Shop update #331 (3-13-24)

Cub Scout Bridging season is upon us.  I received my first order of 10 AOL plaques and got started on them this weekend.

I picked up 3 – 8 foot 1×8’s and cut them down to 23 7/8″ lengths for the plaques.  Normally, I would do this on the miter saw by making a 5 1/2″ cut and then flipping the board over and try to match it up to make the second cut.  I now have a good table saw along with a basic crosscut sled and I put it to good use.

I set my fence to the proper length along with a piece of plywood clamped to it to act as a stop to keep the board from pinching.  I cut all 3 boards down into 12 equal pieces.

I then took the best 10 boards and carved out the AOL arrow on the CNC machine with a 1/8″ bit.  Each arrow took about 18 minutes to carve.

Once the arrows were finished, I reset the machine with a 1/16″ bit and carved out the scout’s name, the pack, the date, and the words Arrow of Light.

The next day, I broke out the router table and gave the tops a slight chamfer to give them some definition.

I gave them all a light sanding and then sprayed the edges and the text with some black semi gloss spray paint.  I will let them dry for a few days and then sand the paint off the top and bottom of each plaque.