Any tips on making a logo into a reusable paint stencil?

big fan of using at least 3 bridges per "loose piece", especially if being abused. else you risk it twisting & snapping-off. (even at 1/4" thick")

4x8....inches? if that's feet, that's one hell of a stencil

 

Not to mention heavy.

Hope it's always laying down, as that'll be a b!tch to hang on a wall and spray. The heaviest thing I ever used was 1/8" duron at almost 4' x 8'. After the company used it once or twice, they had me make 3 more outta 2mm styrene and I told them to take care of them and clean them somewhat after each use.

 

Agree, 1/4" aluminum is kindly absurd. What are they planning on using this on, parking spots? I would worry about it scratching whatever it was put on to stencil. I think I'd say lexan would be ideal, the jumpers would be very hard to bend and break off, and it may resist paint that much better than metal.
Also, I wouldn't bother getting it waterjet or plasma'd vs just routed. Your corners on a stencil do not need to be a perfect 90, unless its some ornate logo that would not cut well on a router...
But really, why the 1/4" al?

 

Not having a router would make things tough, but- if you ever get one- it'll cut 1/4" aluminum, no problem (unless you get a cheap one). Just FYI.

 

Since I started working here running the CNC, I have no clue how a sign shop operates without one. Of course, we are fabricators first and foremost, and the printer just became a necessity...
A router is the way to go if you are looking to get into cnc, it can do most things a waterjet or plasma can, but it can also do 3d cuts, or partially cut into material. I met with a guy in town who had just opened a waterjet company, he was going to cut some plate for us. He showed me some letters he had cut out of 1/2" aluminum. They were awesome. Except where he had used the water jet to cut holes through the letters to tap out and run studs into. It took everything in me to not give him some pointers, as I hate something being done wrong nearly as much as I hate helping the competition.

 

Got access to a laser? Why not one time use cardboard then throw it in the dumpster? Or bring in a crane for your aluminum stencil...

 

Exactly. What is your primary market, as far as production? Without a cnc, I myself would go broke if I outsourced all my channel letter parts.

 

I'd say it needs to be based on the letter height/stroke width/all that stuff. I'd probably hand place them where I thought they needed to go, but if you have enough space, I'd suggest doing 3 or more tabs on most things. If you have a 1' tall O with two tabs 1/2" wide holding the insert and they toss it around, it won't take much to pivot that insert when it lands on a piece of pipe. 3 would be a good deal more resilient. But if it's a bunch of 4" lettering, you'd probably be safe with 2 tabs at 1/4" wide.