One of the enjoyable things about the sign business is being able to make your mark on the local landscape and see your work in the public for years to come. The job we recently did, up on the fourth floor of the Gregg County Courthouse, will likely leave my mark in the local halls of justice for my grandkid's grandkids to see.
在标识行业,能留下一个未来很多年都会出现在大众视野里的标志是一件很开心的事。我们最近做的工作，是在Gregg County法院四楼制作标识，这个为当地司法机关制作的标识未来可能会被我的儿孙后代看到。
The old courtroom had been in place for 40 years or so, and was undergoing a major remodel, which was being handled by a local architect we do work for. We were asked to bid on two sets of plate metal lettering and one other set of letters to go with a large circular logo, complete with a raised single Texas star about 2'tall and 3”thick. With some minor changes, it was to be quite similar to one that was the focal point of another large courtroom on the same floor.
老法庭已经有40年左右的历史，期间经历了一次重大改造，是由一个当地的建筑师负责的。对于该项目，我们要投标，报价内容包括两种金属板刻字和另一种带有大圆环logo的字母，再加上一个单独凸起的德克萨斯州星星，大概2英尺高3英寸厚。这个标识和同一层楼的另一个大法庭的焦点相当相似，只是做了一点小幅度的修改。
It wasn't that complicated a project, but making a perfect three-dimensional metal star would be fun, and the powder coated plate metal lettering we are well equipped to do. Also, it would likely be the only time I would be in a courtroom doing something I liked. Oh boy!
这不是复杂的一个项目，但制造一个完美的三维金属星会很有趣，我们准备了精良装备来做粉末涂层金属板刻字。而且，这很可能是我唯一一次能在法庭上做我喜欢的事情。
We got the bid, and soon I was cutting aluminum, both 3/16”thick and ¼”thick, and doing a lot of drilling and tapping. Some of the lettering would go on a marble wall, that we would not be drilling holes in, so double-sided tape was determined to be the installation method of choice for those letters, and all the other letters as well.
我们中标了，并很快开始着手切割铝制板材，厚度为3/16英寸和1/4英寸的两种板，并在上面做了很多钻孔和螺纹。一些字体标识要安装在大理石上，大理石表面不能钻孔，所以我们选择用双面胶来固定这些字体，同理，其他所有字体也是这样操作的。
However, to be able to powder coat the letters means they have to hang up somehow, so all lettering had to be drilled and tapped so small eye screws could be inserted to hang them from while coating and oven curing. The larger pieces of the logo would be stud mounted, not relying on double-sided tape, and the star would hang like a picture frame with only two screws required to secure it on the wall.
然而，要用粉末喷涂字体就需要把他们悬挂起来，所以，所有的字都要钻孔，用小眼螺丝嵌入然后悬挂起来，方便喷涂粉末涂料和烘干。Logo比较大的部分不能用双面胶粘，需要使用螺栓固定，把星星标识像相框一样悬挂起来，只需用两个螺钉就能将它安全固定在墙上。
One of the things on my shop tool wish list for years was a good tool for drilling and taping letters, and when we bought our“Flex-Arm”unit, that was a big deal. I almost hate to mention it, since few sign shops keep one of these $3,000 to $4,000 wonders, but slowed down to gentle speeds, and with only 30 lbs. or so of air pressure feeding the unit, tapping the shallow hole in the back of a 3/16”aluminum letter was easy enough, at least for a revolution or two.
在过去很多年，我们商店所需要的工具清单里，一直存在字体钻孔机。然后我们买了“Flex-Arm”装置，这是一笔高额支出，我几乎不想提起它。因为很少的商店购进该装置，每台3000美元到4000美元，速度慢到极点，只要30磅左右的气压供给，在3/16英寸的铝字背面开个浅孔轻而易举，但至少需要一到两个旋转周期的循环。
Aluminum lettering of this thickness could be cut on a CNC router, or on a waterjet. To keep very tight inside corners, these were cut on a waterjet, and the letters that went with the logo were cut nested into the concentric circles of the logo itself. There was still some material waste, but the other letters were to be only 3/16”thick to match existing letters there in the courthouse, and had to be cut separately.
这种厚度的铝字可以在激光切割机或水切割机上进行操作。为了保持内部转角的紧密性，这些材料是用水切割机进行切割的，logo上的字体被切割嵌入logo本身的同心圆内。这样仍然有些材料被浪费。字体的厚度只有达到3/16英寸才能与法庭现有字体相匹配，其他的字也分别被切割。
I realize few sign shops have a waterjet handy, and neither does ours. But our sister company does CNC cutting, and basically I sub it out to myself. However, by now most areas of the country with any amount of industry will have a vendor ready to do the cutting.
我发现很少有标识商店拥有水切割机，我们也没有。但我们的姊妹公司做数控切割，基本上和我们自己拥有一样方便。但是，如今全国大多数广告行业区域都有供应商做切割。
One tip in preparing your file for a waterjet cutting service, remember that smaller items can fall to“the bottom of the lake,”which means they tip over and slide between the slats and into a 3'-deep tank, the same as lost. So, simply tab smaller letters together in strings of two or three, with a sliver of metal only 1/16 wide connecting them. You will save them trouble, time and money, and the better your jobs are prepared for cutting (tabbing, nesting, and so forth) the sooner they will get them done. Also, pay for your work when you pick it up each time, and you will become a priority client. (Ask me how I know.)
在你准备做水切割时，需要记住一点：越小的部件越容易掉落到底部，这就意味着他们会倾斜滑落到3英尺深的板条之间，同样丢失浪费。所以需要将两三个小型字体连在一起，只需要用1/16金属条就可以做到。这样你既可以减少不必要的麻烦，也能节省时间和费用。切割的准备工作（包括螺纹、嵌套等）做的越充分，你完成切割工作的速度就越快。同样的，对你每一次的工作认真负责，你将会成为顾客的优先选择。
The star was calculated in five equal parts or points of the star, which were to be made of .063 mill finish aluminum formed on a brake. The exact bend would have to be determined, and each one done identically so they would come together with no real gaps at all.
星星标识被分成五个均等的部分，都是由.063光面铝在制动器上制作完成。必须确定弯折角度的精确度，并保证他们每一个都完全相同，才能使他们完美衔接。
Since the center of the star would stand 2½”out from the wall, the flat dimensions that are easily measured had to be altered or lengthened. Each point is made of two triangles, which meet in the middle along the ridge, and 10 triangles make a five-pointed star.
由于星星标识的中心要凸出墙面2½英寸，所以容易测量的平面尺寸就需要改变或延长。每个顶点带有两个三角形，最长的边是两个三角形的交线，10个这种相同的三角形才能制作出一个五角星标识。
The short sides rise to meet the center point of the star, in this case 2½”,which makes the short sides longer. The long side is the ridge itself, which also gets longer to raise the same 2½”.The side of the triangle that lays flat on the wall does not change. The length of the two variable sides can be determined by the Pythagorean Theorem, or one can simply draw the triangles that would determine the two variable sides in a graphics program and measure them.
三角形最短的边上升，相交于五角星的中心点，这里上升的高度为2½英寸，这就促使最短的边被延长。三角形的一条边平行于墙面，长度不需要改变。另外两条可变边的长度由勾股定理决定。或者简单一点，只要在作图软件里画出这个三角形，然后直接测量两条可变边的长度。
Once the real dimensions of the five units of the star are figured and the metal is cut, the actual bending on a brake was simply done incrementally, until the height of the point was 2½”,and then four more were bent the same. Of course, being the material was only .063 alum, a little tweaking of the bending of any of the five points was easily done, but they will fit together perfectly only when the bending makes the center point of the star raised 2½”.
一旦标识的五部分的实际尺寸被画出来，金属也已经切割好，弯折角度将逐渐累加，直到中心高度达到2½英寸，其他四部分也弯折同样的角度。当然，材料只有.063明矾，很容易出现小幅误差，但若弯折角度都能使中心点高度达到2½英寸，他们一定能彼此合适实现完美衔接。
When the points mated together perfectly, they were firmly taped into shape on the front side. Then the star was turned on its back, and a frame I had made to fit inside, complete with slotted holes for hanging like a picture frame, was taped in place as well prior to welding.
当中心点完美结合在一起，他们的正面便形成稳固的形状。然后来看星星标识的背面，我已经做了一个适合其内部构造的框架，框架连同沟槽能让标识像画框一样挂起来。内部框架要在焊接之前放进去。
Because our standard welder, equipped with an aluminum spool gun, is a touchy way to weld aluminum, and I am no good at it, the tack welding job back there was a bit rough to say the least, and none of my guys were around that evening to help the old guy. Oh well, good thing no one would ever see the back of it but me (and all my Shop Talkreaders).
因为我们的标准电焊机，配备了一个铝焊轴枪，是焊接铝的一种敏感方式，我不擅长使用它，至少可以说电焊后面的工作有点粗糙，而那天晚上没有人在周围可以帮助我。好吧，背后的故事总是不会轻易被人看到，除了我（和我这篇文章的读者们）。
Of course, where the five pieces came together on the front there were still fine“cracks”where they fit together, so a small amount of body filler was used to fill the cracks and then sanded smooth enough to make the star look like it was made from one piece of metal once the powder coating was applied. (Yes,“Bondo,”at least a light amount of it, can stand the heat of a powder coating oven, and when pre-heated before coating it will grab the powder just like metal does.)
当然，五个部分连在一起的正面还是会有缝隙，尽管彼此适合。所以需要用少量的填充料来填充缝隙，然后用砂纸打磨光滑，在涂抹粉末涂料后，能让星星标识看起来像是用一块金属板制作的一个整体。（是的，“Bondo”，至少轻量的，能够忍受烘干粉末涂料所需的热度，涂层之前的预热能够使它像金属一样抓粉。）
The star and the circles the star fit in, as well as the letters accompanying that logo were specified to have a low sheen metallic finish, nearly flat. For this coating I chose a powder called“Anodized aluminum”by TIGER Drylac.(This does not mean they were anodized.) The flat finish was the right call by the architect because the area in the courtroom where they are mounted is lit by multiple small lights, and there would have been many reflections on polished metal. This low-gloss silver coating had a soft and dressy metallic look about it.The other two sets of smaller letters were supposed to look like chrome to match other lettering in the hallway of the same floor that actually was chrome finished. We had no time to have these chrome plated even if we wanted to, and the architect was not adamant about chrome, but would take something close with a high gloss.
星星标识还有和他相适应的圆环，以及带有字体的logo，被要求做成低金属光泽表面。我选择TIGER Drylac的被称作“阳极电镀铝”（这并不表示他们被阳极化处理了）的一种粉末作为涂层。这种平面是建筑师的要求，因为法庭上安装的部位由多种小灯照明，抛光金属会有很多光的反射。这种低光泽镀银层拥有柔和考究的金属外观。同一层楼走廊里的其他字体都是表面镀铬，所以另两种字体的表面也要看起来像镀铬才不会显得那么突兀。我们没有时间给字体镀铬，建筑师也没有执着于铬，但要求使用其他相似的高光材料代替。
As a matter of fact, the same powder company makes a“chrome”aluminum powder, which is really for interior use only, and we had some in stock. These letters would never be exposed to the weather, so the imitation“chrome”would be fine and did look almost like the real thing, very cool, and it much impressed the designer.
事实上，同一家涂料公司生产一种“铬”铝粉涂料，仅供内部使用，我们有一些存货。这些字体永远不会暴露于室外环境中，所以人造“铬”在这里使用非常适合，看起来和真的几乎一模一样，非常酷，令设计师印象深刻。
Before going out in the field, we created and cut some templates from corrugated plastic, that could be taped in place and show us exactly how to place the lettering and logos with a minimum of measuring involved. These templates worked great on site, and eliminated almost any chance of errors in how the parts would be installed.
进入现场前，我们制造和切割了波纹塑料模板，能够随时随地制作模型，以最少的测量告诉我们怎么放置文字和logo。这些模板在现场非常有用，几乎避免了安装过程中所有可能出现的错误。
After the job was completed, it was nice to stand back and see the work we had done that now graced the wall behind the judge in our Gregg County Court of Law No.1. It was nice to know it would be there long after I am gone, a small token of affection from a local sign man who tried his best to stay out of the local halls of justice, except when duty called, and sign duty is a whole lot more fun than jury duty any day.
这项工作结束以后，看到我们制作的标识放在法律第一的Gregg County 法庭里法官身后的墙上，感觉非常棒。很高兴知道他会一直在那儿，哪怕我消失了，一个小小的标记显示了一个当地标识制作者对公平正义的喜爱，除了责任的召唤，任何时候标志的责任比陪审员的义务都要有趣的多。
