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Here is a run down
of each of your trim pieces along
with a cut out list for all the
trim pieces only of our build;
(4)7 1/2"
x 17 1/4" (A)
(4) 7 1/2 x 18" (B)
(4) 3 5/8" x 18" (C)
(4) 3 5/8" x 18 3/4" (D)
(2) 16 1/2" X 80" (FRONT E)
(2) 7 1/2" x 18" (F)
(2) 3 5/8" x 19 1/2" (G)
---------------------
(4) 15" x 17 1/4" (BASE A)
(2) 15" X 18" (BASE F)
(4) 14 1/4" X 18" (BASE C)
(2) 14 1/4" X 19 1/2" (BASE FRONT
G)
-----------------
(4) 2 1/4" X 3 1/4" (H & L)
(4) 4" X 4" (I & M)
(2) 2 1/4" X 16 1/2" (J)
(2) 4" X 18" (K)
Apply each piece of
trim with plenty of glue and
permanently attach. Next we will
hang the doors inside the openings
of the backs using continuous piano
hinges, 3/4" x 3/4". You can add a
magnetic lock to each door to keep
it closed or use cam locks like I
did so there was no chance that a
TOT was able to go around to the
back and open the doors during use.
Now we will move on to the sign.
For this I chose to use 3/4" flake
board again, as it is so easy to
work with and light weight. In this
blueprint you will see that I have
laid out a grid on 6" wide by 2"
high stop sets, beginning with 3"
off the bottom up to 23" high, cut
out of a 96" sheet. If you measure
out and mark each point where the
lines meet and then connect the
dots, you can easily smooth out the
curve to a radius that looks
perfect to the eye. I used a jig
saw to cut mine out which is the
easiest tool to use here. You can
add a 1" wide piece of trim to the
top and bottom edges of this sign
to give it a little more zing. Just
attach it with 2" drywall screws
every 8" and it will bend to the
radius very easily.
Here is a shot of the rough build
completed. One thing that will be
obvious here is that I added angled
footings underneath my columns to
match the slope of the driveway in
front of my garage. I made them
removable as a separate part to the
build and it is a good thing too,
since I had to remove them 2 years
later when I moved to a new place.
If you want to add an additional
bottom "platform" piece to yours as
is shown below my angled additions,
just cut two pieces of the flake
board at 19 1/2" x 21" to give a
3/4" footing to the sides and the
front. You will also notice small
light shields at the top of each of
these columns, as I underestimated
the size they would need to be to
fully block the view of the bulbs
which is just tacky. Something else
that may be apparent and that is I
rounded all the exposed edges to
give it more of a crafted look and
most importantly to make it
durable. Square edges are just
asking to get dinged up with use.
Build time will vary based on your
space and tools, but this took
about 4 hours to get to this point,
not including the installation of
the expansion chamber.
Next I installed the plumbing, or
ducting system for the fog. Once
again, this is the old Ice Vac
system I was working on many years
ago that would draw the fog from
the fog machine which was using a
venturi system at the nozzle and
then using a small vacuum cleaner
slowed down to a very slow speed,
would push the fog up through the
duct work. This system worked, but
just barely. The new system
outlined at the start of our how to
works about 5 times as effectively,
with no moving parts or need for
electrical power. I will post the
photos of the new arrangement as
soon as I get the opportunity. For
now we will use this photo to show
how I have broken the incoming fog
into two lines and have adjustable
valves on each, since without it,
the first gargoyle closest to the
fog machine would get almost no fog
 at
all. At the top of the right duct,
just above the valve you can just
make out the quick connector that
is used to clamp on tightly to the
flexible fog hose coming out of the
bottom of the gargoyle and through
the top of the column. This makes
it a snap to take the gargoyles
down for storage each year. In the
blueprint here you can see the that
the 1" PVC fog duct travels out the
back of this column, through a hole
in the sign and then across the
back of the sign to get to the
other column. You will need these
same quick connectors on each end
of the sign to make it's removal
and replacement possible. Of course
the pipe lengths connected with 45
degree angles are permanently
attached to the back of the sign
itself, which is then attached to
each column with about six 1 1/2"
drywall screws each end.
We
will move on now to the painting
stage. For
 mine
I chose to do a faux marble type of
look and painted the entire
assembly with black paint (acrylic
or latex to really seal off of the
 elements
well in case of rain). Next I used
a sea sponge to apply shadowy
outlines of the veins with a
thinned-down light green color. At
the paint department of the local
Home Depot or the like you
 will
find a thinning agent or glaze such
as the
FolkArt Wash Medium that will
give your paint almost a
translucent appearance without
making it too watery to work with.
After the cloudy shadows were
applied the veins were applied with
a
 very
small, round tip brush using the
lighter colored green that I had
used for the clouding, but with a
lot less of the glazing for
thinning, as I want the veins to be
pronounced against the background.
You will still want to thin it down
some so it isn't just stark. Apply
the veins with the brush pushing
against the bristles instead of
with normal painting strokes. This
causes the paint to flair out in
sharp pointed areas as you go,
looking more like veins going off
 of
veins. Then immediately go over the veins while still wet with a large
goose feather and flick at the
paint from side to side. This
causes even more veining to occur. |
