House Name Boards

[P.E.Carver]

Can anyone please give me information on hand carving house name boards such as methods , materials , finishes , I would like to do one for a golden wedding present .

Thank you

P.E.Carver

[mark yundt]

Most of the "exterior" woods such as the typical Cedars..redwoods all work fine. Most of the sign carvers I know are now using a super dense foam type material which can be easily carved or routed and after a prime takes paint beautifully. Just doesn't take stain as true wood will. One of the big advantages to this,, as much as I love wood,, is it doesn't warp, split crack,, and all the things wood normally does when exposed to heat, cold,wet,dry conditions. Therefore this stuff holds paint and looks great for a much longer period of time. Doesn't need refinishing every few years as wood does.
Other than that, I'd use traditional sign paint such as One shot. Colors are solid,,and they work well,, that's why pro sign painters and carvers use them. but any exterior paints can and do work. Other details are gold leaf in the lettering to really add flash.. and the letters ,,usually incised are limited to your skills and access to lettering forms.
Add other carvings as well that might have a personal meaning,, or just add any other details to accent the piece..eg. flowers..leaves.. sprays. What do they like,, find out and add it in. Keep it plain if you like,,or make it fancier with accent borders, scrolls etc.. Just be careful of adding too much,, or small details.. might look good close up,, but from the distance signs are usually view at,, clear lettering and accents look best without cluttering up the sign. For example,, did you ever see some signs that people put up for yard sales,, you see "yard sale" then they add the address in small letters with a paragraph of writing below it as if you can read it in the 3 seconds as your car rolls by. Only list pertintent info that you can take in at a glance.
There are many books on carving signs.. check them out for inspiration or as you travel around look at other signs that are out there and see how they are done.