“Dad’s workshop” sign

I greatly enjoy making presents for people and as I’ve been going back through all the different projects I made over the past couple of years in the various COVID lockdowns, I want to share a personalised sign I made for my Dad for his shed workshop.

I planned out the text on my laptop and printed out the wording to stick onto the wood. I used two pieces of pallet slats as everywhere was still closed due to the first COVID lockdown and drilled holes in each of the letters. I then used my jigsaw to carefully cut out the inside of each of the letters. I used various files and sandpaper to smooth the inside of the lettering and then glued the two pieces together, using boards on top and below to keep the pieces flat as I tightened the clamps.

I left the workpiece overnight for the glue to fully dry and then cut the sign to size using my table saw to flush up the edges and trim off the excess. I then drilled a hole on each side at the top of the sign to attach a cord, using an offcut underneath the workpiece to prevent tear-out as the drill went through.

After a whole load of sanding up through the grits, I then glued on a thin piece of plywood to the back of the sign to provide a colour behind the lettering. So my Dad could hang up the sign in his shed workshop, I threaded a red piece of thick cord through each of the holes and tied a knot to secure it in place on each side.

I applied some linseed oil to finish the sign and bring out the interesting grain in the wood, using the red cord to hang up the sign while it dried. I gave it to my Dad for Father’s Day last year and it is now hanging in his shed workshop! 🔨