Do I need to leave room for expansion - inlay used outside

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Mikehell
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Do I need to leave room for expansion - inlay used outside

Post by Mikehell »

Doing a sign for outside. Probably pine or poplar. The game plan is to cut the letters out and then fit them into pockets. Do I fit them tight, or leave room for expansion/contraction due to weather? If so, how much?

ger21
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Re: Do I need to leave room for expansion - inlay used outs

Post by ger21 »

No need to.
If the grain runs the same direction, it should expand and contract evenly.
If the grain is the opposite direction, nothing you do will prevent it from eventually cracking.
Gerry - http://www.thecncwoodworker.com

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martin54
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Re: Do I need to leave room for expansion - inlay used outs

Post by martin54 »

If you leave a gap for expansion then you have somewhere for dirt water etc to get in which won't help in the long term. Plus if the sign is low down then viewing distance comes in to play a little. Close up it will just make the letters look like a bad fit :lol:
Why are you using wood for this sign? Guessing with your choice of pine/poplar you are going to paint it. Would you be better off using composite materials & plastics which then eliminates the need to paint & will last much longer without any maintenance :lol: :lol: :lol:

Mikehell
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Re: Do I need to leave room for expansion - inlay used outs

Post by Mikehell »

martin54 wrote:If you leave a gap for expansion then you have somewhere for dirt water etc to get in which won't help in the long term. Plus if the sign is low down then viewing distance comes in to play a little. Close up it will just make the letters look like a bad fit :lol:
Why are you using wood for this sign? Guessing with your choice of pine/poplar you are going to paint it. Would you be better off using composite materials & plastics which then eliminates the need to paint & will last much longer without any maintenance :lol: :lol: :lol:
Customer wants wood. He's going to stain it. I don't have to do it with inlays. But I've found that if you want to stain parts of the thing one Color and the background another, it's easier to make it in pieces and stain first, then glue them in. Haven't been very successful staining just certain parts. One of the pieces will be a relief cut. Almost impossible to stain a separate color.

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