Just like Santa’s elves, we have been working furiously to finish up carving and painting this project in time for the Christmas services at Community Congregational Church in Short Hills, NJ. Like the other custom carved signs this one features raised prismatic letters and a custom decorative frame over a lightly textured background all carved out of durable PVC. This carved sign was particularly challenging because of how thin it needed to be in or to avoid casting dramatic shadows from the LED lights above.
National Blue Ribbon School Plaque- Time Lapse
Just click on the play arrow in the thumbnail above to see our YouTube time lapse video showing the progress of the Swampscott High School National Blue Ribbon Plaque
Base Coats
The next couple of days we will be just be applying layer after layer of white primer and then a white base coat.
Fine Tuning
After almost 24hrs of machining, the plaque is now read for some fine tuning with hand tools. like carving tools, small rasps, sandpaper and knives.
The Fun Part
I have owned CNC routers for over 15 years and I never get bored of watching them work. There is a very powerful vacuum that hold the material down onto the table, another powerful vacuum that sucks up the dust but the main attraction is the two ton welded steel 3 axis router that can carve foam like this between 200-400in/min. We start with a 3/8” bit roughing pass the hogs out the majority of the material, clearing the way for the delicate 1/8” bit that carves in all the fine details. Its an amazing thing to witness if you ever get the chance.
