Making Chalkboards

This weekend my family went with a fellow church member to a sister congregation located among one of the minority indigenous communities. Our purpose was to provide them with a couple chalkboards – one for the sanctuary and one for the Sunday school room. I brought all the tools and the chalkboard paint, and our friend arranged for the plywood to be delivered.

The first step was to cut the sheets down a bit. I didn’t have enough paint for two 4×8 sheets, so I cut them both down to 3×6.

Next step was to sand them down. The sheets felt halfway there, so I just went with one round of 150 grit, and another round at 220 grit (the grit recommended by the paint can). To be honest, I probably should have done this myself, since I’m not sure how well this was really sanded. I mean, it was their first time sanding anything, most likely. But I was happy to have community involvement and a little break.

The kids seemed excited about all the activity, so I gave them some 60 grit sandpaper and one of the cutoffs (that’s my daughter in the purple shirt).

Next I measured the holes for mounting the chalkboards to the wall, and drilled them with my great grandpa’s Millers Falls bit brace. That thing never gets old.

Next to apply the paint. You’re supposed to put it on one way (like vertically) for the first pass, and then the next coat going the other way (horizontally). It was hard work, and I never felt really good about getting complete coverage.

In the end, though, the boards looked adequately covered and fairly even. They still seemed a bit rough, making me once again question my decision to totally delegate the sanding. But still, the paint should do its job and I hope that the chalkboards will get some good use. Thanks for reading!

-- Eric at http://adventuresinwoodworking.com