Lettering and Signs
For the past few years Ossett Mouldings Limited
have made several examples of signs incorporating lettering and other
graphic elements. I've gathered together some examples of this type of
work.
Exterior signs in cement based products, (GRC, Sand & Cement). Interior
signs in fibre glass or plaster based products, (GRG or Fibrous
plaster). Some with raised, some with incised lettering. There is a fair
variety of work depicted here. Some more will be added in 2008 when
current projects are completed.
Lambert Street - SHEFFIELD
Here
is some replicate signage we completed in 2007. Five signs altogether,
generally 11.5 metres in length. Two were replaced entirely - those
really were beyond any hope of retrieval or repair, in fact the wall
behind was, I believe quite buckled and possibly unstable. To the others
we replaced missing sections, odd letters or bits of frame. While all
required to have scores of years of accumulated paint, pigeon guano and
some very ill advised (awful) cement spatter coat carefully removed by
hand.
This
represented a lot of work. Weeks, hours and days of chiselling, sanding
and scraping. Sore thumbs - the lot! When complete all the very numerous
cracks and splits had to be cut out and resin filled.
Making
new signs was quite a long process, we had first to take "rubbings /
tracings" from the doomed letters. Then our sculptor produced new
letters in clay, from which we made silicone rubber moulds. These fine
moulds produced new letters, cast in cement.
During this process patterns for the background and rims were made in
our workshop benches - to exactly match the originals. Onto these the
new lettering was set out and fixed. Each of these boards were precisely
moulded and cast in an incredibly hard glass reinforced cement compound
further reinforced with flat aluminium in strategic places for further
strength and to retain eventual screw fixings through the face into the
brick background.
Leave
each item to set for several days, cured for some days in a water mist,
finally finished and transported to site on a flat bed van. Lift into
place, perfectly align, permanently fix and fill - all ready for
decoration. Don't they look lovely?
CASTANETS
While
this seems a strange item, still less a sign, that is in truth just what
you see here. These are very much larger than life Castanets, ready to
mount onto each side of an "A" board. After when decorative large
diameter "string" is fixed to the holes and menu boards inserted into
the central rectangular space.
These were made in a mahogany pigmented GRP / glass fibre compound to
represent the mahogany material of the actual items these are from. Of
course these are for Spanish style restaurants in Romford and, I
believe, Reading.
This is a prime example of what I "go on" about so much in this website.
That if we use our imaginations, so many surprisingly exciting and very
original good things are possible.
Incised Lettering
The
lettering on this structure was secondary to other aspects of this work,
however this does demonstrate that our lettering does not have to be
raised - as in the Lambert Street example above. Again, this is cast in
GRC, Glass Reinforced Cement.
This was formed in a more simple, but broadly similar method to the
example above. The sign part is unpainted, except for the gold
lettering. Unpainted because we wished to see just how our material
weathered. We rather hoped it would weather / dirty in naturally as a
"fairly light Portland stone". After 5 or so years this seems to be
happening quite nicely.
If you should visit our works, please don't judge the column finish too
harshly because one was quite badly damaged when a delivery fork lift
truck hit it! The damage repairs now need painting. Please just ask for
a quote or a verbal outline of the great possibilities our craft
abilities can bring to your project, whether domestic or commercial.
Yes, it's still a sign - in my view anyway. This is the only occasion I
had to "snap" this really nice item. Because it is now installed at
Manchester Crown Courts, perhaps 18 metres high, behind glass.
Reflections make it too difficult to see, let alone photograph.
Sculpted specially for us / our client, this was conveyed in sections
that fitted together superbly. A credit to our modeller.
Naturally I hope you like this?
During
2005 we made quite a lot of (again) very original carvings for a Champs
Elysee retailer. This particular moulding we formed into a sundial,
added our company initials and a "gnomon" set at 53 degrees.
53 degrees is our latitude north from the equator. The gnomon is the
precisely angled reading "arm" that casts a shadow onto the plate marked
in hours.
This we adapted, made and installed onto the south facing of our
premises where any passer by can view it.
Early in 2007 someone commisioned this name plate from us. As this was
to be fitted inside a glass lined porch and weather was not a problem
here - plaster was OK for this situation.
As
so many times before, we provided the details to our sculptor who, in
due course created and supplied a pattern to us. This we moulded and
cast.
Cleaned up any casting defects - ensuring that the whole ensemble looked
lovely, crisp and sharp. This we ensured prior to despatch to our
client.
This now hangs in the Manchester ground floor entrance porch. Number
Forty Four, Peter Street of course! For anyone who wants to view it can
see.