JD 4450 Tractor

[BanksAg]

Hey all. Looking for some advice on this one. My wife wants me to make a new farm sign for my father-in-law's 60th birthday. His favorite tractor is the John Deere 4450, so I'm working on a trace to be incorporated into the sign. I posted the original picture, a screenshot of my trace thus far, as well as the 'far-from-finished' dxf; I can post the Rhino file as well, but I don't think many others on here use Rhino.

I'm looking for advice on what features to leave, what to take out, and what to change. I know there are lots of drops, open curves, rough sections etc. that I need to clean up. I'm especially struggling with making the rear tires look right, so any advice there would be awesome. I'm not sure on the overall size of this part of the sign. The whole sign will be 2' wide by 3' tall, and once my wife picks the font the name will be the major feature on the sign. This is one of my first non-automatic traces. I'll make sure to post the updated file when I get it done.

Thanks in advance for any input.

Tim

JD4450.dxf

[K D Metalwerks]

It looks good to me. My struggle is how much detail to leave in. For me, if I put in too much detail, cuts end up running together and the look I was after goes away. As far as the tires, I like to make the lugs narrower and opening one of the narrow sides. I shoot for just a tad wider than my kerf width. It leaves just enough of a gap when done cutting. Most of my work is 15" or smaller. If it is a larger piece, I try to put in more detail, always aware to how close cuts are to each other. One thing I have learned to do is do a test cut of an area I think may have issues. I tend to waste less material. I find that the more pieces I create, the better I get at deciding how much material stays and how much goes. Good luck!!

[RobinHillMachine]

This is what I call a quick file. I didn't make it to cut any certain size. I didn't check the spacing. You will have to adjust it as needed for your cut size and kerf.

Hope it helps.

DXF, SVG, and proof in the zipped folder.

TractorJD4450.zip

[BanksAg]

Thank you very much! That's way better than the one I had going.

[BanksAg]

Thank you again, Julie. I wanted to share the almost finished project. The backstop behind is coming down & some landscaping is going in tomorrow, then it'll be finished. It should be much easier to see when that's all complete. Thank you!

20170701_213956.jpg

[RobinHillMachine]

That looks great! I love seeing pictures of my files being used.

[russellboy64]

Tim, Just read your post to Julie about the pic of the almost finished 4450 project. Julie sent me a dxf file of that tractor and I have it at a friends steel company to be cut. I would be interested in seeing the pic you sent to Julie so I can see how yours turned out. Could you send it to me. Send a pm if you want. I am hoping to have mine cut at about 30". I intend to get some hobby paint and dry brush some color onto it. May have several more cut if the first one turns out.
I tried to send a private message but the board would not let me. Just joined. Gene

[BanksAg]

Here's a better picture of the completed project. Thanks again!

20170702_154510.jpg

[Specialkfab]

Nice Sign.

[RobinHillMachine]

It's so beautiful with the landscaping! Wonderful sign!

[mr.jake519]

this cuts excellent, love the cutout treads. Thanks!

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20200307_212710.jpg

[Jnmcfie4]

Thank you For this file. Changed it a bit, and cut for my Uncle and Cousin. They love it!

tractor.png

[harrymorley]

great files everyone..thanks for the shares