Wooden Grave Markers

[Jim Banner]

On another thread, buzz asked about wooden grave markers for a old west cemetery.  Here are a couple, one for 0 scale, the other for H0 scale.  The first photo shows laser prints on bond paper glued to a Popsicle stick for 0 scale and to a wooden stir stick for H0.  The Canadian 1 cent is for size comparison.



At left in the second photos, the Preacher consoles Widow Brown in 0 scale while the H0 grave robber prepares to dig up sheep thief Kemp.  Jackson Brown's marker is 18" wide by 3' high with mostly 5 point lettering while Thomas Kemp's marker is 20" wide x 40" high with mostly 3 point letters.



Jim

[simkon]

Hey Jim, this is off topic, but I was wondering if Canada still uses 1&2 dollar bills or have they switched to only coins now because I got a $2 bill and a bunch of $1 bills (I later acquired some loonies and 2 $20 bills) from when I was in Quebec, I can't remember. I know when I went to Winnipeg and Niagara Falls (for Penguins games Vs. the Jets & Buffalo Sabres) around 1994 they would only take them at some places and like no one else had any). My favorite part about Quebec was being able to ask directions and understand what they were saying, the first thing I told them was "Pouvez vous parler un peu plus lentement?" and they said something like "Vous êtes un américain n'est pas? They were very friendly though, they even slowed down so I could understand them

[buzz]

Hi Jim
Thanks for inspiration a picture is worth a thousand words.
What program did you use for the text did you use a template of some sort.
I am assuming you sealed them with something to stop peeling and or running from glue spray from other areas being worked on.
regards John

[Jim Banner]

simkon,
We have been using loonies ($1 coins) for 22 years and toonies ($2 coins) for 13 years, so there aren't many one and two dollar bills left in circulation.  The bills are still legal tender though, and anyone refusing them could find themselves in hot water for doing so.

French Canadians are proud of their language and culture.  And they can be quite distainful toward people who look down on them for not speaking English.  My experience in Quebec is that if you speak French, even bad French, you are likely to be accepted and then they will bend over backwards to help you.

buzz,
You are welcome.  The program I used is TurboCad, a drafting program.  It allowed me to draw the outline of the grave marker and to size the text to fit.  Other programs such as Corel Draw and Picture Publisher work as well.  You may even be able to use Windows Paint, but you will probably have to draw the marker oversize and then shrink the drawing until the marker comes out the right size.

It would be possible to spray the markers with flat acrylic or Testor's dull coat to seal them, but I rarely bother.  I usually use Aleene's Tacky Glue to glue paper to wood, putting some on the wood, spreading it with a finger, then adding the paper.  This keeps the paper from wrinkling.  Aleene's is not water proof, but it does not let go with just a bit of dampness either.  I don't worry about water running the ink as I use a laser printer.  With an ink jet, a light dusting overspray followed later by a heavier coat would probably be a good idea.

Jim

[simkon]

Thanks for the info Jim, I appreciate it