Backlit House Number Sign

[Kaldonis]

Here's something I brainstormed over my lunch break... exactly what it sounds like, I want a new house number sign to put over my garage door that has back lighting and is tied in to my existing outdoor lights. Pretty sure I can make one for a lot cheaper than I could buy one.

From the front, it looks something like the attachment (numbers may be larger). The outer frame is just MDF or something painted black, the grey area represents some kind of plastic, and the numbers can be whatever. Put a light behind the plastic and voila, backlit house number sign.

I guess my big question at this point is what to use for lighting... Can probably just get away with a small CFL bulb? I don't think I want to wire it up with LEDs.

[thesaxmachine]

you should get kurtis to cut out the stuff on vinyl and put it on some clear plastic

[FingerTech]

As long as the vinyl is less than 24x9" I can do it! Oh, but I'd have to order some outdoor stuff. Indoor would probably peel off with the weather.

[Kaldonis]

I think I'd probably only use vinyl for the numbers, but might just opt to CNC them on something super thin instead.

Had a thought about this project today though, it would be much cooler if it was solar powered. Wonder if I could use one or two of those solar stake lights? I would only need the sign lit in the evening so these might work perfectly. Only concern there is whether or not they would be bright enough...

[thesaxmachine]

You could laminate the vinyl in two sheets of acrylic. Wouldn't need outside stuff then.

[FingerTech]

Good thinking. Seal it with silicone or something.

[Kaldonis]

Bought a solar powered spotlight that I'm hoping can do the job. It's quite bright, has a fairly big panel and an 850mAh lithium phosphate battery. I've dismantled it down to the essentials so all that's left now is to build an enclosure.

[Kaldonis]

Sneak peek (ignore the tape , if you can see it):