Sunday, 30 July 2017

Making a number plate

It's getting around to the time the W/NG magneto should be back from refurbishment, so we might be able to ride it soon. Time to make a number plate.

First, you need to find the right font. For our bikes, we need to print the number in Charles Wright Bold, 64 mm high letters. I used this site

https://www.fonts.com/font/k-type/charles-wright/bold

You can type in your number, and the page will display it in the chosen font:


You want to size it to 96 points and capture it using alt-print screen; you can then paste the picture this creates into MSWord. You'll end up with a picture which you can stretch larger - resize so the letters are 64 mm high


Print it out in light grey, so you don't waste lakes of ink. Stick the print on coated paper; it's going to get wet, and you don't want your stencil falling to pieces. I used a discarded magazine cover.


Cut out the letters with a scalpel.


I made a bridge out of the letters to hold the middle of the '8', using double sided tape:


Apply the stencil to the number plate & retain with magnets. The dark shapes are pieces of broken magnet:


When I do this again, I think I will buy some of that magnetized sheet; then I can cut shapes that hold the stencil in place, or maybe I will cut the stencil from magnetic sheet...

Spray the colour of your choice. I used Ford Ivory White, left over from the Bantam tank panels.


Now, before the paint dries fully, remove the stencil and clean up overspray when the paint is hard. I used wire wool and Farecla G3 cutting compound:


It's almost there, but could do with a bit more cleaning up. What I like about this is that the ivory colour and the slightly uneven lettering fits well with the patina of the bike as a whole.

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