As new parents, we quickly discovered that most visitors to the house seem to ring the doorbell at the exact moment your child starts to fall asleep for his daily nap. We hastily printed a sign to warn people not to ring the doorbell, but a paper sign, cellophane taped multiple times, looks shabby and needs to be replaced often. Making a more substantial sign has been on my list of non-critical to-dos for some time.
The other day, my son was running around in the backyard, occupied by toys, bugs, and berries. I was looking for something that I could do while still keeping an eye on him. This was ideal stare-at-your-smartphone time, but, remembering what Britney Spears taught me (see previous post), I was looking for something which might give me more satisfaction. I remembered the scraps of barn wood that a friend had given to me months ago. There wasn’t enough there to make a table or a shelf. There was enough for a sign though.
Shortly after dusting off my Dremel Multipro and whipping up a simple lettering template on MS Word, my sign was starting to take shape.
A trip to the table saw evened out the edges of the board to frame the text nicely. Then a coarse file roughed up the saw-cut edges to maintain that rustic look.
The last problem to solve was what to do about the color of the freshly cut edges. They did not match the weathered face of the barn wood. I found a solution on the Lee Valley website that was simple and helpful. It’s called a “Pickling Solution” and all it’s made up of is vinegar and steel wool. It worked perfectly for this application. The cut edges matched the weathered surfaces nicely.
This is not a piece that will end up in a museum. It’s not even a piece that is worthy of close scrutiny. The engraving turned out to be a little shallow and my paint brush was a little large. That combination didn’t give me the best paint control. I could be bothered by that, but I’m actually thrilled overall. The way I see it, here’s what this sign represents:
- De-training the habit to look at my smartphone when there’s a moment to spare
- The elimination of the small but routinely bothersome problem of losing, wrecking, and replacing the taped-up paper sign.
- The satisfaction of finally using that cool-looking barn wood for something
- The chance to practice and develop the skill of engraving. Now I know to go deeper next time and to buy a smaller paint brush. I could probably use some different engraving bits too. It feels good to learn something.
- The chance to be an example for my son. I would much prefer for him to have memories of his father passing time on some creative endeavor rather than lost in the online abyss.
Speaking of my son, he has just started to loudly announce to the household that he is awake. It’s time to start the day!