Wood for outdoor signs???

How about "Trex" that's solid core? Not sure which brands, but they
sure would never rot away like oak. I think Trex is not solid. I used
some composite decking material that's solid all the way through. It
routs like a dream.

Or redwood. Or Duraply.

Ron wrote:

> Any suggestion for what to use for wooden signs with names and the like
> routed into them?
>
> I use ROak for most of my indoor projects, any thoughts on how it would hold
> up outside?
>
> I have a decent source of ROak shorts for $2 - $2.50 bf, S3S.
>
> I don't want to paint them, I'd prefer to stain and top coat if necessary?
> What finishes & topcaots would be recommended, deck stains?
>
> I'm also considering Ipe if I can find a decent source of 2' - 3' shorts,
> 6 - 10" wide.
>
> ThankX again all,
>
> Ron
>
>
>

You might consider white oak. It apparently has good weathering
qualities (unlike the red oak you are considering). Teak would also
work well.





Ron wrote:
> Any suggestion for what to use for wooden signs with names and the
like
> routed into them?
>
> I use ROak for most of my indoor projects, any thoughts on how it
would hold
> up outside?
>
> I have a decent source of ROak shorts for $2 - $2.50 bf, S3S.
>
> I don't want to paint them, I'd prefer to stain and top coat if
necessary?
> What finishes & topcaots would be recommended, deck stains?
>
> I'm also considering Ipe if I can find a decent source of 2' - 3'
shorts,
> 6 - 10" wide.
>
> ThankX again all,
>
> Ron

Used to be in the sign business, and we used a lot of redwood, for
routed as well as sandblasted signs (you mask off your design and
sandblast away 1/4 to 1/2" of the background, works best with a border
left around the edge).

Todd Fatheree wrote:
> > Ron
>
> My father uses osage orange (or hedge, as he calls it) for just this
> purpose. He uses some sort of spar varnish over it (I think).
>
> todd

Dang. Beat me to it. Farmers here in the midwest used it for fence
posts, and one guy said that one hedge apple post will wear out two
holes. Also, that stuff is haaaaard. Cutting with a chainsaw will
throw sparks. I've done it. I currently have all of my contacts in
the arborist business on the lookout for trees.

-Phil Crow

On Tue, 10 May 2005 17:01:19 -0400, "Ron" <[email protected]> wrote:

>Any suggestion for what to use for wooden signs with names and the like
>routed into them?
>
>I use ROak for most of my indoor projects, any thoughts on how it would hold
>up outside?
>
>I have a decent source of ROak shorts for $2 - $2.50 bf, S3S.
>
>I don't want to paint them, I'd prefer to stain and top coat if necessary?
>What finishes & topcaots would be recommended, deck stains?
>
>I'm also considering Ipe if I can find a decent source of 2' - 3' shorts,
>6 - 10" wide.
>
>ThankX again all,
>
>Ron
>
I did my outdoor sign with cedar rubbed down with several coats of BLO. So far,
it has held up nicely through a western Pennsylvania winter.

____________________
Bill Waller
New Eagle, PA

[email protected]

White oak will grey out on you after a year or so.

"Doug" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> You might consider white oak. It apparently has good weathering
> qualities (unlike the red oak you are considering). Teak would also
> work well.
>
>
>
>
>
> Ron wrote:
>> Any suggestion for what to use for wooden signs with names and the
> like
>> routed into them?
>>
>> I use ROak for most of my indoor projects, any thoughts on how it
> would hold
>> up outside?
>>
>> I have a decent source of ROak shorts for $2 - $2.50 bf, S3S.
>>
>> I don't want to paint them, I'd prefer to stain and top coat if
> necessary?
>> What finishes & topcaots would be recommended, deck stains?
>>
>> I'm also considering Ipe if I can find a decent source of 2' - 3'
> shorts,
>> 6 - 10" wide.
>>
>> ThankX again all,
>>
>> Ron
>

In article <[email protected]>, "Ron" <[email protected]> wrote:
>Any suggestion for what to use for wooden signs with names and the like
>routed into them?
>
>I use ROak for most of my indoor projects, any thoughts on how it would hold
>up outside?

Not worth a darn. White oak is a different story, though.

Other naturally rot-resistant woods include cedar, cypress, teak, ipe,
redwood, and black locust. Ipe is probably about as close as you'll get to a
wood that's rot-PROOF.

Routing ipe or black locust could be a bit of a challenge... :-), teak won't
be exactly a walk in the park, and redwood makes one hell of a mess.

I think I'd go for cypress or white oak, myself.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Todd Fatheree wrote:
> > > Ron
> >
> > My father uses osage orange (or hedge, as he calls it) for just this
> > purpose. He uses some sort of spar varnish over it (I think).
> >
> > todd
>
> Dang. Beat me to it. Farmers here in the midwest used it for fence
> posts, and one guy said that one hedge apple post will wear out two
> holes. Also, that stuff is haaaaard. Cutting with a chainsaw will
> throw sparks. I've done it. I currently have all of my contacts in
> the arborist business on the lookout for trees.
>
> -Phil Crow

My dad gets a regular supply of what he needs to make signs down in southern
IL. Mind you, he's not looking for trees that can be turned into
dimensional lumber, but something 12-15" around is fine for his sign-making.
By the way, where is "here in the midwest" for you, Phil. I'm originally
from central IL, but now live in the Chicago area.

todd

If you need to make a lot of signs...

http://www.westpennhardwoods.com/shop/cart.php?target=category&category_id=834

"Ron" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Any suggestion for what to use for wooden signs with names and the like
> routed into them?
>
> I use ROak for most of my indoor projects, any thoughts on how it would
hold
> up outside?
>
> I have a decent source of ROak shorts for $2 - $2.50 bf, S3S.
>
> I don't want to paint them, I'd prefer to stain and top coat if necessary?
> What finishes & topcaots would be recommended, deck stains?
>
> I'm also considering Ipe if I can find a decent source of 2' - 3' shorts,
> 6 - 10" wide.
>
> ThankX again all,
>
> Ron

My father uses osage orange (or hedge, as he calls it) for just this
purpose. He uses some sort of spar varnish over it (I think).

todd