DIY ancient Greek quote wood sign

I wanted to make a wood sign with an ancient Greek quote. I chose “αρχή ήμισυ παντός” which means “the beginning is half of everything”.

I used lime tree  ( tilia ) for this project. In greek it is called “φλαμούρι”.

First of all I cut the pieces on my table saw and book matched them.

I then jointed them using a hand plane.

I made a few marks and used my biscuit joiner and biscuits to glue the two pieces together.

After the glue dried, I sanded everything smooth with my orbital sander.

I designed my quote using straight lines. This way the CNC machine would cut only on top of the paths I wanted.

I used a V cutter on my CNC for this project.

Using a V chisel to clean a few areas that didn’t came out super clean from the CNC.

I made a few extra marks on the perimeter and cut them out on the bandsaw. I did that to give a more “ancient” feel to my piece.

I also used my carving gouges and a mallet to give an even more “beaten up” look to my sign.

I sanded the piece and applied a few coats of teak oil while sanding between coats.

I made a hole on the back on my drill press to act as hanger.

My quote is ready to be hanged on the wall.