to do this job. While there is some danger working on them, I doubt the...

Here's a link showing the "string" method:
http://www.inthewoodshop.org/methods/wwc03k.shtml


This is next to last image. The other ones show how to find the placement of the pins.

Just follow the diagrams!

Hi Danny,
Thanks for the info. Do you buy your router bits directly from Onsrund or from a distributor? We used to buy Onsrund bits from Walter Hartlauer in Eugene, Oregon. He was a wealth of knowledge!

Hi Danny,
Thanks for the info. Do you buy your router bits directly from Onsrund or from a distributor? We used to buy Onsrund bits from Walter Hartlauer in Eugene, Oregon. He was a wealth of knowledge!

Joe,
You are welcome to make a NEW thread and describe you YOU sharpen the chisels. Otherwise, feel free to add any information about chisels here in this thread. I was just trying to get some discussion going on the subject. Thanks for you input!

Mike

I will add to John's comments about the script: Sometimes, when trying to "DRAW" a line of script, it can end up very stiff and contrived (like many script fonts). To get a loose script, just whip it out quickly on a piece of paper using a broad tipped marker, calligraphic felt tip, or eve...

A long time ago, you could get into a heated debate between sign letterers about the virtues and needs of a mahl stick against the people who said they would never need one or use one. It reminded me of all the debates about whether a Mac or PC is better of recent years (please don't take this forum...

Mark, The distinction on the process I described above is I did the actual designs "on the fly" on the sign itself...snapper mentality...instead of a careful, pre-planned ornamental design. I'll try to find a photo of an example someday. Yes, Mark did bring up an additional Signmaking 101 ...

If you had to put your finger of one of the hallmarks of old school signmaking, it would be the fact they understood how to use contrast between lettering and background to make lettering and graphics stand out (or not). Besides good color schemes and a seasoned sense of proper letterstyles, letter ...

It has been a long time since I did many sandblasted signs now. Wow! Nine years since we sold our shop. :o The bulk of our signs had pounce pattern layouts. Occasionally I did some floral or decorative designs right on the Anchor Stencil while it was on the sign panel. I would sketch it, erase it, f...

As an interesting side note, back at the Oklahoma Bash, a woodcarver from Bangor, Maine rode to the meet on a long series of Greyhound busses. He brought his roll of very sharp chisels and spent a good part of the meeting carving overseeing a carved sign panel. During the carving, someone accidental...

Actually, this one is more of a question than an answer! Back at the Oklahoma Bash, Dusty Yaxley (from Florida) demonstrated an interesting wheel he mounted in a drill press. The wheel had a lot of slots in it, allowing the chisel to actually show though as the grinding wheel spun. It was about 12&q...

Before the computer, making ovals was pretty darned hard. In the old days, I used the string and two push pins technique as described in the LeBlanc book, but that always gave a bit of a slippy oval due to string tension and stretch. We don't do many large signs here in Jackson Hole, but back when I...

Once I had a mouthful of chalk doing his technique, I'd have to figure out how to do it with just my finger tips. Besides the mouth full of chalk, you'd have knots all over the place since most jobs required snapping different length lines. It is way too easy.

After a can of gold size has been opened and some of it used, it has a tendency to skin over quickly. The culprit, of course, is the air inside the can. After the can has skinned over a few times, the remaining size can start getting gummy and lumpy—not something you want to see in your gold job. ...

A handy tool in any sign kit is a snap line. For Large Sized Jobs: You can buy a carpenter's snap line tool at any lumber yard for around $6. They have a nifty reel type handle on the sides which winds the line upside the case, recharging the line each time is is reeled up and then pulled out. Blue ...

Back at the 1997 Belvidere Wall Dog Meet, Darla and I helped on Gary Anderson's Candy Store wall. He supplied latex for that job. Worked fine. I wouldn't hesitate using either one. As a general rule, I'd probably use the one that had the desired "sheen": Oils for glossy and latex for a fla...

Jay,
Jump in your truck and zip over to Lincoln, Il.
July 21 & 24th 2004....Lincoln Wall Dogs...Lincoln IL
That should feed your soul and charge your creative batteries!

Mike Jackson

Hi Mark, Somehow I have to grin a bit when I read your post. The intent of the post is noble and it's taken that way, but I find myself thinking of the preacher preaching to the congregation and the choir. Much of the sermon is designed to stear people down the rightheous path during the week ahead....

Bob, I hope to get more photos and build a special page for Chester similar to the ones for Rick Glawson and Steven Parrish. It takes time and more data, of course. As I mentioned earlier, Chester was already becoming "famous" within the sign trade when I was just getting started. When you...

Raymond,
You'd get a good meal next time you are in Jackson Hole whether you scan the photos or not....but it's still a deal!
Mike Jackson