Tune To Sign
As of 2009, we've added a much improved tune to sign. While I don't have pictures of the completed sign with graphics, I do have some photos of the sign deconstructed. First, a photo of the finished product. As you may not be able to tell, the sign will be viewable from two directions with the middle of the sign illumiated with rope light. Due to the way my house sits, I will likely have traffic coming from both directions.
For the project, you will need the following:
2 5' long, 4" PVC
2 4" PVC end caps
2 2"x6"x6' boards
1 2"x4"x29"
2 28x30 clear acrylic
2 18' rope light
6 3/8" x 6.5" long carriage bolts
6 3/8" washers
6 3/8" nuts
3/8" drill bit (or 25/64")
2 wirenuts
Table saw or circular saw
2 - 3 cans white spray paint
To start out, I created a frame of 2x6" boards that would hold the clear acrylic sheets. I wanted to create a sign that would not require screws for the acrylic sheet as I seem to have bad luck with drilling into plastics. The acrylic would be held inside a system of grooves cut with a table saw. Due to the size of the sign, if constructed properly, no screws should be necessary.
Begin by creating the frame slightly smaller than the 28x30 sheet. For me, I cut 2 32" long top and bottom boards and 2 27" tall side boards.
When assembled as shown, the side boards will sit insde the top and bottom boards. This will create a "window size" of 27"x29" (32" - 3" = 29" while the verticle component is fully represented) which should hold the acrylic sheet nicely.
After cutting the boards to the appropriate length, you will want to cut two channels on the interior sides of your frame. I am approximately 1/2 inch from the edge of the 2"x6" for my channel, and I set the depth of the table saw to 3/4" to allow for some wiggle room:
Screw the bottom and sides of the frame together. For the top of the sign, I decided to use a 2"x4" board. This will give the top of the sign strength and allow me to slide the acrylic sheets in and out of the sign should I need to update the tune to sign in the future. You can barely see the 2x4 in the above photo. Here is a closer picture of the 2"x4" on top.
Once the frame is complete, double check that your grooves line up all the way around. It's easier to fix any fit issues now. To connect the frame to the PVC, I elected to use 6.5" carriage bolts. This gives a good bit on the interior side of the wood frame, and it's very easy to install. I determined the height of my sign, and roughly marked on the PVC where the 3 bolts would fit. I then drilled the holes straight through the 4" PVC. Lastly, I aligned the PVC and the frame, and marked the frame where the holes would be added. Insert the carriage bolts and bolt on your PVC. Note - to add the PVC end caps, you'll want to leave 4 - 6 inches at the top of your sign.
You can add rope light with the provided hangers. This is pretty straight forward, but the screw heads are extremely small. I could barely get the drill to bite with a #1 phillips bit.
To power the rope light, I cut the power cord to the rope light and fed it through the PVC. I added a hole at the base of the PVC just large enought for the electrical cord to feed through. I then used wire nuts to re-attach the power cord.
Add red electrical tape to finish out the project. Finally, the top portion of the frame can be added to finalize the sign. You've got a backlit sign that's easy to update should you need to change radio stations or other graphics.