Creating a Traditional Pub Sign
Creating a Traditional Pub Sign
I received a call from a customer that had just had his pub declared a Free House, so he wanted a new sign. He asked me, “Can I bring you the existing sign to see if you can do anything with it?”
PICTURE 1
Well as you can see the only thing I could do with it was start a fire with it.
However, making him a new one isn’t really a difficult process so I have documented the steps and shown them below.
Wood Materials used:
- Four wooden batons 3 Inches × 2 Inches
- Two sheets of 9 mm Exterior MDF
- Four strips of 3 inches x half an inch.
PICTURE 2
This shows the basic framing of the sign assembled using 3×2 inch wooden batons.
Mitres were not needed because the batons would be completely hidden and enclosed.
These batons were used to give the sign strength as well as the thickness required.
PICTURE 3
Once the batons had been screwed and glued together.
A sheet of 9mm exterior grade MDF was then fixed to the front, with a second sheet of 9mm MDF fitted to the rear.
Both sheets of MDF were glued to the framework and then countersunk holes were drilled and finally fixed with Screws.
PICTURE 4
The finished framing is then fitted around the perimeter of the sign.
This was done using 3-inch by half-inch dressed straps of wood.
Again, I drilled countersink holes, before applying glue to the straps and finally screwing them tight around the sides.
Finally, the framework was then given a 45-degree routed edge, to complete the desired look.
PICTURE 5
Here, you can see the assembled materials, mentioned above.
You will notice that I have backfilled the screw holes and any visible spaces with a fast-setting wood filler.
Once dried, I sanded the entire sign smooth.
PICTURE 6
Next, I painted the entire sign with an oil-based primer undercoat.
The sign face was then given 2 coats of Red Crown Stronghold Exterior Gloss.
The framing was given 2 coats of Black Crown Stronghold Exterior Gloss.
The routered 45-degree edges of the black frame were then lined with Gold paint.
PICTURE 7
The original pictorial for the sign was hand-painted by Terry Colley.
Terry kindly allowed me to reproduce his artwork for this job.
The text lettering: “The Duke of Wellington” was done in 23.5k Gold Leaf.
The rest of the text was done in cut vinyl.
The customer was delighted with the sign, which he took away to install himself.
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