Making mounting pattern for stud mounted letters

[StarSign]

I am curious to know of any tip, tricks or techniques on putting together patterns for stud mounted letters. Right now we are printing the pattern then my guys are trying to square up the lettering (on 2" studs) and it just doesn't seem to keep the lettering straight. Just wondering what other processes are out there.

Thanks

 

[AaronSSsignsKC]

get rid of the 2"studs cut some down to around a 1/2" and taper them to a point this will allow you to align the letters a lot better on your pattern. Then simply push the pointed ends you made on the short studs thru the pattern itself the pull the letters mark the holes better if you feel you need to and install. We do most of our patterns this way and have always had good success.

 

[TonyC]

get rid of the 2"studs cut some down to around a 1/2" and taper them to a point this will allow you to align the letters a lot better on your pattern. Then simply push the pointed ends you made on the short studs thru the pattern itself the pull the letters mark the holes better if you feel you need to and install. We do most of our patterns this way and have always had good success.

What he said.

 

[signsvisual]

don't use any pins, just use paint, black paint around the stud holes of the backs of the letters and will leave a mark on the paper pattern.

 

[TimToad]

Ummm...... build them into your routing file and then print that as your mounting pattern?

 

[GAC05]

You could remove the studs, put the letters face down on the table - set up the alignment and kerning.
Tape a thin sheet of Mylar down over them and mark out all the stud holes along with a baseline & a few reference marks for the letters.
We use mylar for all kinds of patterns for the automotive accessories installation side of our business (emergency light bars, van interior racking/ shelving etc.)
Being clear you can see what you are drilling into and it's waterproof & fairly rigid so it does not stretch or deform much.

wayne k
guam usa

 

[Mike Paul]

.

Recently did some nice 6in. Solid, Dark Bronze Anodized Aluminum letters with 1/4in. offsets for a body shop.

Pattern Process...

Cut a few studs down short and reuse them while marking you letters on your printed pattern.

Stand straight over your paper pattern and push the letter down in it's proper place.

Mark the hole with a Sharpie dot.

Move on to the next letter and label everything on the pattern and on the back of the letter.

Will save a lot of time when dealing with duplicate letters...


.

 

[Billct2]

If the holes are recessed we use the sharpened stud stubs, if the holes stand proud we use a paint market and press on the pattern

 

[MikePro]

i use a light table, but should be able to do w/o one:

put your letter face-down on table with pattern face-down on top of it
shift til letter matches drawn letter shape, use finger to feel where the hole is and a pencil to punch-thru the paper into the hole.
repeat for all letters, then flip pattern-over and circle the holes with a marker to help spot your holes quickly during install.

otherwise, our shop guys are still keen on just aligning letters with studs on pattern by-hand and pressing-down to indent the paper & circle those marks with a pencil.

......and then there's the obviously awesome solution:
if making your own letters, route face-down and drill your mounting holes before your cut your letter. then you can simply plot your hole pattern and skip all the nonsense above.
if welded-studs, then I route my metal face-down and engrave 3/16" circles for my shop guys to have targets to hit their welded studs to.

 

[J Hill Designs]

as above

if I didn't make the letters and dont have a pattern
sharp short pin if recessed
paint if FCO

if I route my own
route upside down, having router drill holes; tap (or LORD's the studs in, depending) then stud and go

 

[James Burke]

I was a tool and die maker in another life and I like to use transfer screws like the ones shown here. They thread into the holes and allow you to get the letters within 1/16" of the paper before you press them into the pattern.


JB

 

[J Hill Designs]

I was a tool and die maker in another life. I like to use transfer screws like the ones shown here:


JB

so basically a short sharpened stud

 

[James Burke]

so basically a short sharpened stud

Correct, but they're precision machined to be very accurate...so long as you use the correct tap drill size and there isn't a lot of clearance (slop) between the screw and the hole.

We do a lot of bronze plaque mounting and they work exceptionally well for that purpose also.

The holder tube doubles as an installation tool to insert and remove the screws from the threaded holes.

They're also available non-threaded.

JB