Make a custom boxing sign as a gift for that boxing fan or yourself. The burnt straight grained Douglas Fir gives the sign texture while accenting the engraving.
This project is made from Straight Grained Douglas Fir, but if you don’t have that available then any wood with a pronounced grain will work.
Gluing and Cutting the Board
The final dimensions for this project will be 16″×16″. You’re going to
Burn the Wood
You’ll use one of those inexpensive propane torches to burn the wood. Don’t be shy with this part. The idea is to burn the softer wood in-between the rings.
Brass Brush Time
Moving with the grain, use a brass brush to remove the burnt areas. You should see raised areas as you remove the softer burnt parts.
Tip: When you’re trying to figure out how much to remove, just remember that the wood will be about 2 shades darker when you apply finish.
Softer Brush
Use a whisk brush or something similar to help get out the burnt dust.
[Optional] Burnishing
Burnishing is where you compress the fibers of wood by sliding the end grain of another piece of wood on to it. If you have any questions please take a look at the video at the end.
Settings
Note: You can mess with the feed settings and depth per pass but remember Douglas Fir is a brittle wood and will chip out a lot if you are really aggressive. It’s best to create a couple of test samples instead of guessing on your final board.
In my project I used some spray water based satin polyurethane. This sprays on a milky white color and dries clear.
Just be aware if you use the oil based polyurethane it will add a yellowish color to the project and darken it more than the water based stuff.
Once the finish dries just add some hanging hardware and you’re good to go!
This is a video showing how I made the project and how I fixed some of the mistakes that came up.
