Penny Name Sign

i made a penny name sign for my sister because she is a coin collector. and i thought it would be a cool looking sign.

--- tools needed are ---

table saw

dremel with buffing piece

caulking gun

straight edge

finish nailer

tape measure

pencil

--- materials needed ---

1\4" plywood 31-5/8"x10-5/8"

1\8" lexan or plexiglass 31-5/8"x10-5/8"

100% sillicone

1-1\4"x3/4" wood 8"

pennies 588

bleach and table salt

small bucket

wood glue

metal polish

rags

i got on the computer and used the paint program and just used circles to make the design i wanted. this let me know how many pennies i would need and gave me a sort of blueprint to go off of when laying out the pennies.

i then laid out the pennies to see what size wood and lexan i would need. and for my sign i needed it to be 31-5/8"x10-5/8" your sign will be a different size if you have more or less letters in your name.

i then screwed wood to my bench on the bottom and one side. then on one corner i screwed a piece over a corner to hold it in place. this will kept your pennies straight and square.

i kept all the dirty pennies for the letters. then i used vinegar and salt in a small bucket to clean the rest of the pennies. i put them in there for about an hour, then dumped that out and put them in a bucket of water. your best bet on getting them clean you would be to turn to the internet for best results.

i used 100% silicone to attach the pennies to the board with a artist brush. once the silicone was set up i found the pennies had a sort of orange tarnish on them. so i used a metal polish (meguiars next gen. all metal polish) and my dremel tool to polish the pennies i cleaned. you could polish them before installing them also.

i cut my wood to 1-1/4"x3/4 i used oak because i had it let over but you could use the wood of your choice. i then ran the wood through the table saw cutting a 3/8"x3/8' grove 3/4" from the back edge of the wood. i then painted the wood cut the corners. then laid the lexan over the pennies and glued and nailed it together. i then added 2 pieces of 3/4"x1-1/2" 16" apart to help strengthening the sign and i will use those 2 pieces to attach the hanging hooks on.

buy some hooks or wire to attach to the back and hang it up.