How to Make Wood Signs by Kendra Chura

How to Make Wood Signs

by Kendra Chura

This essential book will show you everything you need to know to create beautifully handmade scroll saw art and wooden signs. Featuring comprehensive sections on tools, materials, scroll saw basics, safety, and troubleshooting, equip yourself with the essential skills needed before you dive into the sign-making technique sections. From the basics, like cutting lettering, adding a graphic and painting to the more challenging skills of using epoxy resin, engraving and woodburning, you’ll have a blast building your woodworking skills and seeing all the possibilities of what you can make. This book includes step-by-step projects to try, as well as practice patterns. Perfect for housewarming and wedding gifts, nurseries, and other personalized keepsakes both for you and your family and friends, this exciting and fun guide to sign-making will inspire your DIY projects and original designs for years to come.

Reviewed by annieb123 on

4 of 5 stars

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Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

How to Make Wood Signs is a well written and accessible tutorial instruction guide by Kendra Chura. Released 15th Nov 2023 by Fox Chapel, it's 120 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. 

This is a very well written and logically arranged tutorial guide featuring lots of contemporary and attractive signs in wood. The author manages to convey the necessary info to allow readers to gather materials and begin creating projects in wood safely and successfully.

The introduction covers tools, materials, setup, choosing and sourcing wood, and safety. The choice of scroll saw is covered in depth, as are the newer-to-the-hobby-market laser cutters (lots of good info here). The practical tutorial chapters which follow include info on the process of cutting, forming, finishing, detailing, hanging the finished project, lettering, etc. 

There's an in-depth chapter covering epoxies, resins, oils, and inlays. The text is accompanied by plenty of clear, color photos throughout. 

The final project tutorial chapters include four full projects with step-by-step instructions. Scale templates are included. Each tutorial includes an introduction, a highlighted text box with full list of tools and supplies, and step-by-step photo/text directions.

Four stars. Well written and accessible. Very well photographed throughout. This would make an excellent choice for public or school library acquisition, gift-giving, activity groups, maker's groups, and for the woodworker's home studio library.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes 

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Reading updates

  • 20 December, 2023: Started reading
  • 20 December, 2023: Finished reading
  • 20 December, 2023: Reviewed