I took my customer's quick sketch and created two house number signs with "glow in the dark" numbers and arrows. The brief was to ensure the house numbers were clearly visible to delivery drivers at all times of the day and encouraged them down them to take the correct driveway.
The signs are set near a busy road which is edged by a narrow strip of woodland and so the signs were to be in keeping with this setting.
I chose cherry for the numbers. Grown here at Hillsigns, about 30 years old and seasoned for 3 years. Unfortunately a large crack had developed and made 60% of the wood unusable. And in the first section I cut, the almost invisible crack widened and I had to reject it.
Finally I had enough from the remaining wood to cut the two signs. I use an electric chain saw. I'd prefer to use a bench saw but the blade size would have to be huge to do this job. After cutting rough with the very gentle chain saw, I run the pieces through the thicknesser and end up with very even, very smooth pieces around 35mm thick.
Occasionally the bark will peel away. This has to be carefully preserved, and then re-fitted after planning and glued before continuing with the sanding. Then it's off to the CNC machine to have the numbers carved. (60deg V Bit, 6mm).
Meanwhile I had found some rather misshapen 4" square oak posts from a local supplier that had been left outside for, "as long as I can remember" the owner told me. A few runs through the thicknesser and it looked perfect. I cut the post to a little under 95mm square to remove the slight curve in the wood. These then had to go in to the CNC machine to have the arrows carved. (3mm End Mill 5mm Depth). This is quite a slow process to avoid any scorching of the wood.
The posts are 80cm long and so clearly far too large for the machine bed. But a few strategically placed clamps solve the problem.
The house numbers then went through the familiar varnishing process. Practise, clean conditions and finally finding brushes that leave no trace after they have been stroked across the wood means this all takes less time than it used to. Drying time is the limitation. The first coats is a 80% varnish 10% white spirit coat. This soaks deeply into the wood carrying the varnish with it. Then 3 coats with a wet & dry rub down between each and then finally a 4th coat, followed by a very gentle 0000 steel wool polish and then a final top coat. The sides and back get as many coats but slightly less attention to detail.
The different this time was using "Glow in the Dark" paint. It's akin to painting with porridge. We laid down a white undercoat first and then multiple coats of the Glow in the Dark paint. Finally I added a layer of polyurethane to protect it from the outside world.
I was dubious at first, but it really worked!
Here's one of the signs is near pitch darkness.
The arrows on the post were treated the same. The posts themselves were coated with a clear wood preserver.
After assembly
using some aluminium brackets we took the signs to the customer, dug two 30cm holes, aligned everything and set the posts in Postcrete.
From a simple sketch to the finished article!
Keith Clarke
Hillsigns
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