Gnome pub sign step by step - part three

I had so much fun assembling and sculpting the gnome sign today I forgot to take pictures along the way. The sign assembled easily. The routed hole in the centre section allowed me to simply drop in the cut sections of tubing. It welded up in a couple of minutes. I drilled for the rods in three of the corners and then welded them into place. I glued the sign around this steel framework.

Once the glue was dry I did the cleanup on the corners which would be impossible once the brackets were in place. I then tacked up the corner angle brackets and squared everything up using the curved scrolls as a guide. I tacked those in place as well. I then mounted everything to the back mounting plate and checked everything one last time to make sure it was square and level. Then I laid on some finish beads.

I then used the air powered die grinder to clean up the edges of the sign and add a little texture to the flat areas. Then it was time for some sculpting fun! The gnome took about three hours to complete. Half this time was spent mixing the epoxy as my helpers were all busy on other projects. I still have the two small corner mushrooms to sculpt as well as the bottom clover leaf but that will only take a few minutes at best. Then it is on to the painting department! Stay tuned...