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The Cherry on Top!

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Hepcats Haven

This may look like the same old Idaho sign but look a little closer......see anything different?

I am fortunate that my step-father Dave is a master wood worker. While I was in Nebraska helping my grandma I asked him to build a shelf topper for the sign because I wanted it to look more like a room divider than just a big hunkin’ sign in the middle of the room. I am able to do a lot of things but building furniture is not my strong point and that is where I turn to Dave. Dave and I decided the best approach to this was to follow the sign contour and to give it a simple rounded edge. We decided on oak becasue it is a hard wood that takes stain well and is durable. Here are some photos of Dave creating this amazing shelf:

This is what we started with.

Here Dave had cut the pieces of wood for the rounds and placed them on the sign to make sure they fit well.

Here you can see that Dave has the form down but it just needs one more piece and then he can start gluing it all together.

All together and looks great. Wait till the stain hits it!

 Since this piece is in the same room as our Heywood Wakefield furniture I wanted the wood color to match and that is why I decided to stain it the color Ipswich Pine.

Here it is with stain applied. I applied around 4-5 coats.

After the stain dried I then sprayed on the semi-gloss polyurethane and let dry. Once dried I used my usual process to remove debris in the finish by applying car wax in the direction of the grain with 0000 steel wool. Then I buffed it off.

Look at it glow!

Here it is all done. It looks so great and Dave did a fantastic job at building it.

It looks like a waterfall of wood. It is amazing how well the wood follows the contour of the sign.

This sign makes a real statement in this room.

I picked up some really cool vintage dog book ends when I was in Nebraska that reminded me of my little cast eye dog Rocco. They look great on top of the new shelf.

I think the finished piece speaks for itself.

14 Comments

Posted in Restorations. Bookmark the permalink.

14 responses »

  1. Rosemarie | February 9, 2012 at 6:55 pm

    That is quite possibly the most epically awesome thing I have ever seen. When you get tired of it… can it come live at my house? =)

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    • Hepcat Restorations | February 9, 2012 at 7:23 pm

      I must agree that it is pretty darn awesome. It has taken me forever to complete it. I am so pleased that you like it.

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  2. Vickie | February 9, 2012 at 9:37 pm

    Just…………………….

    OHHHHMYGAWWWD!

    There are no words. And it takes a LOT to leave me speechless.

    ~Vic~

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  3. the1930sproject | February 10, 2012 at 4:49 am

    That is really cool. I would never have thought to do that. Lucky you to have someone that can make your vision happen!

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    • Hepcat Restorations | February 11, 2012 at 8:29 pm

      Thanks. I know, I don’t think I could have done as good of a job with the wood working as my step father. Thank god for family.

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  4. Tasha | February 10, 2012 at 6:28 am

    Wow, is that ever a fantastic idea and job! So completely cool.

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  5. Betty Crafter | February 11, 2012 at 7:42 am

    Um, wow. What an incredible idea, and flawless execution! Can’t wait to show this to my husband, who loves old signs too. I see a sign room divider in our future too…

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