I was approached from the staff at our church – Generation Church in Jupiter, FL to see if I’d be willing to help out with a build.  Of course I would!  This summer they’re having a kids conference over 3 nights with a camping theme.  As part of that, they’re looking to have an entryway built with a small picket fence and a rustic sign.  Here was a pic of their inspiration.

That design is simple enough to build with the exception that it needs to be freestanding.  The sketch is definitely not freestanding.  So I put my thinking cap on and came up with a design that would be self supporting while achieving a similar look.  First things first, I picked up some rough sawn cedar from Orr Woodworks in Jupiter, FL.  That was my first experience purchasing material from them and it was a good experience.

Once the lumber was back to my shop, I started laying out the fence portions on either side.  These consisted of a cut down 4×4 on either end, 2x4s running in between, and some pickets along one face.  I laid out the picket spacing so there would be a space between the pickets at exactly the midpoint so that I would be clear to fasten the main sign 4x4s to the 2x4s on the fence rail.  I also added small return legs to the bottom of the fence 4x4s to give it a little additional stability.  If necessary, when assembled I can place some sandbags on these to make it more stable.

Once the two fence sides were assembled, I then notched the main sign 4x4s to sit over the 2x4s on the rail.  This will give the main sign more racking stability in case it decides to get windy out.  With the 4x4s notched I then mounted a small return leg to the base and then fastened them to the fence sides.  With that complete I moved on to the sign backer.  I laid out and cut an arch.  For this I cheated – I laid it out so that I could use the cut off portion from the bottom of the arched cut on the top to make the arch complete without having to use multiple pieces.  One cut – two arches.  Brilliant!

Once assembled, the sign looked great.  Except, it still looked like new cedar.  I used the steel wool in vinegar trick to make a rustic dye and I coated the entire entry with a light spray.  You can see in the photo below that I’ve coated the sign backer and the far portion of the fence.  It’s already began to darken up nicely.

Next step was the letters.  I used my CNC to cut out the letters to the font they specified – Camp Granada.  Once cut out I primed and painted them bright orange.  Once the paint had dried, I laid out and mounted them to the sign backer.  Looks great!  Also notice how dark the cedar got.  Instant rustic.  The only thing left now is to deliver it to the church next week.