The wood we use isn't palette wood like some of the others. Palette wood is rougher and requires assembling. For the amount of signs we are producing, we would never be able to keep up. We use edge glued-pine or spurce. When we order at Menards, we don't have a choice. They supply one of the two for us. What we have learned is.... PINE is much better. It peels up and splitters a lot less. Spruce works too. It just seems softer and more likely to splinter. Spruce seems to absorb the stain better, but requires more work touching up.
Wood Sizes and Sign Prices
Our signs are cut into 5 sizes. We assign prices based on the size of the wood. You will memorize this after a few parties and easily be able to collect the remaining balance based on the size the person has ordered. We have over 800 signs to prepare some months, so we mass order and cut wood. We stack in the garage until we are ready to stain. Also, FYI- the thickness we ignore but it is 3/4"-1". Every time I have seen it sold in stores it never varies, so I just ignore the thickness when relaying the dimensions.
We cut all 5 sizes and just make stacks on the floor, so they are ready to stain when we need them.
8" tall x 16" wide $25
12" tall x 12" wide $30
16" tall x 16" wide $35
16" tall x 20" wide $45
18" tall x 14.4" wide $45
Cutting Wood
When cutting wood you have 3 goals:
Create as little waste as possible.
Try to make the least amount of cuts.
Cut cleanly enough that it saves you work later. (No sanding.)
To meet all of these needs we use 3 sizes of wood. We use 12" tall x 96" wide for 1 of our sizes, 16" tall x 96" wide for 3 of our sizes and 18" x 72" for 1 of our sizes. It is the most versatile and meets all 3 of our goals. It can be more cumbersome to work with sheets that long, so their are smaller sizes that work. Typically, you are not saving a lot of money by purchasing larger boards. You will just have to do the math yourself and see what you prefer. For the amount of signs we are selling a month, we have to buy larger boards to keep up. Here is a cheat sheet that shows you how we cut the boards into the 4 sizes. You can also download to print if needed.
12" x 12" is a new size and isn't shown on the sheet below. Basically buy 12" tall x 96" wide and cut into 12"x12" squares. You get 8 per sheet.
What Do We Use to Cut?
We understand that you may prefer to cut using a different method. This is merely to show you the technique we use to cut. We know that cutting wood requires some sort of comfort level in order to be safe, so you do as you want to. We decided to use a table saw. It isn't a high tech fancy table saw. It cost $279. It folds up and rolls away. He upgraded to a 60 tooth diamond blade because it reduced the amount of splintering and now we don't have to sand the edges of boards. Tate built a cross cut sled to help with safety and supporting the wood since our sheets are so long. He literally looked up how to make it on YouTube. He is able to stack multiple boards on top of each other and cut at once. Tate choose this method because the saw isn't moving, the sled keeps his hands from being by the blade and usually he is cutting by himself.