3D Letter Sign | Scroll Saw Project

I had a tough time this year buying Christmas gifts. Who am I kidding, I always have had a hard time with this. I'm a man. 

I really like to try and pick up clues throughout the year what a person would like. The problem is, most adults these days have anything and everything they want. If they want something, they go out and buy it. 

As economically blessed as we are in the United States, I have trouble buying for someone based on something I think they "need" too. 

For my parents this year, I decided to make them something. I finally settled on this sign. 

This project began with scrolling out the letters. This is for my mom and dad, but mainly for my mom, so I wanted somewhat fancy letters without going too fancy. So I picked this nice cursive font.

I always start with the interior cuts first, or it makes the piece as a whole, much more difficult to maneuver around, and makes it more susceptible to getting broken.

The original plan was to to add some small letters that I also cut out that would have read "Home is Where the Heart Is." But I scrapped the idea because the type of decor that conjures up in my mind would not fit with my mother's decor. My parent's anniversary is just a couple days before Christmas, so I decided to add the "Est. 1967" to celebrate their many years of marriage.

I'm using some boards that I'm repurposing from some shelves I had. Fortunately for me, these boards were already stained this dark color. This will look nice with the poplar letters I cut out. I glued this up to make my panel.

I used painter's tape to help guide me on where to glue my letters down, and keep them level.

I chose to make a frame for it. I got that sanded and smoothed out. This things ready for a few coats of spray lacquer.

I sure hope they like it as much as I think they will.