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Help with letter mounting

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signlords

New Member
I am in a little bit of a panic, and hopefully I am just being dumb and overthinking this. I ordered a set of letters for a customer. They are 1/4" acrylic and were suppose to get stud mounted to the wall with spacers. I ordered them wholesale from a company. Everything on the PO was correct, they sent me pictures of how they would be made. When they arrived I have NO studs, mounts, etc. I have a paper template with outlines of the letters only. It is about 54 letters. Is there an easy way for me to add studs to these letters and still have a guaranteed way to install them perfectly. All I can come up with right now is measuring very precisely on the template and the letter and making marks. But at roughly 4 mounts per letter x 54 letters x 2-3 measures per stud. That's going to be a bunch of precarious ruler work. Any thoughts, suggestions?

PS - My deadline is too soon for this company or any other to get me a new set of letters, the right way, within budget.
 
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fresh

New Member
you can mark the template, and then either copy the template and transfer it to the letter or just put the letter under it and mark where the studs go.

that is how I'd do it.
 
Johnny Best

Johnny Best

Active Member
1/4" thick acrylic is rough to put studs into. If you have a drill press to gauge your depth for a drill hole and then tapped for screwing in your stud. Might be better and faster to VHB tape with a spacer on the back for your mounting to the wall. How tall are these letters.
 
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Dan360

New Member
By outlines do you mean cutout or drawn onto the template? If drawn I'd be tempted to tape the letters onto the template, flip it over and drill into both just a bit to mark the letters. Take letters off and add studs where you drilled and then it will match your template.
 
Billct2

Billct2

Active Member
You say it will have spacers, so can you use pre tapped acrylic mounting blocks? You should be able to get them in a day. Is mounting with tape an option? That would be east to fix, glue or tape spacers to the back and put tape on them. Whatever you do the paper template should work for mounting, you may want to make a copy though in case you screw it up.
 
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signlords

New Member
Johnny Best said:
1/4" thick acrylic is rough to put studs into. If you have a drill press to gauge your depth for a drill hole and then tapped for screwing in your stud. Might be better and faster to VHB tape with a spacer on the back for your mounting to the wall. How tall are these letters.
Click to expand...

Yes, the one's I ordered were supposed to have plastic threaded receptacle's adhered onto the letters, and then we thread in metal rods, drill the wall and put them in. I have some quick snap spacers from MBS on hand. I definitely dont want to attempt to drill into the acrylic. https://mbs-standoffs.com/product/b...esive-mounted-head-sold-set-1-body-and-1-head

Dan360 said:
By outlines do you mean cutout or drawn onto the template? If drawn I'd be tempted to tape the letters onto the template, flip it over and drill into both just a bit to mark the letters. Take letters off and add studs where you drilled and then it will match your template.
Click to expand...

Drawn onto the template. This is kind of the method I was thinking, but its a floppy @ss paper template and a ton of letters, so may be a little tricky?

Billct2 said:
You say it will have spacers, so can you use pre tapped acrylic mounting blocks? You should be able to get them in a day. Is mounting with tape an option? That would be east to fix, glue or tape spacers to the back and put tape on them. Whatever you do the paper template should work for mounting, you may want to make a copy though in case you screw it up.
Click to expand...

This sounds maybe better than the mounts I currently have. I don't think I can get away with tape, they are going outdoors.
 
eahicks

eahicks

Magna Cum Laude - School of Hard Knocks
That may be why they didn't come tapped for studs. 1/4" is too thin. They should have told you they can't do it. It CAN be done, but very carefully and it really isn't recommended.
 
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signlords

New Member
eahicks said:
That may be why they didn't come tapped for studs. 1/4" is too thin. They should have told you they can't do it. It CAN be done, but very carefully and it really isn't recommended.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I did not expect them drilled. The mounts Billct2 just posted are EXACTLY what was in the picture they sent me as an example.
 
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unclebun

Active Member
When you get the mounting blocks, just cement them onto the backs of the letters in appropriate places. Then mount short studs in all the blocks, and with the paper pattern resting on a slightly yielding surface, press each letter over the outline. If you are able to punch the studs through the paper, fine, but if not, rub soft pencil on the end of each stud so it leaves a mark on the paper.
 
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signlords

New Member
Texas_Signmaker said:
Important details to share....

Size of letters
Substrate of where they will be mounted.
Click to expand...

Two rows of letters, top row is 13.5" tall letters. Bottom are 7" tall letters. It is for a doctor. The top row is his full name which is quite lengthy. The bottom is "walk ins, primary care, blah, blah"

The wall is stucco type finish over foam with a little bit if metal mesh just below the stucco.
 
Moze

Moze

Precision Sign Services
https://www.geminisignproducts.com/en/resources/installation-maintenance/installation-supplies/

Stud pads for the larger letters - attached with Weld On 16.

Stud blocks for the smaller letters - attach with Weld On 4.

(confirm the Weld On numbers.......it's been a minute since I've used it)

You'll want 5-6 per letter on the larger letters and 4 on the smaller letters (except letter i's, l's, 3 for those....).

Cut a half dozen studs to around ½" in length and then grind them to a point.

Lay your paper pattern on a piece of coroplast (or cardboard).

Thread the studs, points out, into the pads/blocks, one letter at a time, set the letter on top of your pattern, line it up, press just enough to make a small mark.Then mark it with a pen so it's easy to see. Do that with every letter and you're good to go.
 
Ian Stewart-Koster

Ian Stewart-Koster

Older Greyer Brushie
With a business name of signlords- and you don't know the answer?
They should have been supplied with standoffs, but since they were not, find out why-maybe they were accidentally despatched without them- so ask, or just get or make your own standoffs, fix them, mark the template, and drill or screw the bases on/in and mount them.

54 letters- so what? Each job we have that needs them uses close to 45 letters at times, We make our own paper or else cardboard patterns.
I can't see why you seem to be making a fuss as if the quantity of letters, and mounting method and spacing method is an ordeal.
It's simple- just do it and move on to the next job-nothng here is arduous or weird.
 
visual800

visual800

Active Member
Going back and reading this post IF the letters were sent you wrong why did they not make it right? I would have complained right then
 
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