I made 22 signs "just because".
A couple guys were after me about making some, so I just made as many as I could fit on the machine.
I used Quarter Sawn Red Oak, Ash, and Honey Locust.
I painted the v-carved letters, sanded the out, stained them with a custom mixed stain, then finished them with mineral oil.
Mineral oil keeps the wood from warping, checking, splitting, or changing it's water content. Plus if it gets dusty over the years, it's super easy for anyone to clean them with soap and water, dry them, and oil them again.
It's SO much better than polyurethane for certain things, and these signs are one.
I'm pretty sure I posted the signs before, so that's about all I have to say.
Most all of them are gone already, but I am going to post the leftovers for sale in WTS as soon as I can.
Here's the signs...
I've been struggling with this particular Partagas sign.
I haven't been able to figure out what to do with it to make it "pop".
Everyone is happy with it except me.
I've tried strategically placed black paint, insanely expensive gold paint, and different stains. None have made me happy.
I think it's the size that's the problem. I need to make it bigger so I can really get in there and work on it.
This time, I stained the sign with a light custom mixed stain.
Then I used a syringe to put a much darker stain in all the lines (toolpaths).
I let the stain set for a number of hours, then used the syringe and put in another layer of stain.
Then I soaked it up and blew the extra stain out with air.
It turned out better than the rest I've done, but I'd still like to work in some gold paint.
Here's that sign...
