How to Make a DIY Rustic Wooden Sign

All of our rustic wood pallet signs are made in our shop but we wanted to share how we build our signs in case you wanted to build them yourself. Anyone with the right tools, materials, and patience can do what we do in our shop every day to make your very own DIY rustic wood pallet sign. This post is a step by step guide on how to build your own rustic wood sign.

Step 1: Source your material

Luckily wood is one of the easiest materials to find. Here is a few options for sourcing the wood to use for your sign:

Old Pallets - used pallets are a great source for wood. The only disadvantage is that they are large and awkward and whoever is giving them away will most likely not be offering to transport them to you. However, the advantages far outweigh the bad:

- rustic pallets are typically either free or very inexpensive

- they are made to hold heavy weight so they are made of a hard wood - typically pine at a minimum but some of the heavy duty ones are even made of oak or maple

- the old holes made from the pallet nails help to add to the rustic look of your DIY wooden sign

- Please note that some pallets are pressure treated for exterior use. You should try and use interior (non-treated) pallets if possible. Please see below for additional information.

Old fences, decks, or barns - old fences, decks, or barns are also a great choice for a rustic wood sign. When they become available they are usually inexpensive or free. Similar to old pallets you will probably have to make arrangements to pick up or even disassemble the wood structure. Please take caution - most wood that are used for decks or fences have been pressure treated to make them weather resistant. We do not recommend sanding or modifying pressure treated lumber unless you have the proper face and eye protection as well as the proper ventilation when working with the material. If in doubt then please plan on working on the material outside to ensure your safety. In addition, we recommend using weather treated lumber for exterior signs only to ensure safety within your home.

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Author: Dan Sulewski