Here's your sign!

Rennie Heuer

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Constantine, MI
This is my next project, and it's a paying one! This is a lawn sign for a local financial advisor. He has secured the actual signs, painted metal, sign permits and dig line mark outs. I'll supply the construction and installation.

The post is a full 6x6 cedar timber and the arms are nominal 4x4 cedar. I'm thinking about white oak for the sign frames. The arms will mortise into the post with 2 1/2" square tenons that are 1 3/4" deep. The chain is a substantial link and I'll use an angled hole at the end of the arm with a counter set nut to pull the slack out. If that's not clear sorry. The pictures will make it cleared than I can with words.

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One suggestion is that you NOT use concrete at the foot of the hole. The concrete is hard on the wood. If there is any wobble, the block of concrete will just make space around the block, which is then almost impossible to fix. Have you ever seen a telephone pole set in concrete?

The best way to set a post (or a telephone pole) is by packing sand and gravel tightly around the pole, pounding it down every couple inches of fill. I recommend sand or gravel so that it doesn't shrink when it dries out. If you use rocks, avoid "river rock" - highly rounded - use the sharp edge rocks like used as ballast on railroad tracks (I worked on a track gang in my youth).

I know lots of residential fence posts are set in concrete, since it is fast and easy, but I have also replaced too many fence posts that were "loose" in the ground, or that had rotted with the caustic cement.
 
Hi Charlie,

Actually I had made two drawings for the city one with the concrete footing and one in gravel and Packed earth. Just in case the city required concrete. Turns out, they do not.

So, no worries, I will be putting it in packed earth not concrete. I agree with you that concrete is not the best way to go for a wood post.
 
Got a late start today but was still able to accomplish more than I thought. I was able to complete all of the mortises and tenons for the sign. I decided to go deeper with the tenons for the arms and then miter the ends. This will give me more glue surface and a stronger tenon through which to drive a dowel pin.

Here I have marked out the areas for the mortise.

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Here I switched to a larger bit to clean up the side walls a bit.
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All drilled out and ready for some chopping
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Next the tenons
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And a test fit
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The angled brace comes next
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Re. the chain. Just a warning.

I bought some similar chain from Loews marked "Galvinized--china".

It was not a low price item, just market price. Yet within a few WEEKS it had rusted beyond belief.

It looked 100 years old. Unbeleivable.

So, if your not looking for that rusted old railroad chain look, I'd avaoid Lowes for galvinized chain.

Maybe look for stainless or something.



and

Good Luck with the project :)
 
Thanks Scott. I had worried about that a little bit and Lowe's was not on my list of stores to buy chain from. There are some reputable hardware dealers that have higher quality chain in the area and I will check with them first.
 
Gee, those signs look larger in your shop than they do in someone's front yard.

Nice job Rennie!!!

Enjoy,
JimB

It's a monster, that's for sure. Moving just the post around is quite a job. I have not yet figured out how I will move it once the 5' long arms are attached.

Yesterday I sanded everything smooth and drilled the holes for the draw bores on the arms. The angled brace will get 4" lags with the heads countersunk and covered with a plug. I also chamfered all the components. This picture shows the chamfer, but I took it prior to the drilling.

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Got back into the shop today to get a little more done on the sign. I had been putting off this step because I knew it would be trying, which it was. I learned the hard way that anytime you are drilling at an angle and trying to stay centered, especially through end grain, it will try your patience.

I began by drilling the large hole in the end that will house the washer and adjusting nut. This part went pretty well.


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Next I needed to drill the through hole for the eye bolt. This is something that should never be attempted freehand as the end grain will steer the bit every way except the way you want it to go. To counter this I drilled a hole in a length of 3/4" dowel to act as a bushing to guide the bit and keep it straight. This worked pretty well.

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Once hole was drilled I test fit the bolt. Having the bolt able to adjust will allow me to pull the slack out of the chain and keep it taught.

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Did a little more today. Got everything stained and attached the first arm. I'll leave it to sit overnight to let the construction adhesive set up before attaching the second arm and cross brace.

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Got some done on the sign post and frame this weekend. Was able to connect the second arm and cross brace on Sunday, then I got to work on the frames yesterday. The frames are of white oak. I mostly chose the oak for is ability to handle the outdoors, but I am having second thoughts as the post and arms look too rustic next tot the frames. I am hoping it all comes together.

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The frames are designed to resist warping and twisting as the seasons come and go. Basically they are "T" beams. The sign is let into the back of the 'web' via a 1/2" x 1/4" rabbit then sandwiched from the back with a second frame that is screwed in to the web.

The top is double beveled to shed water as are the pieces that hold the sign in place. I arranged the pieces to give water as few chances as possible to infiltrate the frame.

It's a lot easier to show you than explain it, so here are the pics

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