The Art of Sign Design and Laser Cutting: A Journey to Motorhead Garage

As I stand in front of my shop, gazing out at the Houston sun, I feel a sense of excitement and anticipation. One of the dozen days in Houston where I can leave the door open to the shop, I'm about to embark on an adventure to Bristol, Tennessee, with my trusty laser. My plan is to visit Motorhead garage well, so let's get started on making some goodies for their show.

Designing a Sign: Measuring Up

Before we begin, I need to consider the size of my luggage. With a suitcase that measures 22 inches tall and 9.25 inches wide, I'll be working with White Pine wood from The Big Box store. I'll cut it down to fit my needs, focusing on the rustic signs we're creating for Motorhead garage. As I look at the wood, I'm drawn to the knots and the width of the grain pattern – these are the elements that will make our sign unique.

The Importance of Variation

I want to create two versions of this design, knowing that sometimes burning one won't yield the desired results. If it doesn't turn out as expected, I have a spare to fall back on. This approach allows me to experiment and push the boundaries of what's possible with laser cutting. The grain pattern is an essential element in creating a sign that looks authentic.

Working with Wide Stock

As I move on to the next step, I'm working with wider stock than usual – a four-inch board. This requires more attention to detail and patience, as the edges need to be crispy and well-defined. If you're not getting a good burn or crisp edges, it's likely due to burning too shallowly or not taking enough charcoal off.

The Jaw Horse: A Game-Changer

One of my favorite tools is the jaw horse – a small rig that helps me achieve better results. I've had numerous questions from viewers about why their signs don't turn out as well as mine, and it's usually due to inadequate burning or using the wrong equipment. The jaw horse has a 60-Grit nylon brush on the bottom, which is essential for achieving the right color and texture.

Optional: Shaping and Detailing

For this project, I'm adding an optional step – shaping and detailing with a medium-shaping disc from Qatar. This will add a level of intricacy to our sign that sets it apart from others. If you don't have the equipment or prefer not to use it, feel free to skip this section.

Laser Cutting: The Magic Happens

I've finally made it to the laser cutting stage, where the magic truly happens. With my trusty machine and a clear understanding of what I'm trying to achieve, I carefully feed the sign into the device. As the dye is applied, I feel a sense of excitement and anticipation – will this be a success?

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Motorhead Garage

As we take a break from the laser cutting process, I want to give my audience a glimpse into what's happening at Motorhead garage in Bristol, Tennessee. With a show scheduled for February next year, I'm excited to share behind-the-scenes footage of our visit. We've arrived at the hotel room, and as we settle in, I reflect on the journey so far – from designing the sign to the laser cutting process.

A Final Touch: Finish with Clear Kids

As we prepare to reveal our finished sign, I realize that I almost forgot an essential step – applying a clear finish. With a few spritzes of Minwax clear aerosol lacquer and some kids' clear spray, our sign is now ready for display. And as I take a step back to admire our handiwork, I feel a sense of pride and accomplishment – we've created something truly special.

A Message to My Patrons

As I wrap up this article, I want to extend my gratitude to my patrons who have supported me throughout this journey. Your contributions have enabled me to continue sharing my passion for laser cutting with the world. To Stephen Mann, Eric Weiss, Derek Coates, Chuck Faulkner, Andy the Viking, Todd Stewart, Jason Ayers, Reed Means, and Vince – thank you for your continued support.

The Final Reveal: Motorhead Garage

As we reveal our finished sign to the audience, I take a moment to appreciate the hard work that went into creating it. With its intricate details and unique design, this sign is sure to stand out at Motorhead garage's upcoming show. And as I reflect on the journey, from designing the sign to the laser cutting process, I'm reminded of why I love what I do – the thrill of creation, the satisfaction of pushing boundaries, and the joy of sharing it all with my audience.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enanimals so it's one of probably a dozen days in Houston that I can have the door open to the shop so in a couple days I'm going to be heading out with ap laser to Bristol Tennessee to visit Motorhead garages well garage so let's make some goodies figure if I'm going to be on the show anyway I'm gonna make them a sign with their logo on it and I haven't taken you guys through this process in a while um where I bust out the Torches and all that good stuff so we're just gonna get a little bit crazy today just just a little bit crazy six inches right there first thing I like to think about when I'm doing sign design especially since I'm going to be flying is how big my luggage is so I measured my suitcase and it's about 22 inches this is about nine and a quarter tall this is just White Pine from The Big Box store so we're going to cut this down to 22 inches first we're doing these rustic signs you don't necessarily have to the wood doesn't have to be gray as you can see there's a crack down here I'm not too worried about that but the thing you really want to focus on is the knots and the width of the grain pattern and make sure that those got variants like this big fat boy we want that see how it's wide here narrow here we want that these are things that we like kids we like I would like to do two just because if I burn one and I don't like the way it looks I've got a spare so we're gonna do both of them foreshadowing there's a look you guys haven't seen on me in a while what do you think I sold them all these are my grill Blazers baby this ain't going anywhere these is like family you don't get back on there you're doing wider stock like this you're always going to get some work it's just almost unavoidable the reason you'll see a lot of people do like the four inch boards I went ahead and once I got done burning them I was heat the back a little bit to kind of get like get that warp to kind of pop out a little bit and then also a lot of times I will put weight on them for a little bit but as you can see I mean this is always going to have like a little bit of a cup to me all right questions out of the way first this little rig right here is called a jaw horse I will link it down below biggest question I get asked is why y'all's results don't look like mine if you're not getting a good Gator all over the place you're not burning deep enough your edges should look crispy like this let's see how this is Ashy and gross that is what you're looking for the item I will be removing the Char worth is called the restorer and this thing has a 60 Grit nylon brush on the bottom of it and if you want to know if it's worth it it's absolutely worth it link below you're not getting this down to three colors like a light color a medium color and a dark color you're either not burning it deep enough or you're not taking enough Char off this next part is totally optional if you don't have the equipment you don't need to do it I just like the way it makes everything look I'll be using kind of a medium shaping disc on from Qatar on my angle grinder you could do this as like a flap desk too it's just this is going to be a little faster a little bit more convenient for me next it is arts and crafts time so don't forget to Globe oh for this project I'm gonna be using red folk art Ultra die I will link this down below if I can at one point in time they were pulling it off the shelves everywhere but I think you still ordered online they used to have it at Michael's it was really cheap I have a couple of these because of that your red dye of choice should do just fine all right so we got our first one on the laser bed we're gonna run a quick frame all right guys and I just have the Motorhead garage the bottom part of it in here in light burn we've got it set at 25 inches per second speed and 38 power for the sn4024 this is 100 watt laser what I'm noticing as this is going along is it's not as there's not as much contrast as I would like so basically I'm probably just going to run the same speed and power again and try to try to cut down a little bit deeper into the wood and get a little bit more of that light wood coming out lighter already so basically what I did I ran the same thing I turned the laser up to about 50 power which you already see you're getting a better contrast there between the wood and the dye all right guys and I had to step away to have dinner with the fam so it was actually the next day but I still haven't had a chance to take the sign out of the laser yet so we will do that together I checked it out it looks chef's kiss no no but first I'd like to say thank you guys for sticking around to this time in the video especially my patrons who helped keep the lights on in the shop and an extra special Thanks goes to my top tier or boilermaker patrons Stephen Mann Eric Weiss Derek Coates Chuck Faulkner Andy the Viking Todd Stewart Jason Ayers Reed means the Adirondack guy Tina Derek Steele and voltage that's right um it is uh it's actually the next day so it's in the morning and I'm having coffee so cheers all right guys we're gonna head to the Future and give you a little behind the scenes in Bristol Tennessee at Motorhead garage and it's my understanding that they are not going to air until probably February of next year roll that beautiful Bean footage so we got in last night we need some dinner um I watched a crappy movie um on MTV I went to sleep so nothing real eventful but I believe it's very hotel room tour the kids are like to see the hotel room so here's the bed here's where the magic happens my magic I mean sleep and then uh this is bathroom that's where the real magic happens travel food and uh and that's it so I'm gonna get some food bracky as uh as they would say in uh in Bluey and uh foreign all right and there we go so we do have like a little bit of charring right in here um probably because I should have used a different lens I should have probably used a little bit wider lens just because of the the cupping of the board all right so now this is ready for finish let's go do that I almost forgot the camera and the tripod and everything we're doing this outside we're just using a little bit of clear kids a little bit of clear we're just using a little bit of Minwax clear aerosol lacquer satin flavor all right guys what do you think I dig it if you want to see more laser goodness watch this video\n"