Well, well, well! Look what finally decided to show up? A DIY post. I bet you were asking does she even do DIY projects anymore? The answer is yes. I was on a little hiatus, but the DIYs are making a come back. This DIY Wood Home Sign will be the first of many to come for this DIY girl. It is time to get back to my roots of DIY and junkercising!
Items Needed:
- 1×4 – 2 boards at 8 feet ( I used these from Home Depot: Ghost Wood)
- *If you want to use smaller boards or wider boards you can totally adjust here. Just measure your letters height and width ratio to your boards
- Slats/Lath – Length will depend on your board you are making (These are very thin pieces of wood to hold the sign together from the back)
- Metal Letters (these came from an antique fair)
- Industrial strength Adhesive ( I used E6000 2 fl. oz. Clear Adhesive from Home Depot)
- Sandpaper
- Wood Glue
Power Tools Needed:
- Nail Gun (or you can use nails and hammer)
- Miter Saw or Jig Saw would work too
- Sander
Gathered all of your items? Good, now we are ready to start making your wood sign, although, hopefully you are nothing like me and have to make multiple trips to the store. Ready, set, and go make. Let’s crank up those power tools! YEAHHHHH (Said in my best Lil’ Jon voice).
Using your miter saw cut your 1×4’s to the desired length. The length will depend on the spread of the letters. This home sign I made was for my mom. She found these cool metal letters at the Country Living Fair this past year in Atlanta and wanted a sign. So I made a sign.
Once you have all of your boards cut, lay them out exactly how you want them. Make sure the ends line up. I used 2 clamps, one on each end, to hold the wood together.
Once you have it clamped together, you can take your laths and mark where you want to cut each one. For my wood sign I used 4 laths. This is what will hold the sign together.
Ready for another power tool? It’s about that time; time to strike up the nail gun. I used the nail gun to nail the laths to the 1×4 boards. I used 2-3 nails per 1×4 board to make it sturdy.
Once the laths were attached, wood work is done. It is time to attach the metal letters. We have made it to the home stretch and yes! that was pun intended. Nailed it! Haha got you again.
Ready, Set, Glue
Before attaching the letters it would be a good idea to sand the wood and get it smooth as possible. Less splinters that way. I used about a 80 grit sandpaper. It will also help the glue to adhere better.
Once you have finished sanding, lay out your letters. The next step is attaching them with the industrial adhesive. I used this one from Home Depot: E6000 2 fl. oz. Clear Adhesive . It worked like magic. I would definitely recommend to glue outside because this glue smells pretty strong. I used a scrap piece of wood to get the letters aligned at the bottom when gluing them down.
Don’t worry though! These metal letters didn’t exactly stick right away so if they are a little off when you place them back down, you are still good. I actually finished gluing the letters to the sign and then moved the sign inside. I placed another piece of wood over it and then placed concrete pavers on top as it would need time to set; at least 48-72 hours.
During the week I work a full-time job so it actually set for about a week. When I first glued down the letters they did not seem to stick very well. I fully admit I was nervous it was not going to permanently adhere. Add the industrial glue and a week to set and Voila! magic beans or in this case a fantastic DIY Home sign.
As my three year old niece would say, “I did it!” You did it! Easy peasy, right!
Here is my finished Home sign in all its glory. Looks like something you would get at Hobby Lobby doesn’t it! I’ll try not to hurt myself patting myself on the back though. I am very pleased with how this came out. I see more wood signs like this in my future. Do you see more wood signs in your future? I bet you do now.
Leave a Reply