32 replies to this topic

[Fitter kieron]

Hi, i would like to have our boat name in raised welded on letters, have searched but am unable to find a supplier who stamps/cuts out mild steel letters, i guess that 3 or 4mm thick would be ideal to weld without melting away. Does anyone know of a supplier ?. I don't fancy having to make each letter by hand if i can buy them already mass produced. Any leads would be appreciated, we are located in East Yorkshire.

[Grace & Favour]

Hi, i would like to have our boat name in raised welded on letters, have searched but am unable to find a supplier who stamps/cuts out mild steel letters, i guess that 3 or 4mm thick would be ideal to weld without melting away. Does anyone know of a supplier ?. I don't fancy having to make each letter by hand if i can buy them already mass produced. Any leads would be appreciated, we are located in East Yorkshire.

Why don't you have them cut out with a plasma cutter?

They won't be mass produced, but it'll be a damn sight cheaper than cutting them by hand



PS I know of an excellent Stainless Steel fabricator in Burton whom could do them accurately (in Stainless)



Edit for spelllling

Edited by Grace & Favour, 09 July 2012 - 09:50 PM.

[Rebotco]

Hi, i would like to have our boat name in raised welded on letters, have searched but am unable to find a supplier who stamps/cuts out mild steel letters, i guess that 3 or 4mm thick would be ideal to weld without melting away. Does anyone know of a supplier ?. I don't fancy having to make each letter by hand if i can buy them already mass produced. Any leads would be appreciated, we are located in East Yorkshire.

Looking at your boat name "VIXEN" - if you did it in capitals, you would only need straight strips of steel cut to the appropriate lengths!
Sorry can't be of more help.

[Fitter kieron]

Thanks,that might be the easiest way, to find an engineering company with a plasma cutter. I just thought there might be somewhere with all the letters hung up and ready to go.

That's also a viable solution, to buy a length of thin flat bar and make the letters out of cut lengths. cheers for that.

Stainless sounds good but i don't think that welding them to mild steel would work.

[Grace & Favour]

Thanks,that might be the easiest way, to find an engineering company with a plasma cutter. I just thought there might be somewhere with all the letters hung up and ready to go.

That's also a viable solution, to buy a length of thin flat bar and make the letters out of cut lengths. cheers for that.

Stainless sounds good but i don't think that welding them to mild steel would work.

I've lots of stainless welded to our (mild steel) boat - - it has worked extremely well - - it just took a good fabricator - so it IS possible

[PhilR]

Looking at your boat name "VIXEN" - if you did it in capitals, you would only need straight strips of steel cut to the appropriate lengths!
Sorry can't be of more help.

Brilliant. Well spotted. I wish I had thought of a name like that.

[Biggles]

A good adhesive such as Sicaflex would be plenty good enough to hold the letters on.

If I was going to do it and I am a welder I would glue them on.

[Paringa]

I have seen one with raised vinyl or rubberised letters...I know it sounds odd but it does seem to work and you would never know even on close inspection. Gives that 3D efeect really nicely. Just an idea...

[cheshire~rose]

I would go down the route of bonding them on rather than welding too.

If you use the right adhesive they will never fall off and yet, if a later date you or another owner of the boat decided to change the name they can do it. There is no chance of the leters or the panel they are being applied to distorting with heat either

[Timleech]

I would go down the route of bonding them on rather than welding too.

If you use the right adhesive they will never fall off and yet, if a later date you or another owner of the boat decided to change the name they can do it. There is no chance of the leters or the panel they are being applied to distorting with heat either

You could alternatively screw them on from behind (depending on thickness, of course).
This does mean you can take them off when it's painting time, saves a lot of fiddly brush work.

Tim

[Fitter kieron]

Nice one, thanks for all the suggestions. I stand corrected over welding stainless to mild steel but it would be beyond me. I've seen this lettering on fishing boats and trawlers which i know have nothing to do with canals but there's nothing traditional about our boat. I like Brian's suggestion of using straight lengths to make up the name. As for painting them i would maybe use a gloss roller and just highlight the tops of the letters. Thanks again.

[Tam & Di]

A good adhesive such as Sicaflex would be plenty good enough to hold the letters on.

If I was going to do it and I am a welder I would glue them on.

Sounds a good idea, but does anyone have any information on how permanent that might be? Would differential expansion/contraction of the letters and the surface, or simply old age, cause the adhesion to fail?

I've always painted and written all our boats/ships by hand, but knee joints don't like the sort of contortions involved any more.

Edited by Tam & Di, 10 July 2012 - 01:06 PM.

[GSer]

Most decent sign companies will get some cut for you, or as others have said a plasma or laser cutter will do the job, how tall do you envisage the letters being?

[hovrin]

CYMARC Engineering in Scunthorpe have a laser cutter and will do them in Steel or Stainless in any font and at any size you ask for. Tell them Keith sent you. 01472 289222.

Edited by hovrin, 10 July 2012 - 02:05 PM.

[blackrose]

A good adhesive such as Sicaflex would be plenty good enough to hold the letters on.

If I was going to do it and I am a welder I would glue them on.

That's what I was thinking too. I'd just Marineflex them on.

Sounds a good idea, but does anyone have any information on how permanent that might be? Would differential expansion/contraction of the letters and the surface, or simply old age, cause the adhesion to fail?

Marineflex and Sikaflex will bond permanently and as the names suggest both are very flexible. If you prep the surfaces then the only way you'd get the letters off afterwards would be with a chisel or screwdriver.

I always go for Marineflex because of the myriad choices of different types of Sikaflex which I find confusing. Also Marineflex is half the price. The best prep is to abrade both surfaces slightly and then wipe over with a cloth dampened with white spirit.

Edited by blackrose, 10 July 2012 - 04:00 PM.

[Fitter kieron]

Thanks for the contact at Scunthorpe, i think around 100-120mm would be high enough for the letters. The advantage for me with welding on rather than glueing is that by tacking them and tapping in before welding i can make them follow the contour of the bow as the angles change. I'm not too worried about a small amount of distortion, the boat has a fair amount of knocks and ripples already. also if i weld around the letters then no moisture can get behind and corrode the hull. I guess at the end of the day it's a matter of personal taste and rather than beauty i prefer a more industrial finish ( on this boat ).

[Lesd]

We use these letters on our driveway gates occasionally. They're not worth fabricating so we buy in the letters in different sizes and styles from several component companies. Try googling ''Brundle wrought iron components'' or ''rourkes ironworks'' both will sell direct to public.
Les

[Fitter kieron]

Thanks Les, have had a quick look at both of those sites and look like be just the job. will check them out fully tomorrow. One more question. We got this boat as a discarded shell which had started to be fitted out.when we reregister her will she need to be registered to a town, so have a place name somewhere as well as the name of the boat? or is that optional. Just thinking of the extra letters i might need/want to order.

[Grace & Favour]

Thanks Les, have had a quick look at both of those sites and look like be just the job. will check them out fully tomorrow. One more question. We got this boat as a discarded shell which had started to be fitted out.when we reregister her will she need to be registered to a town, so have a place name somewhere as well as the name of the boat? or is that optional. Just thinking of the extra letters i might need/want to order.

Locality registration? - - No - not at all

[Nightwatch]

Kieron,

I have to ask, were you unfit at sometime in the past?

Just thought I would ask.........

No offence meant.

Martyn