Classroom Birthday Calendar

Will it's that time of year when the children go back to School, and I wanted to make something School related. This is what I came up with, a Classroom Birthday Calendar.

You will need the following:

Cad/Cam program ( I used Vectric Aspire)

CNC Router ( I used the X-Carve CNC)

Lumber ( I used a piece of common lumber 23" x 7 1/4" x 3/4" )

Yellow Spray Paint

Red, Blue and Green Craft Paint

Small paint brushes

A can of Matte Clear finsh

2 Triangle hangers with screws

Drill with a 1/16" drill bit

small shoulder hooks

Key Tags

sandpaper

I design the sign in Vectric Aspire, I first set my dimensions of my board, then added lines for the ruler.

Added the wording Classroom Birthdays, added ABC and the Apple. I then created boxes for the Months and put the abbreviations of each of the months in the boxes.

I then switched to the toolpath side and done the following toolpaths.

Done a profile toolpath for the lines using a 1/8" ball nose bit

Done a pocket toolpath for the ABC, Classroom Birthdays and Apple

Done a profile toolpath on the Months

and the done a drill toolpath for the sholder hooks, just making a pilot hole

I painted my board using Rustoluem Sun Yellow spray paint, I used a couple coats.

Now let this dry overnight.

Place your piece into the CNC, and clamp down. I inserted a 1/8" Ballnose bit and began to carve.

Note I carved the whole sign with the 1/8" Ballnose bit

Once the sign was carved, I went over the carve lines and lettering with a piece of sand paper to get rid of the fuzzies. Then blew off and wiped down before continuing.

I then sprayed a coat of Rustoluem Matte clear, also letting this dry overnight.

Then I used Craft paint to paint the lettering, trying to be careful and not getting any onto yellow.

Have a damp rag handy to wipe off if any gets on yellow, this will help in next step.

Well I had to lightly sand the top where I had gotten some of the Craft paint onto the yellow. I wiped off again and use some of the Yellow spray paint to touch up the yellow. I just sprayed a small amount into the lid and brush on.

If I had use the damp rag more, i might could have save some time on this.

Take your drill with a 1/16" drill bit, and drill underneath each of the Months. Then screw in the shoulder hooks.

Once your sign is finish, hang up and attached Key Tags, writing down each childs name on them.

This would be a great present or gift for a Grade School teacher, Thanks for checking out my Instructable