Atilla.....need an apprentice? haha. Im a fabricator in a sign shop now but i really want to learn how to bend neon. our neon dept no longer exists and that eans nobody willing to teach. i also have a "fetish" for old metal, neon and porcelain signs. Stuff made with brass rivets and hundreds of 40w light bulbs, hand painted. Barn signs. anything. Shot this in Vegas last year. Wish i could get into the sign graveyard if its still out there. i used to live doent eh street from this movie theatre.
I saw Gregg Allman & Alice Cooper play there, after the Allman show I had to walk home 10 miles cause my truck got ripped off in front of the police station, a transvestite tried to give me a 'ride' but I kept walkin. I worked at a sign shop for a lot of years and fell in love with neon, all the stuff I did was sandblasted wood and hand lettering. Awesome pics
This is the marquee for the Buffalo Drive-In. It closed in September after a 58 year run. The land was sold to a developer. Three screens and a great snack bar. Bust...
that Courtesy Chevrolet sign that you posted Ryan reminds me of my old Calif. days well maybe not that old like back in 89 I worked for a Courtesy Chevrolet dealer out in San Jose. had some good time out in Calif.
Sign pics from my vacation to Phoenix in '98... What a co-incidence... I've animated this one. Put 3 photo's together; And here's the coolest sign-pic I made during my stay...
There used to be a neon school in MD - have you seriously looked into that? It requires a tremendous amount of hand/eye coordination and depth perception to achieve success. You can start tonight by cross training. Go shoot pool or play table tennis.
i have heard about this school but never gotten any info on it. Im going to look into it some more. My coordination is there....just need to make the oppurtunity for myself.
Neon signs are an artform. Cruizin' is great anytime, but is made so much better when the scenery correct. Googie architecture and neon glow complete the scene for me. Shame the Neon Nazis don't get it.
My buddy at Boondocks hits up estate auctions for cool stuff. He accually found this on a garbage pile at a business auction, the auctioneer thought no one would want it just because the back (It's 2 sided) has a hole in the word "BUICK" so he paid $20 for it
These signs aren't from my town or neighborhood but they are some of my favorites in my collection. Signs are more addicting than cars.....
Hey Attila, that's cool that we have a neon bender here. I do have a question. Do you take an empty glass tube and bend it to shape, then fill it with gas? Please give us a brief description how it's made. Thanks
You are correct sir! Tubing (mainly 10-15mm) starts in 4'-5' sticks, which are then bent over knife point cannon fires, crossfires, and/or a ribbon burner. Sounds easy enough, right? Knowing all the physical properties for lead, lead free, soda lime, borosilicate, pyrex, etc. glass and their softening, annealing, and working temperatures are mandatory. All done by hand. (While machines may never replace this art form, LEDs are gaining a foothold for larger mass produced signs and enclosed channel letters.) A blowhose equalizes the pressure so the glass stays the same shape. When a piece if finished being bent, small electrodes are attached at either end. (These ultimately ignite the gas inside the tube allowing it to light.) First the tube needs processing - 'cooked' with high voltage under vacuum to burn the impurities out. Throw in 18,000 volts at upwards of one amp while using a diffusion pump to assist the vacuum pump and you get the idea... After a tube reaches about 275 degrees Celsius it cools under vacuum. Around room temperature it is backfilled with a tiny amount of inert gas - predominantly argon. Neon really isn't used much anymore with the advent of a virtual kaleidescope of colors. One company I use exclusively for new glass tubing makes almost 50! Brown, gray, and black are the only 3 neon colors not possible (unless we're counting blacklight tubing). How is the final color reached? 3 variables: Inert gas fill, rare earth phosphor coating on the inside of the tube, and the glass itself can be colored. Good enough for the basics?
that is so weird!!! i lived a couple of miles from that same frost top, and my mom was one of the roller girls there. i love you jeff stroop.
FYI - In Las Vegas, down by Fremont Street, there's a small free walking tour of vintage style neon signs. Vintage Vegas casino neon is hard to beat, and there are some neat one's in this display. Sorry I don't have any pictures though.
A couple of mine. At the Salton Sea An abandoned cafe in Central Oregon The VFW Hall in Baker City Oregon Another couple from Baker City
The Jalopy Journal
