I casually spend a bit of time here and there on the web as well as social media. I recently started seeing this really cool Neon looking signage and thought it might be cool to make one of my own, so I set out to do some research. I located the LED strip lighting and power supply on Amazon and the rest was history! The first thing I did was decide the lucky recipient of my test project: my niece. She’s 12 years old and loves dancing and LED lights so I thought this was a perfect idea. Like most of my projects, this started as a drawing on the computer. Once I created the right script for the word “dance”, I had to calculate for the linear feet of LED lighting that would be needed. After that, I established a 1.00″ offset from the outside of the LED strip channel, which would ultimately contain the lights. Once I was satisfied with the drawing, I headed out to the shop to program the CNC machine. I prepared a sign blank that was approximately 23″ wide by 11″ high. I then laminated a piece of 1/8″ styrene to a 3/4″ piece of plywood. the sign blank was then fixed to the CNC table and the cutting began. This sign only had 2 different CNC operations and used a 1/4″ upcut spiral end mill for both operations. After the cutting, I did a little bit of sanding around the edges with 220 grit sandpaper. I then drilled 1/4″ holes for the wires that would connect the LED lighting to power. The sign was then painted with flat white Rustoleum spray paint. Then it was time for the REAL fun…..installing the LED lighting. I purchased the lights and power supply from Amazon. (Links below) Cutting the LED lighting strips to size wasn’t exactly the easiest and I actually wasted a few pieces getting it to fit the exactly the way I wanted. Once I got into a rhythm, I managed to solder the individual light strips together with success on the first try. Yayyy me! I sure hope she likes it!
ericfeld.com 