Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Merry Xmas Sign With License Plates

Christmas is coming up so I made a Merry Christmas sign using letters cut from license plates.  It's pretty easy and you don't need any fancy tools.  



The first thing to do is to find the license plates with the right letters for the sign.  Flea markets or antique shops are a good place to look.  E-bay also has tons of license plates for sale.  I've e-mailed several of the people who sell a lot of plates and they were happy to make a special lot of plates that had all of the letters I needed.  The sign may have been better with only red and green letters, but it depends on what you can get.  Just look around to find what you need to give your sign the look you want.


For the wood part: I used pallet wood for my sign. Cut two pieces big enough to fit the letters.  Then cut two small pieces to use on the back to hold them together                  









Use screws to put it together.  It's a good idea to drill some pilot holes first so you don't crack the wood. Wood glue should do the trick too, you just have to wait for it to dry.
I then used Briwax and steel wool to give the wood a good antique look.  You can find this on Amazon.  The light brown color is good for pallet wood.  I've also seen it at woodworking shops, but not at Home Depot or Lowes.  It gives a great patina if used on old, weathered wood.
                                                                                

Now for the plates.


 I used a jig saw with a sheet metal blade to cut the license plates to get the right letters.











Then use a pair of tin snips to trim down the letters.  I cut some off of the top and bottom of the pieces that I cut from the license plates to make them fit on the wood better.  I also rounded the corners slightly.

Use a nail and hammer to punch two holes in each piece, one at the top, and one at the bottom.  


Then use small screw and a drill with a phillips bit to attach the letters to the front of the sign, using two screws fro each piece.  I suppose you could use some small nails or tacks for this instead.


I thought it looked better to not have the letters perfectly straight.  But arrange them however you want.


I placed the sign on my front porch leaning against a pot of poinsettias,  but you can attach some wire to the sign and hang it on your door, or even put it on a post.

Thanks for reading.


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