Lighted Sign – Portal Games Logo


One of my jobs is working for the Polish board game publisher, Portal Games. Recently, we decided to change our logo and I thought it was a great time to build something special for the CEOs office.

It starts with a piece of particle board, some poplar, a few LEDs, and a piece of plexiglass. I cut out most of the audio from this video because of the length… so if you want to know more, keep reading!

 

routing-logo

I first traced the logo in Inkscape. I have a video about that here. Once printed, and spray mounted to the particle board, I used a router to cut out the center. I’m using shelf liner here to keep the piece in place. This ensures that when the center breaks free from the cutting, it won’t shift into the router and destroy itself.

I’m using a router because I don’t own a scroll saw and jigsaws just mangle particle board. Also, the two “circles” in the center of the logo aren’t actually round, so the inaccuracy of this method is fine.

primer

20160130_130416

After adding a back frame, and a ton of sanding, the piece was panted. I cut a piece of plexiglass to fit in the center. This plexiglass was sanded on one side to take advantage of internal reflection. I then painted it white to keep it opaque.

I added a slot for a toggle switch and glued in a string of 20 LEDs.

lights

With careful prep and a good primer coat, no clear was needed. Shiny!

20160130_194409

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.