So this show, Club swing, came to my local performing arts center, and they had this cool old timey sign, but I have no clue what type of sign it is. I want to try to build one myself. (It is the one with the light bulbs in it).....
Looks like festoon fittings to me, probably on a metal framework. Not too difficult to wire up, if you know what you're doing; you'd probably need to get someone to weld up the frame for you. Cabling invisibly is the trickiest part - might be best to do a festoon string per letter for neatness.
What types of considerations should be made when trying to build a sign like this?
I'm thinking for limited use, special during a show.
Can lamp bases be mounted onto wood? Would that be safe/legal?
Other thoughts that I might not be thinking about?
If you are only lighting the sign under its own power, then I would hazard a guess that a hole saw into a flat and back lighting could have the right effect given sufficient distance to the audience and not allowing the audience to see the hot spots of the lamps behind...
Club Swing is a great act to work with, they have been to our performance venue twice in the last 5 years. Marquee is the name, Derek is right as usual.
Wireing is simple all black on one side all whiet onteh other and depending only one plug needed.
Use BENDER BOARD to shape the letters to give the letter depth...or if you have a budget take the letters to a metal worker who does duct work and have him shape the letters with a thin metal. You could use thin plexi and heat the bends and paint the whole thing black.
You should be able to do it for a few hunder bucks not including labor and teh amount of sockets at about a buck a piece.
I've built numerous versions using plywood as a base. You use a hole saw to cut the holes for all of the sockets. Keep in mind that once you cut all of these holes in the plywood it is fairly compromised and weak and needs extra structure. As you plan your extra structure you need to take into account your socket location, especially if steel is your extra structure.
Another way of doing it is by laminating plexiglass and then using back light. (Note to Derek, I believe Scott Schecter pictured below worked a number of years in your neck of the woods later in life.)
You can wire them for a chase or just use them as several circuits, as to decrease the load. The only drawback is that I found the bases to be deaper than most standard bulbs so we had to modify them to get a good contact. If you use a hole saw thru the back of your sign, the fixture will slide right in and stay.