Some large signs on a historic building outside the entrance to Yellowstone National Park needed an updated look, including YF’s new logo. And when I say “large,” I mean one 30 x 4-ft. sign about 15 ft. off the ground and two more, each 50 x 4 ft. and mounted 40 ft. up! This could get interesting, I thought, especially since my shop is only 60 ft. long. Plus, they wanted all three signs installed in time for a big reveal at their rebranding events just over a month away.
最近需要对一座位于黄石公园入口外的历史建筑上的一些大型标识进行翻新，包括为“YF”标识设计一个新的标识。我所说的大型标识分为两类，一类是距离地面约15英尺，尺寸为30 x 4英尺的标识，另一类是两个距离地面40英尺，尺寸为50 x 4英尺的标识。这将会成为一个具有挑战性的标识项目，因为我的工作室也仅仅长约60英尺。此外，他们希望及时安装所有的三类标识，以便在一个多月之后的品牌重塑活动中大放异彩。
Then again, at Beartooth, we love a challenge. With over 15 years of experience making HDU sandblasted signs, including multi-panel ones, I figured these signs would just be more panels per sign – a lot more. A visit to the installation site to take measurements confirmed the job was a fit. But the five-week timeframe was tough. 
我们的工作将在Beartooth工作室进行，我很喜欢这个具有挑战性的项目。凭借超过15年制作HDU喷砂标识和多面板标识的经验，我认为这些标识还可以进行更多样化的面板设计。提前对安装现场进行测量和考察工作是十分重要的，但五周的时间似乎有些紧凑。
I looked beyond what the client was asking for – three sandblasted signs totaling 560 sq. ft. – and thought instead about what they really wanted: durable, updated event signage. We showed them Beartooth could provide one “final version” sign and two heavy-duty, winter-season banners to cover the old signs in time for the events, then two more “final version” signs installed in the spring. And with that, the job was ours. 
我最终交给客户的产品远远超出了客户的预期（所做制作的三个喷砂标识总计560平方英尺），并且我们还将客户真正想要的东西考虑在内：一些耐用并且已被翻新的活动标识。我们向他们展示了Beartooth工作室可以提供一个“最终版”标识和两个耐用的冬季季节横幅，横幅是为了暂时覆盖原有的标识，然后我们将在春季安装另外两个“最终版”标识。我们对这份工作势在必得。

Seaming invisible
无痕标识的制作
Keeping in mind the harsh Montana winters, I decided it would be better to integrate the letters, logo and border with the background, cutting them all from one piece of HDU and thereby leaving no spaces for snow and ice to get in. Several signmaker friends warned me that machine marks would show unless we sanded them out. Lucky for me, my trusty part-timer, Ethan, loves to sand. In fact, he jokes that we should be called Beartooth Signs & Sanding. 
我对蒙大拿州寒冷的冬天记忆深刻，因此我决定将标识上的字母、徽标和边框与标识背景融为一体，将它们全部从同一块HDU中切割出来，这样就不会使雪花飘进标识的内部。我的一些从事于标识制造行业的朋友给了我一些提醒，使用机器生产会在标识上留下痕迹，后期应该对这些痕迹进行打磨。幸运的是，我忠实的兼职伙伴Ethan，他很喜欢打磨这门手艺。事实上，他开玩笑说我们应该被称为Beartooth标识&打磨工作室。

The dimensions of even the first,“smaller” sign dominated much of the shop’s square footage.
第一个尺寸“较小”的标识甚至都占据了工作室大部分的空间。

Routed then painted HDU depicts YF’s geyser-plume logo.
对HDU图形进行切割并上色，将YF字样的冲击羽毛状标识制作成型。

Beartooth Signs also fabricated numerous other signs, keeping the design elements consistent.
Beartooth Signs工作室还制作了许多其他样式的标识，并努力将设计元素风格保持一致。

The next step was importing the art designs into FlexiSIGN-PRO and laying out the seams between the panels. My plan was to make the seams invisible, but in the event they could be seen, I wanted them to look balanced by being relatively evenly spaced. I placed seams between letters where I could and bisected letters where I had to, ending up with six approximately 7-ft. panels in the middle, capped by two 4-ft. panels at each end for the 50-ft. signs and five panels total for the 30-footer. I also suggested to the client that we make the logo 3D by adding some extra layers, an idea they loved. Though it meant additional work, the suggestion added a bit of Beartooth’s signature dimensional style while keeping the overall design sleek and polished.
下一步是将设计图导入进FlexiSIGN-PRO中并将面板相互焊接在一起。我的计划是尽量让接缝看起来不可见，但如果实在难以做到，那么我希望在安装时标识之间的间隔距离能够保持一致。我在标识之间画出了一些分割线条，并尽量将这些线条安排在相邻的字母中间，最后我得到了6个大约7英尺的中型面板，标识上下用两个4英尺宽，50英尺长的面板对标识进行包边，五个面板拼接起来总共是30英尺。我还会向客户建议我们可以通过在原标识上增加涂层来制作一个立体的徽标，客户们都很喜欢我这个想法。虽然这意味着加重了额外的工作量，但这个建议增加了一些Beartooth的标志性立体风格，即保持整体设计的光滑和抛光处理。
Before routing, we mounted all the HDU onto ¾-in. MDO plywood so the panels would be stiffer and allow more bite to lag through for installation. After sealing the edges with epoxy, I coded Aspire to cut down the back-ground. In the border areas that would later be covered by flashing, I also routed out countersunk holes for the lags and little boxes in the corners of each panel to allow for clamping. We used a big, 1.5-in. end-mill bit to hog out most of the panels, and then a 1/4–in. to clean up the edges and get tight enough kerfs for our viewing distance. 
在进行切割之前，我们将所有HDU面板与3/4英寸厚的MDO胶合板粘合在一起使面板更坚固，同时也增加了更多的切口以方便安装。在用环氧树脂材料对边缘进行密封后，我便将多余的部分进行了切割处理。这些边缘的部分之后将被防雨板所覆盖，我还将面板的角落切割出矩形的钻孔以方便夹紧面板。我们使用了一个1.5英寸大的端铣刀来对面板的大部分区域进行切割处理，随后使用1/4英寸的端铣刀来对面板边缘进行清理并留出足够的切口来方便我们观察距离。
After routing, Ethan smoothed out the large areas with a random orbit 6-in. sander, then a sanding block to knock down the tighter areas. (The sanding really wasn’t so bad!)
在切割完成之后，Ethan使用6英寸的随机轨道式磨光机对标识的大部分表面进行打磨，然后使用打磨块对更小的区域进行打磨。（打磨工作真的不是想象中那么困难！）

Staring small
关注细节

A new router was brought in to cut the panels for the two larger signs during the long Montana winter.
在蒙大拿州漫长的冬季里，我们使用了一个新的切割机来将一个新的面板切割成两块较大的标识。

The panels, painted and assembled, await installation on site.
经过涂漆和组装完成的面板，正在等待现场安装。

Next, everything received three coats of primer and two coats of paint via a 2mm nozzle on our sprayer. Switching to a roller, we added color to the top surfaces of the letters, logo and borders, and went back with brushes to clean up edges for crisp lines.
接下来，我们将使用2毫米喷嘴的喷雾器对所有的标识进行三层的底漆和两层涂料的上色。之后我们再使用滚轴刷对标识的字母、徽标和边框的表面进行上色，最后用刷子对边缘进行反复地处理以获得清晰的线条。
To ensure that the panel surfaces lined up throughout the seam and to make hiding the seams easier, we used a biscuit joiner to make five biscuit cuts into each mating edge of every panel. We test-fitted each complete sign in our shop, then drove them to the installation site.
为了确保标识面板表面接缝处的平整和更好地隐藏接缝，我们使用饼干榫机在面板的每个配对边缘处制作了五个切口。在工作室对每个完整的标识进行最终检查后，我们便开车将标识运往安装现场。
For the first – and smallest – sign, our 12-ft. ladders got us onto the roof where we spent our first day breaking the old sign out of its frame and disposing of it. On day two, we slid the panels up the ladders one at a time, and fit them into the groove of the old sign frame. With some five-minute epoxy, the edges were clamped together while the panels were bolted into place. Then we ran a light bead of caulk over each seam, wiped off the excess and touched up the paint as needed. We assembled the small cabinet frame just as the sun was setting behind the mountains.
对于第一个（也是最小的）标识，我们准备借助一个12英尺的梯子将其安装在屋顶上，屋顶上原来的旧标识已经被我们提前从框架上拆卸下来处理掉了。第二天，我们在梯子的帮助下将新的标识面板运到了屋顶并安装进了旧标识的框架凹槽中。在使用了一些五分钟速干的环氧树脂胶后，我们便将面板用螺栓固定到位，并同时迅速将面板的边缘夹在一起。然后我们在每个接缝处涂上一层填缝剂，擦去多余的部分，并根据需要补充涂料。在太阳落山之前，我们还组装了一个小型灯箱的框架。

Getting routed
更换一个新的切割机

Beartooth Signs installed the “larger” signs directly on top of the existing signs, then added new flashing back to make the cabinet look only 2 in. deeper.
Beartooth Signs团队直接将大型标识安装在了现有标识的表面，然后安装了新的遮雨板，使灯箱看起来只有2英寸深。

One of the two larger signs, atop a wall with a “ghost sign” both facing the beautifully preserved natural features of Yellowstone.
另一个大型标识就是位于房屋墙面的“幽灵标识”，这个标识完整地保存了黄石公园的自然风貌特征。

Good thing we had all winter to produce the two larger signs! While working on the second sign, our not-yet-one-year-old CNC router exploded due to a technician’s oversight during setup. Bearings were all over the shop. A tech support guy flew in, realized he’d brought the wrong bearings, and took the whole machine apart. Then he ducked my calls and skipped town, leaving me to figure out how to reassemble the router, which took me a week! So much for the “customer support plan” included in the purchase. Lesson learned: When a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
能在冬天将这两个较大的标识生产出来是一件令人开心的事情，但也并不是没有意外发生。在制作第二个标识的过程中，由于技术人员在安装过程中的疏忽，导致我们的一台使用年限还不满一年的CNC切割机损坏，设备的零件遍布整个工作室。很快工作人员意识到设备损坏的原因是他装错了零件从而导致设备运行不当。该工作人员随后拒绝接听我的电话并逃离了小镇，因此我不得不独自弄清如何重新组装这个设备，这花了我将近一周左右的时间！购买协议中包含的“客户支持方案”起到了非常重要的作用。经验告诉我们：做好万全的准备，因为什么事情都有可能发生。
When installing the larger signs, we bolted the new signs right on top of the old ones, then added new angle flashing back to the building to make it look like the cabinet was just 2 in. deeper.
当安装大型标识的时候，我们将新标识用螺栓固定在了原有标识的表面，然后在建筑上增加了新的遮雨板，此时就显得标识灯箱的深度看起来只有2英寸左右。
In the end, the client loved that “you can’t even see the seams!” And working on a roof overlooking beautiful Yellowstone National Park, watching buffalo and elk wander by, certainly beat sitting at a desk. They recently called us back to see if we would work on another rooftop sign on a historic building next to Old Faithful. The answer, of course, was yes!
最后，客户十分满意这个新安装的标识，并赞叹到：“我甚至都看不到标识上的接缝！”当我们在黄石公园的屋顶上进行安装工作的时候，偶尔俯瞰黄石国家公园的美丽风景，看着水牛和麋鹿漫步而过，视野比坐在书桌前要好得多。他们最近打电话给我们，询问我们是否愿意为Old Faithful旁边的一座历史建筑更换一个新的屋顶标识，我们开心地答应了。