Chicago Blackhawk Backlit LED Sign

Those who know me best claim that my side projects always revolve around cars. My latest certainly does not! Since the Chicago Blackhawks are a vey well-liked hockey team here in the Chicago area, it was only fitting that I show some pride for my home team….even though I’ll always stay true to my beloved team, Ferrari. What we’ve got here is a 24″ x 24″ x 2.25″ backlit wall sign featuring the infamous Chicago Blackhawks logo. A grand total of 201 cool white LEDs illuminate this sign using a single 12V power supply and it weights just shy of 20 lbs. The main shell of the sign and the removable back panel are both made of ½” plywood. Black paint is regular spray paint from Home Depot and the front face is gloss black RPET. The actual Blackhawk colored graphic is printed on backlight film and protected with a clear PVC over lam. This one is the first of three that I’m making, so hopefully they get a little bit easier by the third one! HA! Check out the progress pics below as well as a couple finals of the project. Enjoy!

 

 

LED Displays and Napkin Holders

I was recently approached by Werner Co to build some custom tabletop and napkin holder displays for a PR event at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. They were hosting a private party after the STAFDA show and needed some brand awareness at the party. Since the environment would be rather dark, it was decided that we would illuminate the displays. However, we couldn’t build anything that needed to be plugged into an outlet, so it would have to be powered by battery. The event would last approximately 4-6 hours, so the batteries would have to last the duration of the event. Initially, I contemplated creating each tabletop display base out of wood, but after crunching some numbers, I decided it was best to cast them using resin. That would require building a flawless form for the base so that each base would be identical.All the acrylic panels would have company branding etched into them, so I needed to decide whether they would be cut with CNC or etched using sandblast techniques. I opted for sandblast since I was on a tight deadline.

LED Design

I have always enjoyed working with lights, especially LED lighting. Working with LED lighting allows me to take some projects to the next level by incorporating the compact power of an LED light. This is a small sample of LED displays that I have created in the past.

LED Reindeer Shadowbox

I was feeling a bit festive the other day and came up with this idea, being that it’s soooo close to Christmas. We had some relatives coming for Thanksgiving dinner, so I thought I would make something that might catch their eye as they walked in the door. Afterall, everything is better when illuminated with LEDs, right? I don’t have many pics of the progress on this project because it was done in such a hurry. The frame is 1/2″ MDF trimmed with standard window trim. The reindeer and town silhouette are cut with CNC from 1/4″ luan plywood. They are mounted on 3/4″ dowels using hot glue. The background is 1/2″ plywood laminated with styrene. The 5 LEDs (4 blue, 1 red) are powered by a single 9 volt battery. The entire shadowbox measures 31″long by 11″ high by 4″ deep. Take a look at the gallery below!

LED Floor Inlay

It was early May of 2008 and it all started out as a simple remodel of my dad’s office. Gut the walls down to the studs. Replace all the old electrical wires with updated code-worthy wires and boxes. Install new leak-proof windows and a new 3/4″ red oak hardwood floor. The room wasn’t that big…..only 14′ by 26′. My dad is an accomplished woodworker and was happy with the way things were turning out. However….my brother and I didn’t quite see it that way. After looking at the progress one night, we decided it needed something more. Wouldn’t it be cool, we thought, if there were Continue reading “LED Floor Inlay”

Ferrari Dino Display

This was a project that I did for the then-director of the Ferrari Club of America. I was approached by another member to showcase his 1971 Dino 246 GT in a special display case for his office. The display was to be kept simple and we needed to use images taken from the most recent club program; the last program he would be apart of since he was retiring. So other than the images, we needed a car to display. Pretty simple, right? Not exactly……I was counting on Continue reading “Ferrari Dino Display”