This week, we wanted to give you all a glimpse into our process of creating a wood sign with reclaimed wood! From collecting, to drying, to cutting, and assembling, gathering wood for our vast inventory of signs and custom orders takes a LONG time! And that's all BEFORE any sanding, painting, staining, or sealing! Read on to find out what really goes into using reclaimed wood.
Our wood signs all start here! We load these shipping boxes (ranging from 4"x4" to 11"X11" and up to 14 feet long!) into the back of our pickup truck and haul them back to our shop (aka "the garage")! We often receive boxes that are either partially or completely unusable due to damage or plywood construction and have to dispose of them because of its low quality.
Next, we carefully disassemble the boxes, making sure not to split or otherwise damage the wood. This includes cutting off the ends of the boxes, removing staples and nails, and cutting the lumber in half for storage. Although the lumber we get is heat-treated, it is usually still not dry enough to use right away. We store the processed lumber for at least a few weeks before it is able to be used for our products! Only after the wood is fully dried out can we cut the boards down to lengths for our products and assemble them!
An even more exciting process yields signs like this Wood Slice State Map Sign...
Or this ALL NEW Wood Slice Monogram Letter!
To make any of our popular Wood Slice Signs, we first have to collect fallen branches after windy days or big storms. And if friends, family, or neighbors trim trees or cut down branches, we collect those too! If needed, we cut the branches down to a more manageable size in order to allow them to dry out... this can take anywhere from a couple days in the sun to many months! After the branches are dried out, we can cut them down into the smaller slices. Sometimes they require further drying, so we'll set them aside in bins filled with sawdust (or bake them!) to make sure they don't split after they become part of a finished a product!
Part of the reason for the higher sticker price on our wood slice signs is the amount of time it takes not only to collect, dry, and cut the wood into slices, but also because of the time it takes to arrange the pieces... a process that can take upwards of 20 hours!
If you're interested in being a part of the sign-making process for your next Beyond Basics Design wood sign, sign up for our newsletter! We love to host DIY Wood Slice Workshops where you can make a sign like this yourself (without ripping out all the nails or waiting for the wood to dry!)
Thanks for taking time to look behind the scenes of our reclaimed wood signs. I'm so excited to continue sharing more about Beyond Basics Design with you all! Follow along to see inside the business, behind the scenes, and the all-around chaos and creativity that is... beyond the basics! Subscribe to the blog below so you never miss an update!