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Question Pad/Stud Mounts on Acrylic Letters

squaregoco

New Member
So I'm new to using pad mounts on acrylic letters. Not sure how man pads are needed. Here is a 30" tall letter out of 1/2" acrylic to be mounted outside on brick. Would six 1" pads be enough and should only the top two have pins into the brick to allow expansion? could you pin mount 1/4" thick acrylic this size or would it be too wavy? Any advice would be apprecated
Pad Mount.JPG
 

Moze

Active Member
So I'm new to using pad mounts on acrylic letters. Not sure how man pads are needed. Here is a 30" tall letter out of 1/2" acrylic to be mounted outside on brick. Would six 1" pads be enough and should only the top two have pins into the brick to allow expansion? could you pin mount 1/4" thick acrylic this size or would it be too wavy? Any advice would be apprecated
View attachment 155008

You have 7 drawn, not 6, but I would go with 7, like you have shown.

I don't understand your question about the top ones having pins into the brick & expansion......all 7 should have studs.

1/4" acrylic would be a bit thin for letters this size.

All of that being said, any particular reason you're not just drilling and tapping them?
 

squaregoco

New Member
You have 7 drawn, not 6, but I would go with 7, like you have shown.

I don't understand your question about the top ones having pins into the brick & expansion......all 7 should have studs.

1/4" acrylic would be a bit thin for letters this size.

All of that being said, any particular reason you're not just drilling and tapping them?
Ahh, yes 7, was a long day. Just thought gluing pads to them would be faster. Hadn’t considered drill and tap, worried I’d blow through the face with the tap.
 

Moze

Active Member
Drilling and tapping is the most common method used (almost always).

Transporting a bunch of letters with pads/studs sticking out of them isn't ideal. Plus, studs threaded directly into the letters would be more secure than studs threaded into pads.
 

Johnny Best

Active Member
Ahh, yes 7, was a long day. Just thought gluing pads to them would be faster. Hadn’t considered drill and tap, worried I’d blow through the face with the tap.
You use a drill press with a stop on it so the drill bit only goes so far down and won't penetrate the face.
Use 1/2" thick as suggested, 1/4" thick is to thin. Get them from Gemini and have them do all the stud and pad work.
 

squaregoco

New Member
You use a drill press with a stop on it so the drill bit only goes so far down and won't penetrate the face.
Use 1/2" thick as suggested, 1/4" thick is to thin. Get them from Gemini and have them do all the stud and pad work.
I’m curious about Gemini, never used them, I assume they would quote me a pretty high price to produce these letters. I’m going to get a quote just outta curiosity.
 

MJ-507

Master of my domain.
I’m curious about Gemini, never used them, I assume they would quote me a pretty high price to produce these letters. I’m going to get a quote just outta curiosity.
I haven't found Gemini to be expensive in the least - especially for metal letters. Their buying power for materials and their quantity of scale in production keeps their costs wicked way down. Plus all the labor drilling, tapping, gluing pads, pattern making, etc. is handled by them which frees you up to performing tasks that will make you more money than those duties. And, nothing is too expensive if your proposal is based on the quoted price from them plus your mark up - and the customer approves the price.
 

Chris Keena

New Member
Gemini is the best. 1/4" is not too thin for stud mount. But at that size, 1/2" is not too thick. Gemini is not expensive at all. I'll give you slow in today's market, but they tell you on the quote how long it will take. Been using them for 20 + years and they have a lifetime warranty. I also would say do NOT use epoxy unless it's a must, silicone is plenty to hold 3" studs on a wall. They have installation instructions on their site. Only time we used epoxy was on a GIGANTIC 6ft plaque that was one story up above a marquee and doorway entrance to a restaurant. Plaque weighed almost 100 lbs. The thing with stud mounted pieces is, they're not falling out, gravity pulls straight down, not out and down. Proper silicone should suffice.
 

jfiscus

Rap Master
Wait, are you cutting the letters or Gemini? If Gemini, they'll plan your studs, at least I thought they always used to do that for us before we got our own CNC?
If you're cutting the letters yourself, just make a separate cut that only drills halfway into the letters before you run the cut that cuts the exterior shape of the letters.

I would definitely recommend using a thicker material, or even making a layered letter, where there is a 1/4"+ piece behind the letter (VHB, etc to the letter/face) that accepts the studs and the face isn't drilled at all.
 

Texas_Signmaker

Very Active Signmaker
Those little pads the Gemini glues on have failed me. I'm on a board that one of the things we oversee is a daycare. They have been having a hell of a time finding people. The director has spent $ in ads, Facebook, indeed and hitting the pavement looking for people. The starting wage has gone up and up which means the entire current staff has to go up...can't have new employees starting more than longer term people. We're short a few teachers which means lost classes and each class can hold about 7 kids... its big $ and a big problem for the families that depend on it.
 

CanuckSigns

Active Member
Why anybody would tap these is beyond me. I can pull a 5 cent pad out and slap some channelbond on it for... idk 8 cents. When doing these I'll route them face down, have the router peck a .001" mark onto the back for pad placement, line up the hole in the pad, then add glue. The only way to dislodge the pad is to break the acrylic. The pads give a small 3/8 projection from the wall, which I like.
I can't imagine setting up a drill press unless you have a great many to do, and even then you have to find a guy who can tap without stripping them out. It's a lot easier to train a monkey to line up holes and squirt some glue... Anybody else having trouble hiring folks? I've even increased starting pay...

Yup, why someone would try to drill &tap acrylic letters is beyond me, the pads are super quick, cheap and when done properly, are as strong as the acrylic itself.

You can also use the pads on ACM with a bit of 2 part anchoring epoxy, you will separate the aluminum skin from the core before you break the epoxy bond
 

CanuckSigns

Active Member
Those little pads the Gemini glues on have failed me. I'm on a board that one of the things we oversee is a daycare. They have been having a hell of a time finding people. The director has spent $ in ads, Facebook, indeed and hitting the pavement looking for people. The starting wage has gone up and up which means the entire current staff has to go up...can't have new employees starting more than longer term people. We're short a few teachers which means lost classes and each class can hold about 7 kids... its big $ and a big problem for the families that depend on it.
Even pre covid, daycare centres were a giant petri dish, I can't imagine why anyone would want to go work in a daycare during a pandemic for minimum wage.
 

Texas_Signmaker

Very Active Signmaker
Even pre covid, daycare centres were a giant petri dish, I can't imagine why anyone would want to go work in a daycare during a pandemic for minimum wage.
If you got a vaccine there is nothing to worry about. We had one kid test positive a month ago that showed no symptoms. The only reason they tested is because the parents had it. As far as we know it didn't get passed. Children young enough for daycare are not transmitting covid.

If you're a male, it's normal to wonder why the hell anyone would Subject themselves to that environment... I dont want to spend 2 seconds in a room with screaming children.
 

Texas_Signmaker

Very Active Signmaker
I don't have the vaccine. Not that I'm against it.

$1200 is on the higher end of average but rates having been going up because payroll is the largest expense. It's hard to keep daycare / pre-k teachers. They are all female and some women tend to go in and out of the workforce. Sometimes a teacher has a baby and you loose them for a year or two.
 
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