burning letters in wood......making a sign....

[mldollins]

My home is a log home and I am attempting to go with the decor. I have a piece of wood 1.5 by 3 foot that I want to put our name on and hang out front.

My wife suggested instead of painting our name, could we burn it somehow. The problem is that we would be trying to use a propane torch as a precision tool.....not likely to happen. Making sharp letters will be nearly impossible.

Any thoughts?

thanks

[whiterock]

heat some irons and "brand" your name in the wood.

[Cabin Fever]

Use a router and route your name into the wood sign. Then, heat up an iron poker and trace the inside of the routed letters.

[garnetmoth]

Do you have a soldering iron? that may work like a wood burning tool a little better! Cant guarantee it wont catch fire, but easier.

If not, how about a small piece of sheet metal grabbed in a vice grips, heat over the flame, then use it to "brand" the wood. Heat and repeat! youll get pretty square letters unless you use a fine piece for corners, or bend a piece!

Good luck!

[gone-a-milkin]

A woodburning tool isn't too expensive, like $10. In the craft dept. at WM.

I bought one for my kids and have used it way more than they do.

[Harry Chickpea]

Heavy duty aluminum foil stencil? "Glue" it down with something like a tack coat of shellac.

[CherieOH]

Originally Posted by Cabin Fever

Use a router and route your name into the wood sign. Then, heat up an iron poker and trace the inside of the routed letters.

What a great idea, Cabin Fever! I do woodburning, but never thought to use a router for writing words and names. I'll have to try that, maybe filling in the grooves with stain or paint too.

goneamilkin is right though, wood burning tools are cheap (Google it and see for yourself) , and you'll probably find yourself using it a lot more often than you think.

[NCLee]

Wal-Mart has a good one with lots of special tips for around $25.

Practice first on scrap wood, until you get good at it. It does take practice. The grain of the wood, speed that you move the tool, type of wood, all have a bearing on your results.

Another sign option is to buy wooden letters at a crafts store, like Michaels. They have them in a variety of sizes. Finish your board, finish your letters, each the way you want them. Then, glue the letters to the board. Trace the outline of the letters on the board, before finishing. Glue doesn't stick, as well to a finish as it does raw wood. Don't finish the back of the letters, either.

Or, glue the letters to the board, then, finish the whole thing at one time, especially, if you simply add exterior polyurethane to protect your sign, for a natural look.

Lee

[Curtis B]

Originally Posted by Cabin Fever

Use a router and route your name into the wood sign. Then, heat up an iron poker and trace the inside of the routed letters.

My grandfather did this for signs in the little community he lived in in the mountains of CO. The signs still look like new almost 40 years later.

[Beeman]

Buy Dremel tool, you need one anyway especially when you see what it can do. Write the name with a sharpie and then route it with the dremel tool. Scorch the wood if you want that effect in small areas. Paint inside the routed part black to make it stand out, then seal it with polyeurethane.