Introduction: Wall Hanging Wedding Guestbook
This idea came to me before my wedding when I wanted to let my guests leave us a note, but then display it on a wall in our home rather than hiding away in a book somewhere.
Step 1: Cut Out the Steel Name
I designed this sign to have the couple's last name and added a decorative pluralization and "The" to the beginning.
I used steel as my shop is a metalworking space and I have a CNC Plasma Cutter. A CNC Table isn't required though, you could draw your logo on steel or aluminum and cut it out with a jigsaw easily in such a thin sheet of metal.
I used 16ga which is about 1/20 of an inch thick, it's a good balance between strength and weight.
Step 2: Grind Your Metal Smooth
With a 4.5" angle grinder and some 40 grit flap disks I removed all the dross (melted metal "sawdust") from the edges of the cut piece. If you use a jigsaw, this will be a burr instead of dross.
After finishing the main grinding I switch to a NEW 80 grit flap disk to get a smooth, even finish.
Step 3: Final Finishing
To get an even better final surface I used a pneumatic die grinder with a surface finishing disk to polish the entire face.
Sand paper up to around 400 grit would work just as well but requires some elbow grease.
Step 4: Final Result
After cleaning up the steel piece I took it to a local powdercoater who gave it a satin black finish.
I also showed how my friend Chad uses his powdercoating gun and oven to powder coat some other pieces.
If you wanted to get something like this cut, a local CNC shop should charge around $85 for the metal cut out and powdercoating should cost around $40
If you'd like to purchase a wedding guest book like this I sell them at https://www.42fab.com/signage/wall-hanging-wedding...
Thanks for Stopping By!