How To Build A Professional Looking Wooden Sign With Raised Letters // Woodworking / DIY 

I come from a family sign company that has been in business for almost 75 years. Considering you’re not in the industry you did a nice job cutting everything out. We use lifts worth of MDO. However, we considered MDO to be a temporary material. So we don’t use MDO for this type of sign. We would have either laminated redwood together or used a 2” thick synthetic urethane sheeting. When we do use MDO, we completely primed and painted the entire sheet of MDO before mounting anything to it. I would have primed everything, including the letters, logo, etc. before applying any finish coat of paint. If you had gone to a sign company and asked them to plot and perforate your layout out, they could have given you one large sheet of paper of the entire sign. We have a couple electric perforators and our plotters also have perforators on them to plot patterns. Chalk is ounces through the holes leaving an outline of whatever is pounced. You can use that outline to cutout your letters and then again to mount the letters to the panel. Instead of nailing everything down (which will rust eventually and could drip down the sign face), we would have used silicone or epoxy (depending).

I am a graphics artist at California Wayfinder Sign Company, and usually signs that big require a plotter and CNC machine. I didn’t think it was possible to print the artwork like what you did. You are truly one of the smartest sign people I have seen! Great job and NEVER quit.

I’ve been making signs for 45 yrs. You’ve done very well. We seal the edges of MDO with epoxy. For the backer sheet we often use Alumimum Composite Panels (ACP) Dibond is a brand name. I still like MDO. We buy it with a factory finish on the face and primed on the back. You used adhesive so the plain MDO was the way to go. Nice bandsaw work! Good on you for taking on the project.

"I don't know how to do any of that stuff" Love the honesty. Great video.

I got anxious watching this video. The level of patience you portray is unparalleled. I’m sure the rest of the video was great, but i had to bow out before the end. My heart was going to explode!

Wow, that must be one hell of a friend !

That looks amazing. The sad thing is most of the people you (me, we, whomever) do artwork for tend to not appreciate it. I mean... the painstaking effort to make clean looking letters, the aesthetic of the shadow effect by the black edges, whether you use semi-gloss, satin or eggshell finish, etc... They're usually like...that looks nice. Thanks.

Very nice. I was in the sign business for 20 years. We had CNC machines, computerized cutters, letter benders and large format printers. You did just as good a job. Im impressed.

been at it for 15 yrs steady.. research foam board..sand blasting for production...for a friend this was a lovely labor of love...good work!!!

No suggestions except to DO MORE! That sign is epic! Great craftsmanship and creativity.

I agree with you...having the white on the tops of the letters with the black sides gave it a nice shadow effect. Nice job!

What a fantastic job. I hope you're proud of that. I make shop front signs with a CNC router (all I've ever known as I'm new to the signmaking business ) watching this is amazing. Great effort and a fine result. Really cool to see a craftsman doing a better job than a CNC!

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is STUPENDOUS considering what you started with !!! Those edges I think impossible to seal and the side trims, though pretty, will seal IN the water and if your area has rainy months then it'll rot out in about 5-8 years.....that being said theres no such thing as a wood sign that lasts forever. Thats absolutely gorgious and will be gorgious for atleast 5 years.

That is awesome and I'm so glad you did it old school as half a million dollars for precision equipment just isn't in the budget. Thanks for posting.

All handmade. Your work on that was simply fantastic. Love the homage to Utz. As of today I see 52 people who were kicked in the by a mule also watched your video.

I’ve never watched a sign video, but I’m glad I did today. That’s a good looking sign.

This is a true piece of art. I never thought it was possible to do all this with a band saw. Excellent work.

This is awesome. The attention to detail is nothing but perfection. The manipulation of the saws to get this finished product is amazing. Hopefully I can learn something

I'm normally one of the 'crayon monkies' working in studios that send the logos to a sign maker, then later (always wondering why it took so long) getting photos of the finished product in an email. I'll forward this link to all at work to remind them that the creative process didn't end with us sending the file to the sign maker. Really awesome job. Thank you.

You couldnt have done a better job. Those colors work well off each other. Great job !

Man, that was absolutely amazing! I've been trying to figure out how to make the sign for my outdoor bar/kitchen and came across this video, lol I'll definitely be stealing this method. I love that you took the time to describe everything you were doing and all the tools you used. This was my first time seeing a video of yours, I will definitely be subscribing!

That white on black looks incredible. Awesome work.

Nice job going old school without a CNC! Looks great!

Great work on the sign! You are a talented Woodworker!

Thumbs up for the DIRESTA reference.

You should be proud of that!

You are a VERY GOOD friend.

Great suggested vid by youtube. I was literally just thinking about how to do the signage for our shipping container bike shop project and stumbled onto this. Great sign, great vid, I will be copying this idea shamelessly!

Thats a badass sign. Lot of great ideas for a sign that I have to make in the future. Well Done!

I can just say you are very talented how you did everything by yourself without any help and it looks very professional as well not just the sign also how you work.

Gheez!! We all need friends like you! GREAT JOB!!!!

The fact that you did that with Microsoft paint and by hand is very impressive!!!!!

You should post a short video of the sign up on location when it's done!

Omg i just got a router and started making small signs so i was looking up videos to learn more but wow I found this!!!!! absolutely amazing a lot of hours spent im sure great job i hope one day i have the tools and shop to make things like this

Ton of cutting. Amazing job

Awesome sign. I’ve always saw these done with cnc machines. Glad to see it can still be done by hand. I’m gonna start doing some of these. Thanks for the inspiration

Really a nice sign. Great video

That is a lot of work. I am a sign maker and really aprciate the work you have put into this

Wait a second! You're saying that you don't need a CNC and/or a 3D printer to make an awesome sign? Hmmm Well done.

Yea I would love to see it up at the club as well.

What a vivid looking sign! Such great contrast in colours! All of your effort to weatherproof it should pay off for your friend.

Great work! Sign looks good!

Damn can inventables please sponsor this guy a CNC machine I think he deserves is , great work

That's badass, man. Great design as well as execution. Letters are laser-straight and the paint layering looks great.

you sir are a bad ass been in the business a long time never seen it done by hand like this

Great work man! I don't ever comment on RU-vid stuff but I had to give you props.

Very nice sign your buddies is lucky to have you build that for him

True craftsman right there.

I did a very similar sign. I took each letter and coated it in epoxy along with the face of the sign before using boat paint for color. I used this technique after building the boat on my channel. The sign is showing some problems after 5 years and it is getting close to time for an overhaul. Your sign looks great. It’s nice to see a different approach to an almost identical problem.

Excellent work! Came out beautiful! Happy to see guys like yourself still building all by hand. Now a days everyones ones “a pro” by pressing buttons!

Excellent Work! I know how painstaking the letters are. Great video!

Dude you killed it! Major improvement over the original. Excellent job!

This is (in part) what I do. It took me years to produce this kind of quality. Nicely done.

What a beautiful sign. Well done!

Absolutely gorgeous sign!

Wow that’s awesome! And your dog is adorable 😍

Really enjoyed this. Nice to see it being skilfully done by hand, makes for better viewing than a CNC machine lol

Dude... whoa! Very impressive work. You'd never catch me cutting all those by hand like that. I hope you charged him a boat load! That's a beautiful sign.

This is a awesome sign. I am restoring a residential sign and trying to enlist the city for minimal help to remount a 96"L x 22-1/2"w sign that is been in my area behind my house since 1983. I restored it once in 2015. But weather has taken its toll and the bolts that they originally mounted it with was mounted incorrectly to start. Now it is breaking through and will drop and be destroyed. I asked the city to just remount it and I will restore it. We'll see what happens.

Nicely done.

YOUR ARE AN ARTIST

That isn't just a sign, it is art!!!

Thats probably the best sign I've ever seen made from start to finish 👏. A+

Dude! You have just MADD SKILLZ !! Incredible work man ! Enjoy watching you build incredible pieces like this ! Really like how you went even further and filled all the pin holes, AND repainted all the small pieces. Also painting the white over the black letters made the whole sign pop, and finished off a masterpiece ! Absolute KILLER piece man !!

Quite impressive. You applied great attention and patience in that build.

That is one quality sign! Cheers to you.

WOW what a sign really great craftsmanship if I say so myself. Nothing to improve or do different on your end my friend you keep making the signs the way you have been making them what works for some doesn't always work for most.

Dude that turned out great! I bet your buddy loves it!

Looks Great

The sign turned out fantastic! Looks like a heck of a lot of work, but worth it in the end I'm sure! Good job!

all the work paid off, sign looks great.

This guy is super talented. CNC would have cut these faster, but he used simple machines to do the cutting. Now that is skills.

Put a roof over that thing, looks too good to be exposed to the rain and snow.

Thank you for showing us how this can be done. I've been struggling with my own logo for a while, but after watching this, I found the motivation to bust out my own sign. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

That sign turned out great. The black shadow was a great call.

this guy is a CNC ROTTERY MACHINE PERIOD, That's some rare skills

At first I was like "No! He's painting that wood!!" but it turned out awesome looking man!

Great job

Awesome! I was quoted $2,500-4,000.00 for a much simpler sign. My husband and I plan to tackle our own sign thanks to your tutorial. Please post a picture of your final project hanging at the store front.

I just stumbled on this video looking at different ways to make an outdoor sign for my sons General Store. Thanks. Very helpful.

Awesome Sign!

What a great job, and it was an at home project. Wow!

Ditching that fret saw for a second-hand Excalibur scroll saw will give you a better finish on inside cuts, not to mention better speed and accuracy.

Great work, when i selected this video i expected to be watching a CNC sign making video. Amazing amount of work and excellent result

What a great sign art. Love it. I made couple of signs and I am looking around to see if I can make a living with this. I am a painter for homes. But I noticed is not as easy as anyone can imagine.

That's a LOT of work, and you did a great job. The metal foil tape is a good idea too.

If you are planning on doing much painting I would suggest looking into a paint sprayer. Especially when applying poly, it would save you a ton of time. Great work on the sign by the way, looks spectacular!

Awesome trip to the past - that' s how my Dad used to do it - having said that: RESPECT MAN !!!! Splendid job, you' re a true Craftsman! (maybe you should UP your Labour charges...LOL) This sign is BEAUTIFUL.... more power to you! Cheers

Nothing to improve.. it looks machine made (perfect cuts), that's a compliment!

That is a great looking sign.... I loved the redbrown couler of the boards more than when you painted them. But that is personal. All with all a great job !!

Awesome video! Really enjoyed watching this.

Old School is the best school. Nice job!

The sign looks amazing! Thanks for sharing the tip about MS Paint :-)

2 years later..and still awesome This is the most amazing thing I’ve seen yet Definitely are one of the most innovative talented I’ve seen here

Great video!

You are a true inspiretion

crazy talent bro.....cant believe you didnt mask off that stuff.....if i twas meI would have gotten paint over everything.

It turned out awesome! UTZ is awesome too! I'll bet the owners at Pine Hill were thrilled.

Just beautiful