Built this for the restaurant that my brother works at. They bought an LED sign but the only problem is it can’t be placed directly outside, they asked me to build a box to hold it and protect it from the weather. The sides are built out of red oak and the back is built out of 1/2” oak plywood and there is also a piece of lexan in the front. The ply is sits in a rabbet and is held in place by screws driven in from the side, since it will be mounted on a wall. I finished it with a couple coats of Helsmans outdoor finish.
2 comments so far
Jim Jakosh
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7332 posts in 1277 days
#1 posted 538 days ago
That is abeaautiful enclosure, but I would be leery of red oak in the weather. I would seal it with West System epoxy to make sure no water got to the oak…just my 2 cents worth..
I built a hovercraft in ‘88 and I used red oak for the top rails around the passenger compartment and coated the heck out of them with poly. After about a year they were turning black from water getting to the red oak. So, i took them off sanded them clean and coated them with West System and they ran 7 years without any more discoloration becasuse that epoxy goes about 1/32” into the pores of the wood
-- Jim Jakosh.....Practical Wood Products...........Learn something new every day!!
Bob Kollman
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1779 posts in 1363 days
#2 posted 376 days ago
Yup beautiful enclosure, I agree with Jim, add epoxy or something, basic out door finish will not last long with oak.
-- Bob Kenosha Wi.
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