WELCOME!

It is hard to believe that it was almost ten years ago I witnessed a CNC router in action for the very first time. I was fascinated and simply had to have one! Although I had been in the creative end of the three dimensional sign business for most of my life I didn't really know what I would do with one of these machines - but I just knew it could do fantastic stuff.

Along with the CNC router I discovered the wonderful material called Precision Board and the glues, primers and other companion products they offer. Since then we have gone through many tons of the material using it in most signs and projects we tackle. This journal will chronicle our many adventures both past, present and future. I'll talk from the perspective of someone who pushes these products to the creative limit on a daily basis. I'll be adding to the stories two or three times each week. -dan

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Texture in a hurry!

We are always looking for new ways to introduce cool textures into our work with our MultiCam Router. When my good friend Jeff Hartman, who wrote the EnRoute program with his brother, showed me the rapid texture program they were working on I immediately thought about incorporating it into wainscoting. That was almost two years ago. Now the Rapid Texture is at last released and I have designed the technique into the MultiCam Technical Center project. The beauty of Rapid Texture is the speed at which we can now texture large surfaces. Where it used to take hours and hours, it can now be done in a fraction of that time. The possibilities are endless and it will take me a little time before I can wrap my head around it and then perhaps take it in directions Jef and his brother never imagined. Time will tell.
For this project we will incorporate Rapid Texture into the main floor and into the 'fossil' office upstairs. For the nautical theme room I wanted to create a feeling of waves. I ran a test piece using MDF but was dismayed to see chunks breaking out. The material just wasn't suitable for what I was doing. So a sheet of 3/4" 30 lb Precision Board was substituted for the MDF and it came out perfectly! I love the patterns possible using the conic bit and a random texture... I'm still thinking of the painting and patina possibilities. I'm liking the idea of playing warm rust tones agains the cool silvers planned elsewhere through the room.
Stay tuned...
-dan