Coxie's Core Flute Merry Christmas Sign

talk2coxie

Full time elf
Joined
Dec 29, 2010
Messages
142
Location
Heathcote NSW
My Merry Christmas sign was made out of 5mm thick core flute with white lettering and black backing for each letter and for the frame to secure it to the roof I used 25mm PVC pipe, 25mm Tee pieces and 25mm Elbows.

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I needed the entire sign to be as light as possible to assist in getting it on and off the roof but it also needed to be strong enough to resist all weather conditions.

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I made each letter with the ability to be taken down off the roof as easily as possible should one or some of the RGB modules fail or need repair and I wanted each letter to be as modular as possible to allow this.

Letter "M - Module Photo # 1, Letter "M - Module Photo # 2

Each letter of the sign used a various number of 12 Volt Modules (depending on the size of each letter) which I cable tied onto pre-cut 5mm core flute backing pieces. I also used 3 channels for each letter allowing more flexibility with effects when sequencing.

I attached one of Ray’s four pin plugs to the first module of each letter which allow me to bring each section down off the roof should any repairs need to be made.

As for attaching to the whole element to the roof I made a frame out of 25mm PVC pipe which I cable tied to Nylon Mounts which were secured onto the roof tiles with silicon.
Frame Photo # 1, Frame Photo # 2, Frame Photo # 3,

The frame itself was made with storage in mind. I used pop rivets in the joins which could remain in but for hinged sections I just drilled small holes through the PVC and secured them with cable ties to prevent it falling apart while on the roof.

Frame Photo # 4, Frame Photo # 5, Frame Photo # 6, Frame Photo # 7,

Once off the roof the frame can then be folded up for easier storage taking up less space

Frame Photo # 8, Frame Photo # 9, Frame Photo # 10, Frame Photo # 11,

The video of how it looks in action is below

Untitled
 
Thanks heaps for all the info and photos on your sign.

How did you get the core flute letters to stay together?
 
Of course you already know I liked your letters in your display.
Very nice 'how to' Coxie. Thank you for sharing.
I bet we see a few spinoffs of your work for this year.
 
Nice idea with the folding pvc-pipes... Can see quite a few installations where that would work nicely :)
 
Very nice work Mark, a great effort and a great looking element for your display. Thanks for sharing and putting in the time to do a how to.
 
Bevo said:
Thanks heaps for all the info and photos on your sign.

How did you get the core flute letters to stay together?

A huge thank you must go to David Moore for posted his videos on how to make core flute items.

http://auschristmaslighting.com/forums/index.php/topic,925.msg7435.html#msg7435

There is no way I would've been able to come up with the idea little alone how to do it if it wasn't for the information Dave shared with our community.

I just changed the shape of his items into alphabet letters instead of element shapes and the video tutorials he has posted made it possible to create an effective cheap element.

Thanks a whole heap Dave :)
 
Great to see your Display through the day. i'm sure it was a lot of hard work but it has payed off big time. I look forward to your expansions next year,
 
joeengler said:
So I can get a idea of the size, what size are each letter?

Joe, each letter is 400mm in height and the "depth" is 50mm. Obviously the width varies depending on the letter shape.

smartalec said:
Has everyone forgot, there Led, so they dont blow, an therefore should never need repairing

Alec, the repairs I refer to has more to do with my soldering ability and experience (or the lack there of) and an added insurance should the dreaded water get into places it shouldn't :)
 
I absolutely love your Merry Christmas sign. So much so that I am going to attempt it for my 2012 show.
The biggest question I have is
"how did you join the coro at the corners of the letters to make it look so clean"?

The joining of the 50mm sides to the top of the letters is gorgeous.

Mike.
 
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