Snarky Pet Peeve Dog Sign

Materials Needed

• 2 pieces of 12"x12" 3mm stock of your choice. You could also use 1 piece of 12"x20" 3mm stock.
• Glue. I used Starbond thick, but any wood glue will work.
• Stain. I used Minwax Dark Walnut 2716. You could also paint it if desired.
• Masking Tape (optional). I used masking tape to hold down the small cut pieces to when staining.
• Acrylic sealer of your choice. I used Aleene's Original Matte Finish.
• Project file from DesignFind.
• A clean place to work.

I made this project with 2 pieces of 12"x12" 3mm basswood. This can be done on a single 12"x20”, but I used what I had on hand. You may also scale the objects to get them to fit on one piece of 12"x12" stock.

Open the project in XCS.

There are 3 settings across four layers. The settings are specific to my S1 20W, you may need to make adjustments to the settings, even if you are using the laser that I am.

Layers

• Red and Purple - Cut
• Blue - Score
• Black - Engrave

Processing the First Piece

There are three layers visible within the workspace when you open the file, the Red, Blue, and Black layers. This first piece includes the letters that will be glued on the back piece, engraving of the dog, and the scoring of the lettering. The scoring is quite light and strictly for alignment of the letters that will be glued on in a later step.

Focus the laser, mark your area, and process away!

When the job is finished, remove all the pieces. Be carful when removing the dashes to the right and left of the word ‘MY’ and also the dot above the letter ‘i’ in the word ‘petting’. These three pieces may fall through the honeycomb (if used) or whatever you are using to elevate the stock in your laser. You can see in the image above, I lost one of the dashes and the dot and had to remove the honeycomb to get them.

Process the Second Piece

Highlight the existing layers in the workspace. Click and drag them off the workspace. To the left of the workspace, you will see the purple layer, which is the outside frame and will be glued on the back piece in a later step.

Click and drag this into the workspace.

Focus the laser, mark your area, and process away!

Gather all of your pieces up. Place a couple of pieces of masking tape upside down {sticky side up) on your work area. Then place another piece of tape on each end of the two pieces you just placed. This will result in a sticky area to place your pieces to stain or paint, preventing them from moving.

Stain the letters and frame cut in the previous step.

Carefully glue the letters to the back piece, using the scored letters as a guide. If using Starbond Thick, be quick! This stuff sets up in seconds. If you need more time, use Starbond medium, or another wood glue of your choice. Go easy on the glue, it does not take much.

When the letters are done, then glue on the frame. Alignment is key, take your time. I find that pinching opposite corners at the same time between my thumb and finger does a pretty good job.

Depending on the type of glue used, you may need to apply pressure until the glue sets. 

This last step is optional, but will add a bit of protection to your sign. Spray a light coat of acrylic sealer and let it dry. Apply a second coat and you're set!

Enjoy your snarky sign!