Using fonts.

[myairplane]

I used a font to carve out the words "Harley Davidson" in a Red Oak (2x6x48). I'm thinking when I stain and poly the board, the words won't stand out. I am building a table, this is the part that will tie the 2 Oak pedestals together.

Any ideas on how to get the text more "visiable"? I thought maybe using a tourch to burn the wood, then sand the top back to its natural state but since I have never done that before, I'd hate to ruin a $40 piece of oak! lol

http://www.myairplane.com/CNC/IMG_0189.jpg
http://www.myairplane.com/CNC/IMG_0190.jpg
http://www.myairplane.com/CNC/IMG_0196.jpg

[FINGERS]

I would stain the board and paint the letters with black.

[ChrisAlb]

For the way you have the letters carved, and depending on how dark you intend to stain the board, I'd probably use a Gold Leaf paint (or whatever color you like) in the lower carved areas and then sand the surface and stain the board.

I assume by the way this is carved, the surface of the letters are the same height as the surface of the board? If so, this would produce a nice outline around the letters.

Whenever I do recessed lettering, I paint the letters first with acrylic paint and sand the surface when dry. Then when I stain the wood, I use my air gun to blow the stain off the paint. The acrylic paint is very good at resisting the stain as long as it doesn't sit on it too long.

[Ken Massingale]

Wet it good with mineral spirits for a preview, I think you'll be pleasently surprised. As Chris said, paint the letters, just slop the paint on, then sand the paint off the surface, leaving it in the recesses. Then stain if you insist, I prefer the natural color of Red Ooak.

[supershingler]

try using a cabinet glaze

you can brush it on and wipe off the amount you need to get the effect you want. you have to seal you wood after staining to seal it before using the glaze. i used it on my dear plaque and it really made the detail pop

kendall

[oldfogey]

Subtelty is a very important part of good art.

[Dan-Woodman]

I used a gel stain on this clock to make the area stand out. Gel stain does not soak into the end grain of the carved area. Regular stain will bleed into the end grain forming into the area around the carving.
later Daniel

[SAA3840]

Stain everything but try to avoid the face of the letters. Let it dry and then sand the face of the letters (removing any stain you got on them, there will be some), taking them back to their natural color. That's how I did this sign for the Tulip Salon.

[myairplane]

try using a cabinet glaze

you can brush it on and wipe off the amount you need to get the effect you want. you have to seal you wood after staining to seal it before using the glaze. i used it on my dear plaque and it really made the detail pop

kendall

Your work looks awesome! Exactly what I'd like to achive with my board. The pedestals are "Golden Oak" so its a light stain. I bougth the combo Stain/Poly type. Did you use a darker color for yours? What brand did you use?

Dennis

[supershingler]

the glaze i used is from Sherwin Williams

they have several colors so you can pick which one you like

all you have to do is brush it on and wipe off what you dont want to leave. but make sure you project is sealed and you will have to put another coat of poly or whatever your using over the glaze.

it will give you a little antique look so experiment on a piece of scrap stuff first

good luck

kendall

[Ken Massingale]

I don't mean any offence, Dennis, but the stain/poly combo isn't worth flushing down the toilet, IMHO.
As Kendall said, the idea with stain is to apply the *&^%$ stuff, let the wood absorb some, then wipe off the excess of the @#$%^& stuff. This is 'supposed' to give a consistent tone to the wood. The problem is, all woods have softer and harder areas especially Oak). The softer areas absorb stain quicker than the harder areas, therefore blotching of the surface. Applying stain and wiping excess off somewhat corrects blotching. Using a sealer like Zinnser Sealcoat before staining helps prevent soft areas absorbing more stain than the harder areas.

The cursed stain poly combo carries the stain suspended in the poly, so any control of a consistent finish is gone, and not many woodworkers are at all happy with the look of the result, it's kind of a dirty plastic look.

An easy and quick finish is to use dye or *&^%$# stain, wiping it off to get the desired tone, let it dry throughly then coat with rattle can lacquer, several light coats.
I urge those using stains to try dye, it doesn't suspend on/near the surface, it soaks down into the wood, and is much cheaper too.

Stain, spit, spit. ;-)

Can you tell I detest stain on beautiful wood?????? :-)

[Dhaffner]

I've done some experimenting with stain, dyes and even acrylic paint that is mixed with a liquid product that makes it into "stain"....I think you can get decent results from all of it as long as you do some test samples. I try to keep cut off pieces from the sign so that I can try a few things.
I'be been playing with multiple stain combo's.
In order to keep the stain on the edges of the letters of this sign from bleeding into the "field" of the pool table, I mixed up a matching acrylic/stain to the stain I used for the tops and hand painted the letter edges. It took a little time, but came out ok.

http://home.mchsi.com/~dhaffner/billiards.jpg

[mtylerfl]

You did a beatiful job on that - - great project!

[karossii]

I've done some experimenting with stain, dyes and even acrylic paint that is mixed with a liquid product that makes it into "stain"....I think you can get decent results from all of it as long as you do some test samples. I try to keep cut off pieces from the sign so that I can try a few things.
I'be been playing with multiple stain combo's.
In order to keep the stain on the edges of the letters of this sign from bleeding into the "field" of the pool table, I mixed up a matching acrylic/stain to the stain I used for the tops and hand painted the letter edges. It took a little time, but came out ok.

http://home.mchsi.com/~dhaffner/billiards.jpg

What are the fonts you used in that sign? I know I have two of them - the Pub and Billiards fonts - but with 3600+ fonts on my machine I often lose track of which is which, lol.

[MrFTAMan]

I used a font to carve out the words "Harley Davidson" in a Red Oak (2x6x48). I'm thinking when I stain and poly the board, the words won't stand out. I am building a table, this is the part that will tie the 2 Oak pedestals together.

Any ideas on how to get the text more "visiable"? I thought maybe using a tourch to burn the wood, then sand the top back to its natural state but since I have never done that before, I'd hate to ruin a $40 piece of oak! lol

http://www.myairplane.com/CNC/IMG_0189.jpg
http://www.myairplane.com/CNC/IMG_0190.jpg
http://www.myairplane.com/CNC/IMG_0196.jpg

What font are you using? It look great!!