Making a Custom Logo Door Handle

A customer came to us with the idea of having a logo used as a door handle. The logo was to feature an "R" and a "K" (For Royal King). The customer could only provide us with a .pdf of the image, and needed it modified to fit into a circle (to make it more functional as a door handle). There also had to be a 1 inch gap between the handles when the door closed so there was no chance of getting fingers caught in there.

Follow up:

So we had the logo, the customers needs (along with the above sketch), and some ideas on how to make it work. We would make the foundry pattern in 1/2" MDF. Cutting it on a CNC machine was out of the question since we only needed one, and we could finish the part in the time it would take to program the machine.

We took the initial .pdf of the logo into photoshop and made it into a line drawing. We then increased the size from 4 inches to approx 14 inches high. We printed the logo, and tried matching it on our circle template. It didn't look quite right so we took it back to photoshop to increase the size of the "K". After a little more trial and error, we managed to get the sizing right.

We then glued the logo onto to a piece of 1/2" MDF and cut it out on the band saw. We now had a separate "R" and "K" that we would use as router templates. We used a 1/4" flush trim bit and routed around the logo.

From this point, we used files and sandpaper to give the pattern draft, and round the edges wherever necessary. Pictured below is the finished pattern.

The customer was very happy with the finished product. We like this particular job because it allowed us to showcase that you don't always need professional CAD drawings for creating things. A lot of the time, and idea and a sketch is all you need.

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