Tutorial: How to Create A Rustic Sign Board

The root of many basic DIY arts and craft projects begin with a sign board made with planks of wood which are distressed and stained to give the rustic look. Aside from signs, this method is also extremely useful for making tops of cabinets, coffee tables, dressers- and so much more! The method I'm going to show you is more clean looking than simply screwing on runner boards to the back of the planks and hoping for the best. Whether you are interested in fabricating quality signs that will make your friends jealous, or if you are just looking to gain a little extra side money by making some simple products to sell- this post is for you!

Tools Needed:

- Power Drill *Get it here--->> http://amzn.to/2xYmNlK

- Quick grip clamps *Get it here --->> http://amzn.to/2zvbd5R

- Dowels/ dowel kit. *Get it here--->> http://amzn.to/2zvMJtg

- Titebond Glue *Get it here --->> http://amzn.to/2AiTJXK

- Shop Rag *Get it here --->> http://amzn.to/2zhKRmR

- Combination Square *Get it here >>http://amzn.to/2AhQmjK

- Chop saw or Equivalent

- Orbital Sander or Equivalent

- Stain or finish of your choice.

1) Make A Plan

The first step is determining what the application will be for your sign board. This will help you know what wood to purchase. Will it be for a sign to paint on or hang on your wall? Then you will probably want to go with 1" boards so- 1" x 4" or 1" x 6" and so on. Will it be for the top of a table you are making? Then you might consider using 2" boards so- 2" x 4" or 2" x 6" and so on. (Remember that a 1" x 4" from Home Depot is actually 3/4" x 3 1/2". A 2" x 4" from Home Depot is actually 1 1/2" x 3 1/2").

2) Cut The Wood

After you determine the wood type and size of the sign board you are making, its time to cut the wood. I usually cut the boards 1/4" bigger than what I want the finished product to be so I can have a little wiggle room with the sanding. If you have access to a table saw, You can just leave the boards 1/2" bigger than the finished product and then just cut clean new ends on the sign board after it is all glued up. Use a chop saw to cut the boards. If you don't have a chop saw, there are other methods to cut the wood I.E. with a skill saw or simply by hand.

3) Drill Dowel Holes

Once you have the wood cut to the size you'd like, you will need to drill dowel holes where your boards will connect to make sure the panel board is strong enough and will not crack or come apart under pressure. I typically use 5/16" dowels, and you can get a kit for around $10 at Home Depot or online. This will be a good investment for future projects.

Mark on your boards where you would like to place the dowels. I usually apply dowels 2" off of the end of each board and allow for no more that 16" in between each dowel. Your spacing doesn't have to be perfect by any means. Try to avoid placing dowels where you can run into a knot, this will make drilling difficult since knots have harder wood than the rest of the board.

Mark the center of the boards where you will be placing the holes with a tape measure or combination square. I like using the combination square since it holds a dimension for you and you can use it for make the same mark repeatedly.

Mark all the places where there will be holes and then you are ready to drill them out! Use the lock ring on the drill bit to determine the consistent depth you want to drill.

You want the dowel to be half way in each board- or close to that. Before you drill all the holes, try one pair to make sure they go together correctly with the dowel in place. There should be no gap between the two pieces of wood when squeezed together.

When you are finished drilling all of the holes, blow off the wood and inside the holes to make sure there are no shavings left over inside, or that would prohibit the boards from pressing tightly together with no gaps. Now you are ready to glue!

4) Glue The Wood Together

For this I use Titebond wood glue, it has proven itself well over the years that I have used it.

I apply glue liberally to both edges that will meet. Make sure to get glue into the holes that the dowels will be in. It will get a little messy- make sure to have a wet rag nearby.

After you have glued both sides, place the dowels in the holes on one of those sides. Lay the pieces flat and join them together quickly before the glue has too much time to drip.

Figure out what strategy works best for you whether its gluing most of the boards ahead of time or only working with two at a time. Continue on to each board until all of the dowels are in and all of the boards are glued together. Some glue will squeeze out of the cracks, don't worry about that yet.

5) Clamp The Boards

Use clutch bar clamps, quick grip clamps, or a combination of the two to clamp all of the boards together. Before you clamp them tight, check the ends to make sure all the boards are lined up as close as you can get them to be. When everything is lined up to your satisfaction tighten the claps until there are no gaps in between the boards and the glue starts oozing out.

If there are any places on the surface of the sign board where the individual boards are excessively uneven, take a plastic or rubber mallet and knock them down so they are flush. If necessary, remove some of the pressure from the clamps to do this, then re-tighten.

The last part of this step is to use the wet rag and wipe off all of the glue that you can from the sign board and on your working surface.

6) Cutting & Sanding

Allow sufficient time for the glue to dry before working with the sign board. The dry time will depend on the climate where you live, but just to be safe, follow the instructions on the glue bottle. When the glue is dry, remove the clamps from the sign board. Use a saw to cut clean ends on the board or use the orbital sander to sand smooth the edges.

After the edges are smooth, move on to the face of the board. This will require a fair amount of sanding depending on how uneven the boards are. Using a 60 or 80 grit paper will help the process move quicker. After the face is all smooth, I use a 220 grit paper to finish the whole face, edges and corners. This will give the whole board a nice soft finish. Depending on the boards application, you may be able to get away with only sanding one face side, if the other side is hidden from view.

7) Finishing

All that's left now is finishing the sign board. I usually just use a Minwax stain applied with a foam brush, then wiped down with a dry rag. It will smell strongly of stain for a day or so, so I just leave it in the garage or shop while it acclimates.

Congratulations!! That's all there is to it! After a few tries, you will be able to make them faster and faster. I like to make multiple sign boards at once because the production time per sign decreases greatly. See below for a few ideas on what you can do with your new sign board! Thanks for tuning in, and I hope to catch you next time!!