Bungalow new numbers.

[Retired]

Hi,

When I retired around 14 years ago I wanted an hobby that I could do indoors during our long winters so to cut a long story short I adopted electronics and vintage radio restoration. I usually have problems whilst trying to locate addresses because its amazing how many houses do not have house numbers installed or if they do I need binoculars to see the numbers from the car so I thought at least I would make our bungalow numbers big enough to see. I made a wooden light box using 3 x 12v bulbs and installed this wiring via a transformer and my first ever electronics project; this was a kit from Maplin's which switched on at night and off at daybreak; it was a very interesting project and the automatic timer worked for many years until it finally expired and was replaced by a standard plug in 24 hour timer still using the original 12V transformer.

A couple of weeks ago I decided to upgrade the bungalow numbers so removed the original light box and disposed of it at the local tip leaving me with a clean sheet to play with. I had been viewing YouTube videos and was most impressed by "edge lit" lighting using low voltage LED's. Here is a sample video to show what I'm on about;



I was amazed by how cheap strip LED's are via eBay so as an experiment I bought 0.5M of strip LED's but once I got more into this project I bought 5M of strip LED's; the 5M only cost £4.79 delivered which is truly amazing value considering there are 300 LED's in the strip.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5M-300-LED-St ... 0871703543

I thought perhaps glass would be a better choice than Perspex so bought a piece of clear laminated safety glass to experiment with. I found because the glass is laminated the cut edges didn't align perfectly so to remove the sharpness I used a diamond honing block rendering the edges safe to handle but I still wasn't too impressed; the glass cost little and had I known I would have ordered tempered safety glass? At this point I decided to go with Perspex so Bron and I drove over to Direct Plastics in Sheffield and bought a piece of clear Perspex 8mm thick x 24" x 20" costing around £34 inclusive.

http://www.directplasticsonline.co.uk/

I had ordered glass paint through eBay and when this arrived I was bitterly disappointed by the result; the paint was translucent which I didn't fully understand but quickly found out when I used it; it didn't cover as expected and my hand wasn't steady enough to give a professional finish; I tried two lots of white glass paint before quitting in disgust. Now what could I use after the paint failure? A bit more research and YouTube browsing I found vinyl self adhesive sheet is used extensively for sign making so as usual I had tried the hard way first before finding the easy way?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-METRE-ROLL- ... 0851154989

Once again I was surprised by how cheap this vinyl sheeting is through eBay so I bought 5M at 610mm wide in gloss white costing £6.99 with £3.99 postage. Now the fun really began once the vinyl arrived; it had looked incredibly easy to apply vinyl whilst I watched the YouTube videos but I was in for a lot of grief?

I'd better go back a bit because an explanation of how I obtained large numbers would be in order? I browsed the web for number designs and let Bron pick the style she liked. The problem now was in enlarging the numbers because I had settled on 17" tall numbers using a 3/2 ratio; 3 high 2 wide. I could print A4 using the printer but obviously the numbers would be much too small. After a lot of thought I wondered if I cold make a very crude projector for the number enlargement? I printed out the numbers using GIMP2 editing program which is brilliant and a free download;

http://www.gimp.org/

At first I had lots of problems in scaling the numbers; however hard I tried each time I printed the numbers they came out all wrong which was totally frustrating. I then went into GIMP "help" and found I needed to break the chain between height and width this then allowed me to enter the sizes I wanted; I chose inches and used 9" tall x 6" wide to give the ratio and now all was well when printed out. Now into the workshop to experiment at projection which again was new to me. I had the piece of glass so suspended this above the bench and placed one of the numbers on it; under the glass and sitting on the bench I placed a piece of heavy gauge wallpaper lining paper. From the ceiling beam I suspended an inspection lamp (60W) and switched the lamp on whilst it was darkish in the workshop; WOW it works; I could adjust the height of the lamp and position the paper and cut out printed number to align between two marks 17" apart I had made in pencil on the paper; I then simply used a pencil to draw around the outside of the projected shadow to give the number size I needed; I repeated this for the second number. This method isn't perfectly accurate but certainly accurate enough for my needs and it was cheap and very effective.

Method of enlarging numbers.

Enlarging number..JPG (133.16 KiB) Viewed 4836 times

The numbers were then carefully cut out of the lining paper and now I had templates in full 17" tall size of the two numbers. Now I felt much more cheerful at this success but it didn't last long. I taped the numbers to the Vinyl and cut two vinyl numbers out. Bits of masking tape were added to the Perspex as alignment guides so all I needed to do now was to peel off the backing and attach the numbers? Boy how wrong could I have been; with the backing paper removed the vinyl numbers were like trying to work with spaghetti; the numbers flopped around and stuck to themselves and everywhere else but not to where intended; after at least four attempts each time cutting out new numbers steam was coming out of my ears; surely a child could attach vinyl numbers?

Back to viewing YouTube videos to see what I was doing wrong? I quickly found out that I was trying to do the impossibly with the vinyl I had bought? My vinyl was just plain vinyl sheet with a single peel off backing paper whereas the YouTube vinyl being used had backing to both front and rear of their vinyl; as the paper was peeled away to expose the adhesive their vinyl was still supported by the front paper giving the support which was missing on my vinyl; drat it I thought this job seemed too easy at first glance? Having reached thus far no way was I gong to be beaten so what could I do to resolve the problem?

What if I could simply cover the entire face of the Perspex with the vinyl then cut out the numbers peeling the waste away; worth a go because I had little to lose at this point. I stood the Perspex on end giving me more control as I applied the vinyl whilst slowly peeling off the backing paper; this worked a treat with few air bubbles. The number templates were taped in place and I found it quite easy to cut around with a safety razor blade turning the Perspex allowing me to cut towards myself. The waste vinyl peeled away without trouble and I used the corner of the razor to prick the few air bubbles allowing the vinyl to lay flat. At last I now had the sign I was after.

Cutting numbers out directly on glass.

Cutting numbers out..JPG (132.78 KiB) Viewed 4836 times

I had a length of thick clear Perspex to hand so used this for a bottom mounting support; I ran this through the table saw to cut the channel and for the top mounting I used a length of hardwood Sapele because I didn't have enough Perspex for both mountings. Our bungalow is built of random stone making aligning anything to it a pain but with patience the mounting holes were drilled and the mounts installed; the bottom Perspex mount had an 8mm channel and the strip LED's were laid in this channel; the LED's are self adhesive. The Sapele mount had an 18mm wide channel this allowed the LED strip to be positioned in front of the Perspex shining downwards. Both strips were connected taking care to get the connections correct and the wire run into the garage where it was hooked up to the transformer and timer. The LED connections are vulnerable to water attack so I sealed the connections using epoxy glue and wrapping with self amalgamating tape; the LED strip is waterproof. With everything now in place and wired up at last the new numbers lit up. These LED's are 12VDC so are safe enough to play around with being supplied by the transformer.

I thought all the problems had now been solved until night-time drew in; yes the numbers illuminated but the Perspex looked misted up? This was most strange and not what I wanted to see; now the problem was the light coloured stone wall backing which was making the Perspex look misted? The following day the Perspex was taken down and the rear of the Perspex given a coat of gloss black auto acrylic enamel from a rattle can; the following night all was now well; the black backing gave the necessary contrast; unfortunately I can't get a decent picture of the numbers illuminated but they do look good.

Numbers installed to bungalow front.

Numbers installed.JPG (234.48 KiB) Viewed 4836 times

Numbers illuminated.

Numbers illuminated..JPG (166.45 KiB) Viewed 4836 times

Being a Yorkshireman and tight I now had spare laminated glass and plenty of vinyl left over so how could I use these? Simple; I made a new number sign from them and installed numbers to the rear wall of the bungalow; the clever bit here though is that I positioned these numbers directly below the security light so they are automatically lit up at night.

I hope this is of interest and is the sort of project I love to tackle because it was new to me with a learning curve involved. I've included quite a bit of detail and assorted links in case anyone else would like to have a go; at least I think I've made all the mistakes during work in progress; had I known I could have bought black Perspex?

Kind regards, Col.

[ayjay]

I thought you lived at No. 63?

[moderator6]

I've attached the youtube video for you

I can see a Fein multimaster case holding up the plastic

[Retired]

Hi,

Nice one ayjay; what's your weather like in Australia? I bet I still get asked what number our bungalow is and get letters posted wrongly through our letterbox?

Many thanks for helping out Moderator6; I'll get the hang of posting links with a bit of practice; I used "word" for the text then copied and pasted; the links worked OK on my computer? Yes well spotted it is indeed a new Fein Multimaster Top. I bought it a few months back knowing I was going to replace failed 50 year old double glazing units to the bungalow front which I've just completed. I wanted to retain the original softwood window frames because they are still in excellent condition. I used the Fein to slice all around the joints of the old units and what a huge help the Fein proved to be; it paid for itself in this one job. Not cheap at around £200 but money well spent and for my use it will last a lifetime.

Kind regards, Col.

[Retired]

You certainly will not miss that number from the road

I worked in a plant making Perspex for 20 years and still subcontract there now as a maintenance engineer.

I love making things from Perspex, some of the colours and finishes are amazing

[Someone-Else]

Interesting
I had a similar thought here at someone-else towers, (Can't see the numbers from the road) I made numbers from Individual LEDs, printed numbers out, secured them to a plastic adaptable box, drilled numerous holes (One for each single LED) sprayed the boxes black, mounted the LED's soldered them on the back of each box lid, mounted them on the wall.

I could not help but think they looked like overhead motorway signs, so I added Yellow and Red flashing LEDs in the corners.
By day the yellow LED's flash and when its dark they switch to the red LEDs

I can't show pictures of them being made, as I made them quite a few years ago, but I can pop out and take a video...........

[Retired]

Hi,

Thanks ultimatehandyman, we used to have even larger white Perspex numbers but these were not illuminated then one trick or treat night a thief stole one of the numbers; the numbers were mounted on slides hence I then made the first illuminated numbers screwing the unit to the wall. I bet it's only a matter of time before someone pulls up in a car and asks what number our bungalow is? I bet it was fascinating working with Perspex and fully agree with you that it is wonderful stuff but it's expensive to buy for use in a home workshop or I would buy lots of it. I used to scrounge Perspex off-cuts from Direct Plastics but now they don't have off-cuts which is a pity.

Thanks someone-else; it's interesting to read your story of how you made your own version of house numbers using individual LED's, flashing LED's will certainly catch anyone's attention; this house number sign project is interesting though isn't it using LED's; I enjoying making ours and the design is only limited by our imagination; it adds a bit of individualism to a house. Strip LED's are so easy to use and extremely cheap saving point to point wiring which is needed with individual LED's; my LED's are switched off automatically by a timer during daylight; a picture or video would be useful; perhaps others will also have a go and show us their work in progress? It's worth mentioning that LED's are easily destroyed by wrongly connecting them.

Kind regards, Col.

[Someone-Else]

I considered a timer to turn them off, but since a timer will use more current than the LED's will I never bothered, also it would not be of much use in my case.

Anyway, here is mine.

[Retired]

Hi,

Many thanks for adding the video of your light number sign someone-else. Very impressive and certainly unmissable; a chum of mine said the police helicopters could navigate from my sign and yours is even more striking? What size LED's did you use and what do you power them from? How long did it take to rig up your sign; my two signs took about a week of playing around but its now worth it. It's surprising how many houses don't even have a small house number on display? Two of us have large house numbers; any more?

I've not checked the current usage of my numbers but the 24 hour timer controls the transformer; my transformer is a 9V and I think I salvaged it from a printer but it works OK with the 12V LED's.

Another job I need to sort out is our door chimes which are wireless and rubbish.

Kind regards, Col.

[Someone-Else]

My sign uses 5mm LED's from ebay (lots of sellers have individual LED's)

It is powered from the 12v side of the power supply* that runs the door bell, which also runs the LED step Lights (Lights that light up the steps)

It was such a long time ago that I constructed the sign I don't know exactly how long it took, I think it was about 3 -5 hours.
That is MKII sign you see now. MKI had both numerals on the same box and so were considerably smaller, also it was made with 3mm LED's

* A dedicated 12v power supply that has had various things added and subtracted to it over the years, its NOT a doorbell transformer.

[Retired]

Hi,

Thanks for the update someone-else. Whilst restoring vintage radio sets I used to wind my own transformers which is interesting and very easy to do once the few basics are grasped; I then went on to wind my big 3 phase transformer which I still use.

I was honoured with best restoration award in 2009 by The British Vintage Wireless Society for my full restoration of a scrap AVO Wave Winder as seen below if of interest. I enjoy doing unusual projects.

Kind regards, Col.

AVO Wave Winder fully restored.

AVO Wave Winder 1.JPG (89.43 KiB) Viewed 4392 times