Deadwood Saloon Sign

To make this Deadwood Saloon sign, you will need the following:

CNC Router ( I used the X-Carve CNC)

Vectric Aspire or equivalent program

90* V-Bits

1/4" endmill bit

Keyhole slot cutter

White Pine wood 28" x 9.5" x 25/32"

Miniwax Prestain Wood conditioner

Miniwax Ipswich Pine stain

Paint brush

Black craft paint

Clear gloss finish

220 grit and 320 grit Sandpaper

Design Sign and Preview

I used Vectric Aspire to design my Saloon sign. I started out with the cutout portion, made a rectangle with internal radius corners. I then design the center and corner designs. Inserted Deadwood Saloon text, using Hoedown font.

Keyhole Slots

Place the backside of the board down, and secure it with clamps. Install a keyhole cutter into the router and route keyholes slots. I made 3 keyhole slots, 2 on 16" centers and one in the center.

This will give you 2 options of hanging the sign. If you don't have the ability to add keyholes slots, just screw some D-ring hangers instead

V-Bit Carving

Now flip the piece over, secure it. Then install a 90* V-bit, and start carving the design and names. I used Hoedown font for the lettering.

Paint

Now I painted the lettering and design details with Black craft paint.

See the last step before doing this, named Extra

Sand

After letting the paint dry overnight, I sanded the entire piece with 220 grit sandpaper.

Be sure the blowoff any dust before next step

Finish

First apply Minwax Prestain wood conditioner, let this set for a few minutes. Then apply Minwax Ipswich Pine stain, let it set for about 15 minutes, then wipe off the excess. If the piece isn't dark enough for you, apply another coat of stain for additional 15 minutes, do this until the desired color is achieved. Allow the stain to dry overnight then apply a coat of Clear gloss finish.

Note remember to wipe off the excess stain before drying, or you willl have to sand the board again.

Enjoy

Now just hang up your new sign and enjoy, this would look great in a Mancave or Bar room.

Thanks for checking out my Instructable, if you like this, you might check out my youtube channel, I post a new video every week. Click here for my channel

Extra

Note when painting in a soft wood like White Pine, it will tend to bleed into the wood. I have found out the hard way.

To remedy this. Sand and stain the wood of your choice first, let dry. Then spray a coat of clear finish and let dry overnight. Now paint the lettering, and wipe off any excess with a damp cloth. Once this has drys, sand the top of the sign again with 320 grit sandpaper, and spray another coat of clear. This keeps the paint from bleeding into the wood. Thanks again for checking out my Instructable.