I would never want to own or run my own hardware store, as inventorying and stocking all those small parts would drive me crazy. Working in my dad’s auto parts store as a youth broke me of any desire to do that type of work.
However, I am a hardware nut just the same, and as a sign maker I could not do my job or make my business run without a considerable array of hardware. And, not all the items we depend on can even be purchased at a typical hardware store. Some of it we actually make, or at least have made for us.
Let’s take a look at some of the special hardware, shop-made and otherwise, which allows us to do our work professionally and efficiently every day.
I keep two large organizer trays in my truck at all times, and many of the assorted screws, rivets, anchors and so forth in these trays are used on our installations. But, for letter install jobs, there is one type of spacer or letter support piece we could not live without that we probably couldn’t purchase but we make and keep in stock at all times. These are the little “Z-brackets” that support flat metal, flat plastic or even formed plastic letters that are often mounted on metal building facias. The standard metal building has ribs that protrude exactly 1,” and these z-shaped sheet metal brackets are just right to hold a letter fast in areas where there is no rib to rivet or screw to.
Made from 1” x 3” strips of .063 (usually pre-finished) aluminum, we simply make as many as we may need on a small sheet metal brake. The strips of aluminum are sheared to size, maybe 100 at a time or so, and bent at the 1” and 2” mark to form a “z”. Several can be bent at once, lined up in the brake and formed a dozen or more at a time. These are very simple, and easy to produce, but many letter install jobs could not be done without them. And if a sign shop does not own a shear and small brake to make them, a local sheet metal shop can easily do the job. (The price will be better, however, if there is some quantity involved.)
Some fabricated signs we produce use another small hardware item that we would never find on the shelf anywhere. These are small tabs cut from 1/8” or 3/16” thick steel that are used to hold a typically double-sided metal sign face in welded steel tube frame. Several are required per job, and these small parts are a fairly precision-made item best cut on a waterjet (though a high-definition plasma table might be able to make them).
I set up a file that connects these little parts in a strip, which actually makes them cut faster since there is just one pierce to cut the entire outside shape. Each one has its own hole to accommodate a #10 machine screw. The hole is .22” in size to allow room for paint or powder coating of the frame. These little items are just right for securing a double sided metal sign face, or a sign face made of laminate or even MDO, and they are small enough to not be visually significant (or can later be painted to match the face).
Since we fabricate virtually all of our sign frames, we have some flexibility and that includes the option of making folding signs of various sizes. A pair of some small metal hinge parts welded across the top of two sign frames provides for a “handle-hinge” on most any size folding sign we want to build. These 3/16” or ?” thick steel parts can be produced on a high definition CNC plasma table very fast and from simple flat bar stock or scraps of plate metal. The hinge is just a 5/16” diameter bold, 8” long, along with a nylock nut to keep the hinge from ever loosening.
There are one or two types of signs we make that have a detachable post, and one other item we keep on hand are simple shop-made wing nuts—or actually wing bolts—that are used to tighten the sign post in place or, when loosened allow the sign posts to be removed for transporting or storing. These are cut in wingnut shape, and have a square hole for the shoulder of a carriage head bolt. The bolt is permanently welded in place on the back side of the wing. Items just like this would be nearly impossible to find, but easily made at any CNC cutting shop.
In fact, with a few feet of 8” wide flat bar, 3/16” thick, taken to a vendor that does CNC cutting (waterjet or high definition plasma), a good quantity of each of these products could be made and put in stock for less than $200. The cut file can be designed with graphics software, and each item tabbed together. The tabbing together of parts keeps them from being lost or dropped out during cutting, and makes the cutting faster since there are far fewer pierces through the material. When the file is exported to a .dxf format, it will be compatible with the software the cutting vendor will be using.
Recently we did a job for a company called KoneCranes, which involved a cutout version of their logo made from basic ?” thick PVC sheet. For this job we made a version of mounting hardware that works in a number of situations, and various materials. None are simpler to work with than PVC, which glues well and bonds permanently with regular plumber’s PVC pipe glue.
The small clips that made mounting this type of sign a cinch were made from a strip of ?” PVC 1” wide and another ?” wide glued together with one edge flush. This composite strip was cut into small pieces about 1” in length. A few of these clips were glued in place on the back of the parts of the logo along a straight an inch or so from the top edge. A few more were glued backward along the lower part of each element just as spacers.
After shaping the same clips a bit on a belt sander to make the fit a bit looser and smoother, a hole was drilled in each, counter sunk for a mounting screw to fit flush. These clips were mounted on the customer’s wall, finger part pointing up, on a straight line and spaced to match the mounts on the back of the logo sections.
At the jobsite, the installation goes incredibly fast, as only about 10 small holes were drilled into the sheetrock wall, and a small plastic anchor was pushed into each hole. The clips were screwed into place, and the logo sections were merely slipped over them into place. The fit is snug enough that they seem permanent, but only gravity and a small amount of friction hold them there. It is a 15-minute install, but leaves the parts handsomely offset from the wall ?” and no visible hardware shows at all.
One last thing I’d like to mention on the subject of sign maker’s hardware are some plastic containers with screw on lids that sure come in handy at our shop. These inexpensive wide-mouth plastic jars, which come in various sizes, are perfect for carrying a quantity of a specific screw or rivet to an install job, or even for safely transporting a small amount of touch up paint to a jobsite with no risk of spilling.
We keep several sizes, and they come from Uline, a company that puts out a full size catalogue of primarily shipping supplies, which includes containers like these. These plastic jars are totally waterproof and rainproof, which is great for a guy who may load his truck today and not make it out to the jobsite until day after tomorrow. And they are inexpensive enough to keep a good stock on hand all the time.
I admitted to being a hardware nut, and I guess I am, and there is no end to the purposes for which we need hardware, especially in the sign business. Being well equipped for each task, even if that means sometimes producing what we need, is a significant factor in getting our jobs done correctly and quickly, so we can get on with the next project sooner. And getting on to the next project sooner is what it takes to keep our sign business healthy and in the black and improves the bottom line.