Tall Door Welcome Sign

So unfortunately Home Depot is the cheapest but the wood is never ready to use or even strait.

I took the 1x6 and cut it down to the size I wanted to make for this one I cut to 5ft and I will share later what I did with the remaining 3ft (no wasted material if possible. 

Next you will want to make sure it is flat I started by using my jointer and then I went over to the table saw and evened out the sides. and then I sent it through my plainer. Now for those who do not have a full woodworking shop don't worry you can just spend a bit more time looking for a perfectly flat piece or if you have a palm sander you can take some time and carefully sand it flat. 

Now that the wood is flat I sanded out all the marks and made the wood flat I did a 100 grit then a 180 grit leaving the final sanding for a later step.   

After the wood is smooth and flat I took my propane torch and lightly burned the wood to give it that dark look.

Now the biggest thing before going to the engraver is to take some painters tape and place it over the entire top I do both sides so that I get a double sided sign in the end. 

Now even with the extension kit the D1pro is not long enough so with the legs on and a honey comb placed put the top side of the sign in and let the bottom hang out the other end, I suggest supporting it and making sure no one can bump into it (learn from my mistakes) now highlight the top part of the sign and select output and the bottom of the sign and select ignore, and run the engraving. After you run the first part take the sign out and turn it around (this is why the second part is upside down) and switch the ignore buttons, so now the bottom part will be output, line the laser up under the last part and run the engraving yes this process takes a very long time but its worth it!

Now that the engraving is done, move your board to the painting area and I take and press down on the tape as sometimes the air assist can push up the tape a bit. Paint all the letters and the first coat needs to dry all the way once it is dry I add two more coats so that it covers all the grain in the area. once that drys all the way you can go back to the sanding! yay Sanding is everyone's favorite thing to do right? I do this one at 220 grit for a nice smooth finish be careful not to sand too much though as you could sand all the burn right off. 

Next this is optional but if you want it to last a long time I seal the board with an outdoor sealant (i use oil based polyurethane) 

TA DA!!! you have made a beautiful door sign!