

Step 1: Gather Materials and Tools

Thank you for the inspiration! Made one for my manager.
<p>I made this sign for the principal and the fine ladies that keep everything running smoothly at the school where I teach.</p><p>Thank you Creative Man for the fine instructable. </p>
<p>Very nice, Kadajo! I bet they were thrilled!</p>
<p>What glue are you using to glue the paper/card board to the perspex?</p>
Any alternatives to the acrylic such as something that can be cut by a scissor?<br />
You can get the acrylic in thin sheets that might be cut&nbsp;by scissors.<br /> OR you can buy <strong>&quot;PAGE PROTECTORS&quot;</strong> (remember those plastic covers with a Black sheet of paper from school days?)&nbsp;&nbsp;in up to 8.5&quot; X 11 &quot; in most department stores, (Larger at Office Supply Stores) and they can be cut by scissors easily.<br /> Have fun.
Thanks. Ill check out office depot or a similar place. I also thought to use the clear &quot; projector paper&quot;.<br />
Well, not that I can think of.<br />
Cool....good job!
&nbsp;hello, how did you make your letters so smooth, i had trouble making them that smooth
Could you show a picture of your table saw?&nbsp; Surely not a WOOD&nbsp;saw - it seems that the acrylic would shatter????
Nope, just a standard, not top of the line table saw....I use a regular wood cutting carbide blade and it works very well.&nbsp; No shattering. Cman<br />
REALLY?&nbsp; I'm surprised about that... especially with 1/8 inch... but cool.&nbsp; I don't have a table top - but I&nbsp;do have a rotary saw (rip saw)&nbsp; What kind of blade do you use - if I&nbsp;may ask?&nbsp; I'm seriously intrigued by this...
Hey Creativeman, <br /> <br /> You've hit another home run here.&nbsp; I knew I shouldn't have retracted my previous marriage proposal to you!&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /> <br /> Do you have any suggestions for what I can do with old blueprint paper tubes?&nbsp;&nbsp; I get them from work - giant paper towel-type tubes 3 inches in diameter and 3-4 feet long.&nbsp; Any ideas are appreciated.&nbsp; <br /> <br /> Keep up the good work. <br />
Make Xtal Radios! <a href="http://www.midnightscience.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.midnightscience.com/</a>&nbsp;or <a href="http://www.vintageradio.me.uk/crystal/boys_book_xtal.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.vintageradio.me.uk/crystal/boys_book_xtal.htm</a>&nbsp;or donate them to Boy or Girl Scouts along with plans for Crystal radio sets to start the next generation in electronics or crafts.<br />
Thanks kathyh: re the old tubes:&nbsp; think of round things to make, desk organizers, pencil holders, art supplies, etc.&nbsp; cut them and let kids decorate them for the projects mentioned.&nbsp; I did a couple of cans with styrofoam mosaics as shown....good for holding pens, pencils, etc.&nbsp; Cman<br />
The lIghted boxes are MARVELOUS --&nbsp; I'm excited to try one.<br /> <br /> Now, I'm looking at the pics of what you called &quot; styrofoam mosaics&quot;.&nbsp; <br /> What part is styrofoam?&nbsp; The tiles?&nbsp; If so, what did you grout them with.&nbsp; Looked for a link to another Instructable . . .&nbsp; Looking for GOOD kid projects and this is a dandy.<br />
Thanks morrisonarts. I decided to go ahead and make an instructable for the styrofoam mosaics... see: &quot;Can Art: A way to Recycle some Tin Cans.&quot; Hope this helps. Cman<br />
Ah..a Very nice way to save money then using neon lights in a a store. But, will this be more power efficient as a neon store light?&nbsp;Would It be as noticeable? Nice ible. 5*<br />
<strong>Neon Transformer</strong> about 120 Watts<br /> <strong>Standard Christmas</strong> lights about 15 - 25 Watts.<br /> <strong>LED&nbsp;Christmas lights</strong> about 5 Watts.<br /> <em><strong>You</strong></em> do the math.<br /> <strong>Attention grabbing</strong>, add a flasher bulb to regular Christmas lights or an electronic on off timer to LED&nbsp;Christmas lights and they will draw attention.<br /> <strong>OR&nbsp;better yet</strong> add a <strong>sound controlled </strong>on off&nbsp; for variable timing to local sound or music.
Very very nice!
Thanks, wenpherd. Cman<br />
DUDE&nbsp;this rocks. Its simple and effective. I love how you went with the Christmas lights as they are cheap and abundant. Nice work man. YOu are creative man. :&nbsp;)<br />
Thank you. Cman<br />
<style type="text/css"><![CDATA[p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0.0cm; font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Arial; } p.MsoBodyText, li.MsoBodyText, div.MsoBodyText { margin-top: 0.0cm; margin-right: 0.0cm; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0.0cm; font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Arial; } div.Section1 { page: Section1; } ]]></style> <p class="MsoBodyText">This looks like fun! :)<br /> <br /> Would it be better to use LED lights rather than incandescent ones, by the way, to stop the heat build-up?<br /> <br /> I know you say that they are &quot;low heat lights&quot;, but I would have thought these incandescent lights can still give out enough heat to significantly warm a sealed enclosure, causing early failure or damage? Or maybe that can be solved with some ventilation holes?</p>
It is fun!&nbsp; You have a point with the leds, seems they are the rage now. However, they are quite a bit more expensive, how much light do they throw? and as for the heat issue;&nbsp; I have watched them carefully for a few weeks now, and leaving them on for several hours at a time has not caused that &quot;heat buildup.&quot;&nbsp; Warm, but no where near combustible temps....I would caution anyone to NOT plan on leaving them on,unattended, or when you go to sleep!&nbsp; Cman<br />
<style type="text/css"><![CDATA[p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0.0cm; font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Arial; } p.MsoBodyText, li.MsoBodyText, div.MsoBodyText { margin-top: 0.0cm; margin-right: 0.0cm; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0.0cm; font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Arial; } div.Section1 { page: Section1; } ]]></style> <p class="MsoBodyText">Yes, some of the LED lights are a bit more pricey, but they seem to be coming down in price all of the time. Maybe some day they will be as cheap as the incandescent type. The light they give out may be an issue, as you mention. I'm not sure if they generally give out as much light as standard incandescent bulbs - I suppose that varies with the kind you buy.</p> &nbsp; <p class="MsoBodyText">Another issue with LEDs is that the plastic packages around the light emitting parts often focus the light into a thinner beam than normal bulbs, which throw out light in all directions (unless they have the &quot;cloudy&quot; type of package). It might be necessary to site them a bit further back from the sign or use a piece of &quot;frosted&quot; plastic sheet or similar to diffuse the light, to avoid bright spots of light from being thrown onto the back of the sign, unless that kind of look is what people are after!</p> &nbsp; <p class="MsoBodyText">LEDs should have the advantage of being more energy efficient for the same light output, though, assuming the transformer that they're supplied with is an efficient one, of course.</p>
mm so easy n' cheap it gives a &quot;highlight&quot; look to any inner space ; )&nbsp;<br />
I'm going to make one of these for my studio window that I haven't been able to do anything with.&nbsp; Awesome instructable!&nbsp;:)<br />
Thanks for the comment, bw...may we see a picture when complete? Cman<br />
absolutely :)<br />
Funny you should mention it, i.e., &quot;studio window&quot;..I just completed this new sign yesterday. Cman<br />
oooh!&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; i love it :)<br />
Or maybe at the Capital cities ? <div id="refHTML">&nbsp;</div>
Sure,&nbsp; and maybe tiny start shapes or diamond shapes &diams; for Capitals, and make it a &quot;teachable moment&quot;&nbsp; ;-)&nbsp;
Haha, I was just thinking it would be a cool nightlight :)<br />
That it would be :-)&nbsp; <div id="refHTML">&nbsp;</div>
Thanks, potential there. Cman<br />

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