[sdiy] Labelling panels puzzle ...... considering wood / laminate. :O

[RMC]

Ryk

> Any help / ideas - greatly appreciated.  Any idea used shall be
> credited appropriate on my webpage. :)

Here's some ideas but no doubt you'll already have thought of them, with the 
associated pros and cons and more besides.

1) Get some thin sheets of clear perspex (1mm) which are the same size as 
the panels themselves.  Fix them to each panel by using the socket 
nuts/knobs - engrave the perspex and backfill the engraving with red/black 
engraving wax or filler

2) Get a material called "traffolyte" which is a laminate of black on white 
plastic. Engrave down through the black layer to reveal the white, and then 
make labels per control or per socket. Fix with small pins at each end of 
the traffolyte label. this is the technique used on early 20th century lab 
equipment such as electrical test items, weighing balances etc. and could 
look really good 9but tricky with the amount you'd need to do).

3) High temperature foil embossing. You get a machine that's like an 
embossing tool with a sort of typewriter ribbon. the tool heats up through 
the ribbon onto the wood, and transfers a metallic silver or other metallic 
type lettering. Can look really neat but would need to be lacquer protected 
afterwards. I have used this sort of thing to mark cables in the past. Don't 
know what the proper name for it is though.

4) Can you find some actual solid plastic letters of the correct size? make 
up the words and glue them on individual letter by letter. Maybe make the 
words up onto a thin plastic backing, then glue the preassembled word to the 
panel.

5) As per 4 above - use metal typeface from printers?

6) Get the wood marked by engraving - take it to someone who does fine 
woodwork (fretwork or filigree or whatever it's called). Then fill the 
grooves with black wax.  Depends on the type of wood you've used as to its 
suitability.

7) As for 6, but get someone to mark it via laser - take some samples of the 
wood to a laser cutter , or I think you can get machines to mark wood using 
a hotwire method.

8)  Go to a clock restorer - get him to recommend someone who re-paints worn 
clock dials on grandfather clocks. See if he can sign write the wooden panel 
for you.

Probably all old hat and probably all unworkable!

Cheers

RMC, England