What wood for carved/routed signs?

[J-W-P]

wood2woodknot  -  

I'm in Mason, not too far from you.
I have some redwood boards (reclaimed from a large carved outdoor sign) and some sassafras lumber.
If you don't find any cedar that you like, shoot me a PM.  You're welcome to look at what I have.

[Arlin Eastman]

My son wants some signs for outside:   His name and house number for front of house; several signs for around his pool and patio. Thus at least limited outdoor exposure for all. They will be either hand carved or routed texts. I've never done a project like this before so I'm starting from scratch. What would be the best wood to use - easy to carve or rout, but something that will hold up outdoors? Maybe redwood, cedar, or cypress? Other?  I may accent lettering with a contrasting color, but that will be a secondary concern.

This project has been hanging over my head for some time and I'm hoping maybe to complete it over the summer.

Thanks for any suggestions.

It depends of the effects you wish to have.

I know people up north who wish to keep the sign a lot time use White Ceder. I have used Red Ceder and others use White Oak.  The White Ceder and Oak will have a of course white back ground to paint or do whatever with.

I did one 7 years abo and traced everything out and then removed everything but what I wished to say and it came out really nice.  Looked for the picture but could not find it.

[wood2woodknot]

Arlin,

I'm told white cedar comes out of Alaska. Seldom seen by suppliers around here. Thanks for your info.

[Phil S.]

White cedar is from the northeastern part of the US and adjacent Canada -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuja_occidentalis
http://www.wood-database.com/northern-white-cedar/
It's the cedar of cedar swamps where big white-tail bucks hang out or so the story goes.  The ones I'm familiar with don't get very big, maybe 8-10" in diameter, but some can get a lot bigger. Some call it Arborvitae.

[Cooler]

I think it is most sensible to buy sign-making supplies from sign making suppliers.  They will have the materials most frequently used for that purpose.  

I would also buy the paints from them too.  One-Shot enamels is the last word on sign making enamel.  I is very pricey for the metalic gold and silver because of the actual metal powder mixed in.  It makes it the metallic paint that all others aspire to.  

Their pin striping brushes will make you a pin-striper in no time.  It is fairly simple with the right materials and equipment.

You can get One Shot from Amazon.com.

It seems that painted signs are almost all cedar.  Allwood is the largest of the manufacturers of sign blanks.  Here is a list of their distributors:

http://www.allwoodsignblanks.com/distributors.html

Ohio
N. Glantz & Son, LLC
Van Epps Plaza Two
4770 Van Epps Road
Brooklyn Heights, OH 44131
Phone: 216-741-9670 or 866-546-2689
Branch Manager: Frank Madey
Website: https://www.nglantz.com/
Tubelite Inc
1224 Refugee Lane
Columbus, OH 43207
Phone: 614-443-9734 or 800-822-3299
Branch Manager: Dan Brown
Email: dbrown@tubelite.com
Website: http://estore.tubelite.com

[hbmcc]

The cedars tend to be easier to work. Here on the west coast, Western Cedar swells and shrinks so much no clear finish will hold but quickly starts to split and peel. Solid oil stains have worked on my exposed house and decks. The Latex that followed after 13 years is approaching 18 years on the house. But, the house has 2-foot, plus, eaves that physically protect the walls from most water. Decks and railings are fully exposed. Those need to be repainted every couple years. Under overhangs, the original clear deck finish is still bright. Mildew is the scourge of wax and BLO which are food for mold. 

If you can walk into a store and pick boards, WRC face grain will warp into gutter shapes. Quarter grain is the least active. Old growth is red/brown and tight grained. I have seen Yellow Cedar warp and split far worse than Western Red Cedar. (WRC/Western Cedar/ Western Red Cedar are the same. Just a lazy typist.) For all intents, Port Orford Cedar is gone. I saw some Incense Cedar (Calocedrus deccurens) at my favorite lumber yard. Not very fragrant, and know little about it. One surprise is Douglas Fir. I used old growth for a wheel barrow that doubles as a flower display. Ships were built of the stuff.

Eastern woods aren't common, but I hear that Black Locust (Robinia p.) is the most durable of US timber. I doubt it routs very well.

Don't forget using a blow torch. Torrefied wood can remain stable long after the cinders are gone. I keep thinking a simple milk and cement paint will live well on cedar.