Need help making letters using rope light

**littlelmo** · 10-01-2009, 02:12 PM

I am wanting to use rope light to make some signs around the yard this year but I am having trouble making them presentable. Is there temples for each letter or is it strictly free hand when it come to doing this. Any input as to how it is done will certainly be appreciated. Thanks

**dirknerkle** · 10-01-2009, 02:17 PM

You can make a nice letter-by-letter template by using your printer to print each single letter on a page of paper. Make the letter large enough so it is the size you need it to be. Lightly tape the pages down onto a board (or whatever you're using as your backing) and then when done, simply tear the pages out from behind the ropelight. If you're mounting the ropelight on plywood or some other sturdy board, you might be able to fasten the paper using push pins. You'll probably have to fasten the ropelight to the backing anyway...

**ErnieHorning** · 10-01-2009, 08:47 PM

1. I had a Holographic Merry Christmas sign that looked OK in the daylight but bad at night. I knew what it said and I couldn’t read it, so this year I wanted a rope light version. The commercial ones were either too high priced for me or not very neat looking. I figuring that I could do better.

2. So, I created my sign with Microsoft Publisher and added arrows with PowerPoint that showed the direction the rope should go.

3. PVC pipe at Menards was about $1.50 for 12 feet. I laid it on top of the printout, measured and cut it and in the end used about 20 feet of pipe.

4. A bit of Rustoleum flat black paint.

5. I added about 25 feet of 1 /2 inch red rope light. It took about 4 hours and a lot of wire ties. That stuff doesn’t bend very easily at the angles that I needed. My fingers throbbed all night and were very sore for a couple of days.

6. It turned out pretty good and cost about $10.

7. Less light

**ErnieHorning** · 10-01-2009, 08:48 PM

More pics

**Wayne J** · 10-01-2009, 08:51 PM

That there is some fine work!!! Worth the sore fingers. ;)

**budude** · 10-01-2009, 08:52 PM

You know - - it's clear we simply need an "Ernie's Corner" forum here! Cool stuff!

**omzig** · 10-01-2009, 09:13 PM

Awesome sign Ernie! I'm not sure why I didn't think of using cursive letters. Doing block letters with ropelight is a pain.

**ErnieHorning** · 10-01-2009, 09:27 PM

It wasn’t until I was done that someone mentioned that the tight bends would have been much easier if the rope light was plugged the entire time. DOH!

**littlelmo** · 10-01-2009, 09:57 PM

Thanks for all of the suggestions. Ernie I really like your sign and I guess I will break out the software and pvc so I can start on my sign. Hope it turns out half as good as yours. Again thanks a million.