Signmaking 101: Repeating a sandblasted symetrical design

[Mike Jackson]

It has been a long time since I did many sandblasted signs now. Wow! Nine years since we sold our shop.

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, fine tune it and eventually cut one side, peeling out the necessary background areas. If the sign was symetrical, I taped a piece of white butcher paper at the center line of the sign and then did a "rubbing" of the completed side using a graphite stick. It would be easy to perforate the design and pounce it, but there was a shortcut. If the paper was folded over at the center line, all I had to do was burnish the back side of the paper with a tongue depressor or plastic burnishing tool. The graphic from the original rubbing would transfer to the soft Anchor Stencil, giving a good reflected design. I used that technique numerous times, but it would only work with Anchor stencil. Hartco was too hard and didn't accept the graphite the same.

[Mark Yearwood]

Another way to do this is to draw half of the design, fold the pattern at the center line and pounce through both sides. Unfold and you have a repeat or symetrical pattern.

I still do this all the time. You can get creative and end up with some interesting shapes and panels by drawing only a part of the design.
Try circular or oval patterns, too. Draw one quarter, eighth etc and see what you
come up with.

Remember those snowflakes and hearts you cut out as a child?

[Mike Jackson]

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 concept: Fold a pattern in the middle to pounce two sides at one time. It works with either a pounce wheel or an electro-pounce machine.

[Rick Sacks]

We have one of those green self healing mats on a work table where we do the vinyl stuff. I often use that table top with a pounce wheel and it works fine. I learned to use a piece of sho-card under the pattern or felt.

[Catharine C. Kennedy]

I was taught to use a piece of rubber roofing membrane under the pounce wheel - would be similar to the self-healing mat.

[Joe House]

How would pouncing on top of sandblast stencil work? Has anyone tried that?

Joe

[John Arnott]

Now days we have to show the customer completed full color drawings to start. It's easy to simply print the paper pattern from the plotter and pin it on the wood sign blank. I use a pounce wheel for the outside shape of the sign. Use a pounce bag of charcoal every few feet that you pounce. It wants to bunch up a little on long runs, so pounce a couple of feet then dust, then continue to pounce through the paper into the wood. Then cut out shape.
Cover with risist tape (spray glue mist helps hold the tape to raw wood)and spray glue the paper on and cut through paper and tape. I use the mist type that screen printers use, not the real sticky 3-M stuff.
If you need to make multiple shaped signs, I pounce the pattern on the wood, then lightly spray hair spray on the charcoal to keep it from blowing off when cutting out the shape. John Arnott

[Mike Jackson]

For the people who might have missed the point of this Signmaking 101 post, let me show an example.

On some signs, we used to cut out the shape, seal, apply stencil and cut the major borders and major lettering/panels into the design—leaving an area where I planned on adding some sort of ornamentation. I would draw that design directly into the area of the stencil on one side only and cut it and peeled it, leaving the ornament. At that point, I taped a piece of paper on the center line, rubbed it with graphite, flipped the paper over the center and burnished the graphite image onto the other side. That's the tip.

I could have designed the entire sign, complete with ornamentation, made a folded pounce pattern and done it the other standard way, but I wouldn't have needed to write this tip.

Here it is again:

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, fine tune it and eventually cut one side, peeling out the necessary background areas. If the sign was symetrical, I taped a piece of white butcher paper at the center line of the sign and then did a "rubbing" of the completed side using a graphite stick. It would be easy to perforate the design and pounce it, but there was a shortcut. If the paper was folded over at the center line, all I had to do was burnish the back side of the paper with a tongue depressor or plastic burnishing tool. The graphic from the original rubbing would transfer to the soft Anchor Stencil, giving a good reflected design. I used that technique numerous times, but it would only work with Anchor stencil. Hartco was too hard and didn't accept the graphite the same.

Hope this follow up clears up any loose ends!
Mike Jackson