" Rue "  Original sketch by Ronny Mac, AKA Ruen.

Finished wood cut 3D graffiti object.

My first thought for a really cool thing to make on the machine was 3D graffiti.   I borrowed a sketch from my friend Ronny Mac's sketch book and modelled it in 3D.  This is a preview render of the 3D object.   After a few iterations it was ready for creating the cutting code.

To make the stock material I jointered and glued up some spruce 2x4s.  Here's the glued up stock block sitting on the machine ready to be planed down to the finished thickness of 3"

Then we cut a roughing pass to clear out the bulk of the unwanted material.  Next is the much slower finishing cut.

Oops.  
The machine started removing way more material that it should be, so we had to stop the cut and investigate.  Turned out that the stepper controller we had on the Z axis was defective, there was a known issue with it.  Too bad we didn't know before this cut.   Oh well,  the stepper driver was replaced and the cut was continued.  After a little time and care with a dremel the error was all but erased.

Here is the complete piece, after a few hours of cnc cut time.  many hours of sanding, and a light wipe-on polyurethane protectant.  the final piece is 30" by 22".

We have an onsite 24" sawmill that we used to cut the boards from the logs.  The boards were then air dried at the sawmill for about 12 months.  

In this image the raw planks are awaiting selection.   We picked the pieces for the LUX letters that had the most interesting figuring and grain shapes and patterns.  The boards were cut to size and planed down to a uniform thickness using a standard 14" tablemount planer.

After planing and jointering, we glued up the pieces for each letter and clamped them for a few days.  

This glue-up will become the face of the "U".

After the glue-up panel comes out of the clamps, we use the CNC machine to plane both sides of the new panel to ensure perfectly flat pieces to work with.

Here we see the 4 portions of the "X" being cut out on the CNC table.

Sanding the "L" 

All the letter pieces were sanded up to 400-grit.  

Here the "L" is all ready for sealing.

We used a lot of thin coats of a polyurethane based danish oil to finish this one. 

After the many coats were applied to the letters, I sanded them down through the various grits, all the way up to a wet 4000-grit foam pad, and lastly, a creme based cut polish.

The letters in their final installation.  We love the juxtaposition of the natural wood surface and the almost "neon" glow of the LED lights.  The colour reflections off the high gloss finish really stands out when viewed in person!


The lighting and the backplate was manufactured and installed by Paxton Downard at Pushkar Props Services inc.

The VanderWoude sign was a great project.

The sign itself is 56" x 44"

The client wanted a sign for their family farm that captured the feel of the property and their view across their fields to Mount Baker.  We met with them in early September and started the design process.

We started with a few thumbnail sketches of potential shapes and layout ideas.

They wanted the sign to sit inside an arbour that matched the one they already had near the house.  

After a few iterations we all settled on this one being the best.  From concept, through 3D development, to the machine, and finally installed on their property  all took about a month.

The cutting process started by saw-milling the 6" rough cedar posts in half to get our 3" thick stock pieces.  Those were jointered, glued up together and after a few days to cure, ready for the machine.   

Here we have cut the first facing pass for what will be the faces of the topmost layer, everything that will be white.  The letters and mount baker.

The roughing passes on all 3 depth layers.

And finally with all CNC milling complete, the sign is cut free from the stock material, sanded and ready for staining.

Using vegetable based aniline dye for the dark and Saman brand vegetable stain for the white, all sealed behind several coats of Defthane to protect it from sun and rain.  With staining complete, we're ready for onsite installation.

We are a family run design and wood crafting team that is able to bring your ideas from a dream to a reality that you can see, touch and admire for years to come.

We offer a wide range of wood milling services as well as a large bed CNC router which can plan slabs and create elaborate 3D carvings.