Monday, May 13, 2019

The Indian Motorcycle Logo Sign Project Part One

Way back when I started this blog I put out a post about something I had created in Blender 3D software.  It was of the Indian motorcycle logo sign. I thought after all these years that now was the time to actually make the sign I only dreamt about all those years ago.

This is a copy of the image that I had used to make my Blender 3D creation way back in 2011.  I wanted to make a very large sign at the time but never got around to either finding the time or the money or the space to build it or display it properly.  So I settled for the Blender 3D version.


Here is my Blender version of the sign and I am still very proud of what I created.  It would make an impressive sign in chrome plated steel on a wooden base as you see here but it probably would be very difficult to make as well as expensive on top of it all.  I simply do not have that type of talent when it comes to shaping metal so I never attempted to make it this way.  


With this project in mind I recreated the sign as you see it here using Fusion 360 CAD software. Instead of chrome plated steel I thought I would try and make the sign smaller and the intricate parts by 3D printing them on my 3D printer.  The sign would be 16.5" x 8.5".  I would make it bigger but my 3D printer would not be able to make the Indian head perimeter that large.  As you can see from the image above the perimeter is all one piece so that is the issue with making it on my 3D printer.

In the image above I used a wooden base which looks very nice and being smaller in size would not be a big issue with trying to hang I on a wall when it is completed.  It will be easy enough to cut a piece of wood to that size and varnish it.  The real trick is how to attach all of the pieces to make up the sign once the wood has been cut and how to locate all the piece in the correct orientation that you see in the image.  Something that I will have to work out further before I actually start making parts. 


I also thought about having a gloss black base instead of a wooden one.  But after comparing the two images that I have here I am leaning more toward the wooden display due to cost as well as the over all look of the sign.  I think the wood looks a bit warmer than the all gloss black display.  Both have their merits so it is something else that I will have to consider further on this project. 


I did manage to track down some very nice gloss brass colored paint today.  I took one of my reject parts from another project and painted it to see how it would turn out.  As you can see from the photo above it sure looks like brass to me.  So to paint all of the parts for the sign with this paint has got my vote to continue on with this project so far.  

All of the parts for the sign would be sanded smooth so that the finish would be even better than the un-sanded part that you see above.  In the mean time I will start tracking down the wood that I want to possibly use for sign as well as the gloss black acrylic.   The plus side to the acrylic base it that there is no need to sand or varnish this part for the sign.  It would save time but not sure if it will keep the cost down just yet.  Will have to do my homework on all of this before I decide my next plan of attack for this project.  So far it looks promising though just the same.  Stay tuned for more on this project in the coming weeks. 

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