Signs & Lettering

For the past few years Ossett Mouldings Limited have made several examples of signs incorporating lettering and other graphic elements. I’ve gathered together some examples of this type of work.

Exterior signs in cement based products, (GRC, Sand & Cement). Interior signs in fibre glass or plaster based products, (GRG or Fibrous plaster). Some with raised, some with incised lettering. There is a fair variety of work depicted here. Some more will be added in 2008 when current projects are completed.

Lambert Street – SHEFFIELD

Moulded External Wall Lettering by Ossett MouldingsMoulded External Wall Lettering by Ossett MouldingsHere is some replicate signage we completed in 2007. Five signs altogether, generally 11.5 metres in length. Two were replaced entirely – those really were beyond any hope of retrieval or repair, in fact the wall behind was, I believe quite buckled and possibly unstable. To the others we replaced missing sections, odd letters or bits of frame. While all required to have scores of years of accumulated paint, pigeon guano and some very ill advised (awful) cement spatter coat carefully removed by hand.

Moulded External Wall Lettering by Ossett MouldingsThis represented a lot of work. Weeks, hours and days of chiseling, sanding and scraping. Sore thumbs – the lot! When complete all the very numerous cracks and splits had to be cut out and resin filled.

Moulds for Wall Lettering by Ossett MouldingsMaking new signs was quite a long process, we had first to take “rubbings / tracings” from the doomed letters. Then our sculptor produced new letters in clay, from which we made silicone rubber moulds. These fine moulds produced new letters, cast in cement.

During this process patterns for the background and rims were made in our workshop benches – to exactly match the originals. Onto these the new lettering was set out and fixed. Each of these boards were precisely moulded and cast in an incredibly hard glass reinforced cement compound further reinforced with flat aluminium in strategic places for further strength and to retain eventual screw fixings through the face into the brick background.

The Moulded Wall Lettering being Refined by Ossett MouldingsMoulded External Wall Lettering by Ossett MouldingsLeave each item to set for several days, cured for some days in a water mist, finally finished and transported to site on a flat bed van. Lift into place, perfectly align, permanently fix and fill – all ready for decoration. Don’t they look lovely?

Castanets

An Example of a Castanet by Ossett MouldingsWhile this seems a strange item, still less a sign, that is in truth just what you see here. These are very much larger than life Castanets, ready to mount onto each side of an “A” board. After when decorative large diameter “string” is fixed to the holes and menu boards inserted into the central rectangular space.

These were made in a mahogany pigmented GRP / glass fibre compound to represent the mahogany material of the actual items these are from. Of course these are for Spanish style restaurants in Romford and, I believe, Reading.

This is a prime example of what I “go on” about so much in this website. That if we use our imaginations, so many surprisingly exciting and very original good things are possible.

Incised Lettering

A Mural Moulded by Ossett MouldingsThe lettering on this structure was secondary to other aspects of this work, however this does demonstrate that our lettering does not have to be raised – as in the Lambert Street example above. Again, this is cast in GRC, Glass Reinforced Cement.

This was formed in a more simple, but broadly similar method to the example above. The sign part is unpainted, except for the gold lettering. Unpainted because we wished to see just how our material weathered. We rather hoped it would weather / dirty in naturally as a “fairly light Portland stone”. After 5 or so years this seems to be happening quite nicely.

If you should visit our works, please don’t judge the column finish too harshly because one was quite badly damaged when a delivery fork lift truck hit it! The damage repairs now need painting. Please just ask for a quote or a verbal outline of the great possibilities our craft abilities can bring to your project, whether domestic or commercial.

Moulded Wall Plaque by Ossett MouldingsYes, it’s still a sign – in my view anyway. This is the only occasion I had to “snap” this really nice item. Because it is now installed at Manchester Crown Courts, perhaps 18 metres high, behind glass. Reflections make it too difficult to see, let alone photograph.

Sculpted specially for us / our client, this was conveyed in sections that fitted together superbly. A credit to our modeler.

Naturally I hope you like this?

Creating the Moulded Wall Plaque by Ossett MouldingsMoulded Wall Plaque by Ossett MouldingsDuring 2005 we made quite a lot of (again) very original carvings for a Champs Elysee retailer. This particular moulding we formed into a sundial, added our company initials and a “gnomon” set at 53 degrees.

53 degrees is our latitude north from the equator. The gnomon is the precisely angled reading “arm” that casts a shadow onto the plate marked in hours.

This we adapted, made and installed onto the south facing of our premises where any passer by can view it.

Early in 2007 someone commissioned this name plate from us. As this was to be fitted inside a glass lined porch and weather was not a problem here – plaster was OK for this situation.

Moulded Wall Lettering by Ossett MouldingsAs so many times before, we provided the details to our sculptor who, in due course created and supplied a pattern to us. This we moulded and cast.

Cleaned up any casting defects – ensuring that the whole ensemble looked lovely, crisp and sharp. This we ensured prior to dispatch to our client.

This now hangs in the Manchester ground floor entrance porch. Number Forty Four, Peter Street of course! For anyone who wants to view it can see.

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