Project #7: Scratch-built wire-frame "Merry Christmas" EL wire sign

H

HowardB

New member
My 7th in-progress project is the wire-frame "Merry Christmas" sign with EL wire; I wanted a largish sign outside and over our main front window, one that could be seen form the street - neon was an overkill and way too expensive, and LED strips would not bend properly around the curves I had in mind - I ended up getting some red and green EL wire, red for the "Merry" and green for the "Christmas".

This project is still in the early phase and progress was slow, but the hard work of bending the 6mm wire is now complete.

The general supply list for this project was:
  • 6mm galvanised wire
  • EL wire; 5m of each - red and green with 12v input drivers and 1-to-2 splitter cable
  • template for the letters bending guide - sourced from MS Word fonts and blown up on a photocopier
  • aluminium frame bracing - still to be bought - I expect I'll use a 25mm x 4mm aluminium strap and attach the sign words to this - the sturdy frame can then be attached to the wall with 2 screws/hooks and painted the same colour as the existing wall paint to blend in
  • Black spray paint for the letters
  • Basic tools included: heavy duty pliers (2 pairs help), bench vise, hammer, bending forms, glue gun, thick gloves for the wire bending process
This was an absolute pain at first - I don't have access to a welder (and am not planning on buying one anytime soon) so bending the 6mm wire into the letter curves I needed was no joke, particularly without a professional form or bender, however I plodded on and managed to complete all the bends using only a vise, two pairs of pliers and a hammer...it took the best part of 3 weekends to do, but now that it's done it looks very promising indeed!

I've yet to spray paint the words black and attach the EL wire, and I've still got to make the wall brace that it will be mounted on, but you get the general idea. The ends of the words will be cleaned up and curled once I have them mounted on the backing frame.

Here's some pictures of the build stages to to date:
WF_MC1_WIP.jpg

WF_MC3_WIP.jpg

WF_MC2_WIP.jpg

This was a once-off project and I don't expect I'll be making more of these wire-frame letter/word signs - I may try my hand at a few small wire-frame reindeer though!
If you need more pictures or information on the build steps let me know.
 
Right, the holding frame is now finished - it was made from aluminium "U" sections and flat aluminium strip for the braces; everything was riveted together, using the wire-frame words as a spacing guide, then primed and painted with the house colour outdoor PVA.
The Merry Christmas wire-frame was also primed then spray painted with semi-gloss black, then attached to the aluminium frame using the smallest black nylon zip-ties I had in the workshop - now I just have to attach the EL wire, which will hopefully be done by next weekend! :)

Here's some progress pics to date:
06.jpg

07.jpg

08.jpg
 
NICE!
Looking forward to seeing it lit up.

hmmm,
did you consider pixels? that way you can make it do fun things <grin>
 
Thanks Keebler!
I haven't thought about pixels yet, still have a lot of reading and learning before I get to that - will start with static and work from there. It's also very difficult to source things where I'm living and importing them works out really expensive given our terrible exchange rate; however all my projects can be converted/upgraded if I manage to find the right items at the right price ;)
 
I think you may find the EL wire rather dim in comparison to other display elements (on its own it will be fine but no where near as bright as rope light)
As long as you keep it far enough away from other display items it shouldn't get washed out.
I bought some for the kids to play with while camping and it only lasted a couple nights, but they had a ball with it.
 
Thanks DrNeutron, noted. I'll see what it looks like and make changes if the sign's too washed out.

Any suggestions as to what else could be used (if needed), given the tight curves of the lettering?
I tried a test of 5050 SMD strips, but it didn't work well...
The rope light I had was too thick, unless I can find a thinner version ;)

Sent by mental telepathy.
 
Yep, there is 3/8" that will make the turns quite easily, the stuff you have is probably 1/2".
Just use black electrical tape to blot out the parts you want dark to separate the letters or even better use heatshrink.
Awesome job on the sign design BTW.
 
Thanks guys, noted; will see if I can source some 3/8" ropelight locally.

Just tested the EL wire brightness when I got home and here's what it looks like with garage lights on, then off (almost total blackness) - seems fairly bright, but granted it's still all rolled up together. Will temporarily tack it to the wire-frame as a test first and see if it's bright enough before fastening permanently; else will source an alternative ;)

EL_Wire_brightness_test1.jpg
 
I've been told, by the folks at "Thats Cool Wire", that this EL wire responds immediately. Very important...
I am thinking about making some over-sized string instruments, such as guitars, violins, etc. and using this as the strings. When the strings are "vibrating" the EL wire will be going on and off very fast.

From those of you who have tried this stuff, does it actually handle the quick on and off we ask of some of our displays?
 
Yes it does handle quick on and off quite well
I have played around with some before and really liked it. Just need to figure out where I'm going to use it in my display
 
I managed to get the EL wire onto the wire-frame words using a glue gun - it took some time and my glue-gun technique wasn't the best, however its turned out really well and I'm well-pleased with the results! :)

Here's some pictures of the final project lit up; the first is with the garage lights on, while the second is with the garage lights off (except for the outdoor light - this will be switched off during Christmas, so will be darker)

01.jpg

02.jpg

Will take a final photo with all lights off tomorrow and post...
 
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