“College works for many, many students — just ask your physician! But the truth is that students are not one size-fits-all. College is not the predetermined path from cradle to career that we think it is. We coddle and coerce, we tutor and talk, we insist on the square peg fitting snugly in the round hole.”

Shop is Not a Four-Letter Word | Edutopia

Step one was to get the official Baylor logo in digital format. The “BAYLOR” logo (aka “wordmark”) and symbol (“logo”) are both custom-designed by Baylor’s marketing department so I couldn’t just print out any old font. It had to be the exact “BAYLOR” that nobody else owns. The spacing between the letters is also critical as it’s part of the overall registered trademark. Once I had this file I took it to Kinkos and paid $65 for them to print it out on their large format printer. It’s pretty cool that you can get just about anything printed out in any size. Good to know for future projects.

Here’s a pic of the symbol and wordmark before I cut them up. I had to measure the spaces between the letters to reproduce them exactly once the thing was built. The overall length of the whole thing is about 23 feet!

The next step was to carefully cut out the letters and logo with an X-acto blade. I cut them just slightly proud of the design since I would then be fixing them to pieces of MDF with spray adhesive and then carefully sanding the MDF to the exact outlines of the pattern. These MDF pieces became my templates for making all of the letters and parts of the Symbol:

Yeah, my 42 year old eyes can’t focus that closely any more with my glasses on. I suppose there are bifocals in my future.

Detail work!

Here’s the symbol once I attached it to my MDF template and carefully cut to the line. For the symbol I ended up having to remove the archway and side supports so I could sand the edges of the building. Later when I attached the building layer to the background I had to sand and fill the cut with body filler. It’s an invisible join, even up close.

A little bit of mineral spirits and the paper template comes right off.

Next I cut out the paper silhouette, stuck it to some 3/4″ plywood, and used my scroll saw to remove the outline. I did the same thing with the numbers (you can see the holes I created there). I’ll eventually make a stack of the background layer, building layer, silhouette layer, and numbers. A nice 3D look.

I made the template for the letters in exactly the same way. Cut out the paper template 1/32″ oversize, attached it to a slab of MDF, cut and sanded the MDF to final shape, then removed the paper with mineral spirits. I did this will all six letters until I had a perfect example of each. Why? (I mean Y?)

Pirates!

What the “L”?

Oh!

And there was much rejoicing “LAAA!”

In the picture above you can see the almost completed “L”. I didn’t get a picture of this next part of the process, but what I did was take the perfect MDF letter templates and use them as a pattern to make the 12 layers that comprised each letter. With 12 layers of 3/4″ thick plywood I was able to construct a 9″ thick letter. Basically I would lay the MDF letter onto a piece of plywood and trace it out, trying to fit as many of each 30″ tall letter as possible onto a 4×8 sheet. I ended up using almost 30 sheets of plywood for the whole job (that’s a grand in plywood, btw). The I would rough cut out each plywood letter, screw the template onto the rough letter, and then use a pattern maker’s bit to follow the template and thus cut an exact copy of each letter. Any imperfections in the pattern got translated to subsequent layers so I had to be really particular with the master pattern letters. Some errors still crept in but I corrected those later. Here’s a pattern bit so you can get an idea how it works (I didn’t get pics):

All told I had to cut out 72 different letters. It looked like an explosion on Sesame Street (minus the muppet body parts).

I then glued the layers together to make each chunky, 9″ thick letter. Then I had to sand each letter to get rid of any imperfections. If there was even a slight error in my template this error would be transmitted through the stack and you’d see a groove or dip all the way along one edge. My next step was to coat the outside of each letter with a layer of super sandable Bondo. It’s called Rage Gold and is used by the aftermarket auto body guys to make cool shapes in their cars, construct custom dashboards and radio inserts, etc. I used about 1.5 gallons of the stuff. I’d scoop some out, mix it with the hardener, then quickly (it begins hardening within about 90 seconds) spread it on the plywood edges of the letters. I spread it on thick to cover imperfections and to try and fill in the rough edges of the plywood. Once it dried I went back over it and sanded away probably 95%, leaving a glassy smooth surface. My entire shop was covered with blue-green-pink dust from the stuff. It’s nasty (but I wore my breathing ventilator).

The next step was to give each letter a coat of primer in prep for the base coat of paint. I didn’t want to use a brush or roller since the fast dry times caused by the 112 degree summer heat would mean horrible brush marks, so I purchased a paint sprayer from Lowes. Brilliant decision as it made the final finish so much better. Unfortunately, I only had room on my paint table for one letter at a time- and I gave each letter three coats of primer! I ended up sitting in my garage all day long with my laptop literally watching paint dry. Every 30 minutes I’d get up and give a letter another coat of primer until all the letters were done. A sweaty, hot, boring day.

Paint station (my neighbors love me)

Spraying the R

What I actually did most of the day

Finished letters

Unfinished letters:

Incidentally, the symbol that’s hiding behind the O in the above picture started out as a solid 9″ hunk of plywood, but it weighed well over 100lbs! So I had to cut each layer into a hollow donut then cap the front and back with solid pieces to make it manageable. It still weighs about 40lbs. The neighbor’s kids came over and we signed the inside before closing it up (hi neighbors!).

Next I gave each letter a coat of Official Baylor Green (helpfully supplied by Home Depot and Glidden- they have the contract for official college colors, thank goodness). I had to build a makeshift paint spray booth in my shop out of leftover plywood (cut into strips) and plastic from HD. You can see in the pic that I had some overspray onto my shop floor. Whoops. Time to ask the neighbor if I can borrow his pressure washer. It took me four days to paint the letters starting around 7am every day (one coat every four hours) and ending right around sunset. Three coats per letter:

Finished letters. Time was very short (remember that three week deadline?) so I didn’t paint the backs of the letters. No big deal as they won’t be seen from the back anyway. The flash catches the plywood layers here but in person it’s much more subtle.

Next I taped off the symbol and gave it a spray of green (the building will be painted yellow later). The nooks and crannies of the building (Pat Neff if you’re a BU grad) were particularly difficult to tape around:

After the green dried (and one day from deadline) I hand painted the details of the yellow building where it met the green background using a magnifying glass and a lot of patience. I wish I’d waited until it was painted to attach the yellow building to the background but for various reasons this was the best way to do it. Still, it was a pain in the backside, taking several hours to do a single coat, then going back over and correcting mistakes with green paint after the yellow dried. I gave the yellow layer three coats as well.

The yellow layer is done!

My eyes hurt.

Finally (and literally the morning I drove it up to Waco) I applied the silhouette and numbers, then filled in the micro nail holes with putty and a touch of paint.

Finished!

Here it is in front of the house, all set up:

Yes, I got weird looks from drivers, but that’s half the fun!

An hour later I had loaded it up in my (well padded) Tacoma bed and trucked it up to Waco for delivery. Here it is in the Ferrell Center waiting for its public unveiling… which I never saw because I was told the wrong time! Oh well.

But someone was kind enough to send a few pics of it on the stage. Hopefully I’ll see it all set up in person someday.

So that’s the story of how it took me 50 hours to construct Baylor University’s official new corporate logo prop. I’m extremely proud of it and feel honored to have gotten the job. Hope you enjoyed this little how-to in case you want your very own giant collegiate logo. Just don’t do THECOLLEGEOFWILLIAMANDMARY. It’d take forever.

I suppose I can finally spill the beans here since I haven’t been asked to keep it a secret. I’m not under NDA and the thing gets revealed this weekend: four weeks ago Baylor University asked me to build their new corporate logo prop. This is an extremely prestigious thing to be asked to build since it’s the prop that is replacing the 30 year old prop in public assemblies. It’ll be put onstage behind dignitaries, presidents, and other guests. It’s a 19′ long version of this:

Each letter stands about 30″ tall and all parts are 9″ thick. The second pic above shows the BAYLOR letters in a box, but in reality they’re independently built 3d letters. It’s fun to spell out crazy stuff by scrambling the giant letters. My neighbors just drive by and look confused. “Who is RAY LOB?” I just wish they spelled out JOHN GALT.

Anyway, I constructed the letters by painstakingly cutting 12 identical copies of each letter out of 3/4″ plywood and then gluing them together into a giant plywood sandwich. In total, I cut 72 letters and 12 layers on the symbol. I went through about 25 sheets of 3/4″ ply and 4 sheets of MDF (the top letter was also my MDF template for each following letter in the sandwich). I had to then hollow out the symbol so it didn’t weigh a ton. It’s a 9″ block of plywood after all and if I hadn’t hollowed it out it would have probably weighed 200+ pounds! As it is it’s about 40-50- bulky but moveable.

I needed to paint the letters the official Baylor Green and the symbol Baylor Green and Gold (the pic above has the letters in white but they’re going to be green to match the official logo). Luckily, Home Depot has a partnership with Glidden and Glidden paints have licensing deals with all of the pro and college sports teams across the U.S. (except for, oddly, U.T. which has a copyright on their specific burnt orange color). I visited HD yesterday and picked up a gallon of official Baylor Green and a quart of Baylor Yellow. But how to put them on? I wanted a better finish than a roller or a brush would provide. I’m really happy with the build but wanted the finish to be as perfect as possible.

So after a lot of research I decided to buy a professional paint sprayer. Those of you who read this and know my propensity for equipping my shop will now be rolling your eyes and saying “of course he bought a professional paint sprayer”. Well, the pay for the prop was easily enough to cover a few tools (and then some), so I just considered the new Graco Project Painter Plus sprayer the cost of doing business. In the past whenever I’ve had a commission I’ve rolled a percentage of the money back into tools for the shop so that I’ll have more capability for the next job. I’m pretty well outfitted now (okay, I did have to buy a $40 router bit for the letters), but a good quality airless sprayer wasn’t in my arsenal yet. It is now. Airless sprayers really deliver a good coat but you have to be careful. They pour out a lot of paint (you can stand and watch the level in the paint can drop when you hold the trigger). Getting a smooth coat with no runs takes some technique.

So last saturday I spent the day spraying coats of primer onto the letters and figuring out (unsuccessfully sometimes) how to avoid runs. I think I finally got it- lots of very light coats with a long wait time between each. As my friend Giles says, I’ve got more time than chances to get it right. So I wait. For the next four days I’ll be spraying two letters at a time in Baylor Green in my backyard with a four hour waiting period between coats (3 coats). I’ll have to babysit the letters for an hour to make sure no birds land on them, then after that the paint is dry to the touch with a 4 hour recoat time. I’ll hand-detail the yellow part of the symbol with a brush and small roller. I’d use my airbrush but I you can’t thin latex down enough to work in an airbrush.

It’s very stressful being at this stage as I’ve already spent about 40 hours building the rest of the prop, and if I screw up the finish by allowing the paint to run or letting the finish be marred by falling leaves or bird footprints then that’s all the client will notice. I really need a dedicated finishing room, but for now I’ll have to make do with a couple tables in the backyard and lots of praying for no wind.
I’m a perfectionist in an imperfect world.

I’ll take pics and do a step-by-step of the process after I deliver it to Baylor on Friday. If you happen to be at an event at good ol’ B.U. and see the giant BAYLOR on stage with the school symbol, you’ll know where it came from. Sic ‘em Bears!

Last year I purchased a rather large sample upgrade to my sound library. It was a significant investment and it’s paid dividends in much better sounding work. However, the brass sounds still were not up to par yet. So a few days ago I upgraded my brass sounds and ho-lee-cow, what a difference. The portamento french horn alone was worth the upgrade cost. I’m working on a rather huge orchestral project right now and the new brass sounds are getting a workout. Check out this example:

Brass Example.mp3

Keep in mind that there isn’t a bit of “live” orchestra in there. It’s all midi triggered samples. Based on the strength of these demos, as well as my experience with the sample library from the past year, I went ahead and bought the brass library.

It’s wonderful. The horn makes you weep, the trumpets are declamatory, and the low brass is big and bombastic the way low brass should be, without a hint of “midi-ness” that often accompanies these libraries sometimes. The problem? Now my strings sound mushy by comparison.

The company has issued a single “orchestra-wide” sample set, which I purchased last year, and which is very good. But then they’ve gone in and started focussing on each of the individual sections (strings, brass, woodwinds, perc, etc) and started issuing whole libraries of just these sections, with much more depth and realism to their sound sets. I have the new brass set, but, like the new cherry cabinets, the spectacularness of the new sounds is making me crave the Wolf fridge… I mean the string sounds:

String Example.mp3

So now I’m listening to the online examples and thinking well, with this job I could easily pay for them… and they make my stuff sound so much better.

Curse you, cherry cabinets.

The real essence of writing is moving past fear and that success comes when you get to that place where you push past the demons and go ahead with what you ought to be doing.

Katherine Coble

They want to replace the 30 year old big round official logo that hangs in Waco Hall with the new updated logo design. They’ve got the design done and now I have to realize it as a real-world object for all the world to see.

Pretty amazingly cool that I get to do such a prestigious prop. Guess they heard that I build stuff.

I also got a new door sweep and Erin and I spent about an hour unscrewing the door and removing it from the house so we could install the new sweep with the door up on sawhorses. No big deal but it was weird to not have a door for a while. When it was back on I discovered that my 100% seal is actually about 99% now. The new sweep doesn’t quite cover everything and you can see a small crack of light at the bottom of the door that’s about 1/4″ by 5″ long. So I went and got a small piece of metal with a rubber sweep that attaches to the inside of the door and acts as a secondary seal. I’ll have to drill some small holes in the metal door when I install it tomorrow, but then we should finally have full weather tight-ness.

Home repair can be frustrating (as it was when I stripped a screw in the transom, then broke off my screw removal tool trying to get it out!), but overall I’m happy with the repair. Sure was a lot cheaper than a new door ($40 vs $600).

Final coat of paint tomorrow and it’s all done.

It was really bugging me so tonight I got out the hammer, crowbar, and sundry other tools and went to work. I tore the whole trim board off and chipped/dug/carved/cut out a chunk of rotten board about 15″ tall all the way back to the in-wall studs. What a mess. Over the next few hours I fashioned a replacement piece from some hard maple that I had lying around out in the shop- a really nice wood to use, granted, but it was all that I had that was close to the dimensions I needed and I didn’t want to use pine and then have the same thing happen in a few years. I then went to Home Depot and got new weatherstripping, caulk, and a few other things.

We now have a nice new door frame on that side that is done properly. Since it’s a patch you can see where the joint is since the new wood buts up against the old stuff but once it’s caulked and painted it’ll be almost unnoticeable. I’m glad that it wasn’t very hard or expensive. It cost me less than $20 and a few hours with my tools to carve out the replacement pieces. When you consider the fact that a new door would have been over $600, I think it’s a win all around. I’ll caulk and paint it over the next few days. We’re good for another decade.

It made me feel really good to fix what was would have been a fairly expensive and involved repair if I’d have called a handyman or gotten a new door installed.

It’s good to be able to fix things.