DIY Metal and Wood Marquee Letters: A Step-by-Step Guide

Hey guys! We're Evan and Katelyn, and today, we're going to make DIY metal and wood marquee letters. This project is really special to us, because we made the first set for our wedding, and it's also the first DIY project we did together, so... Crazy!

We posted a tutorial on our blog back in 2013, but we still get a lot of questions, so we thought a video would help. Let's go! For materials, you'll need 3/4 inch plywood, 6 inch flashing, stain, nails, super glue, some scrap wood, and globe string lights.

For tools, you'll need a jigsaw drill and spade bit that's slightly larger than your light socket, a nail gun, and or hammer, a sanding sponge, sandpaper, metal snips, a sturdy putty knife, and a yardstick. Before we get started, we're going to make a few things that'll make this build easier. First, we're going to cut some 2 and 5/8 inch blocks out of some scrap 2x4s. These will hold up the letters to the correct height for nailing in the metal flashing later.

We cut another piece of scrap wood to be 3 and 3/8 inches high, which will guide us where to nail into the flashing and into the plywood. This may seem like a lot of up-front work, but it's going to make this a lot easier to build and harder to mess up. We made printable templates for every letter, and linked them below.

We printed our letters, stapled them together, cut them out, then taped these onto the plywood and traced them before removing the template. We used a center guide to mark the center of each hole. You can use a center punch, or a nail. Then we drilled holes through these marks. This is where your lights are going to go.

Drilling can damage the wood when you exit, so either drill from the front, or drill from both sides and meet in the middle. Then we carefully cut out the letters with a jigsaw. Drilling a hole to help us get the hard-to-reach spots of the ENext, we gave it a quick once-over with a sanding sponge and some sandpaper. All your edges will be covered, so it doesn't have to be perfect.

We finished them off in a Minwax dark walnut stain. The first time we made the marquee letters, this was definitely the hardest part. It was difficult keeping the plywood centered with the flashing, and nailing in the right location. This is where the guides that we made are gonna come in handy.

First, we'll measure each segment of the letters. This shows us where the flashing needs to bend. Put on gloves before handling the flashing, it's sharp! We started the flashing at the bottom of our letter. To make a bend, mark a line then place the metal on something soft, with give. Place the edge of a thick putty knife against your mark and hammer to create an indention.

Bend it at that indention, and then test fit it before making the next bend. Keep making bends all the way around your letters. Make sure you pay attention to whether the corner is bending in towards the letter or away from the letter. And if you mess up a bend, you can just hammer it flat and redo it.

Once you've gone all the way around the letter, cut off the excess metal, but just leave a little bit of overlap. Next, you can attach the flashing. Place your letter on the blocks you make earlier, and they'll raise it up to the right height. The height guide will show you where to nail into the plywood.

We're using a nail gun this time, but last time we used a hammer and finishing nails, and that totally worked too. If a nail goes through your wood, don't worry, just pull it out and touch it up with some stain. We added a nail about every inch and a half, and we used super glue on a few spots that were too tight for our nail gun or our hammer.

We carefully applied just a little bit, and held it together with some scrap wood and some rubber bands. The final, and most satisfying step, is adding the lightbulbs. If you have to backtrack on a letter, do every other hole going one direction and then fill the empty holes on the way back.

That's awesome! Thanks for taking the time to watch our video! If you want to see more make sure to subscribe and click that little bell if you want notifications. And if you have any questions about this build, let us know in the comments below.

Bye! Alright, let's do it!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enHey guys! We're Evan and Katelynand today, we're going to make DIY metal and wood marquee lettersThis project is really special to us, cause we made the first set for our weddingand it's also the first DIY project we did together, so...Crazy!We posted a tutorial on our blog back in 2013But we still get a lot of questions, so we thought a video would helpLet's go!For materials, you'll need 3/4 inch plywood6 inch flashingStainNailsSuper glueSome scrap woodand globe string lightsFor tools, you'll need a jigsawa drill and spade bit that's slightly larger than your light socketa nailgun, and or hammera sanding spongeSandpaperMetal snipsA sturdy putty knifeand a yardstickBefore we get started, we're goint to make a few things that'll make this build easierFirst, we're going to cut some 2 and 5/8 inch blocks out of some scrap 2x4sThese will hold up the letters to the correct height for nailing in the metal flashing laterWe cut another piece of scrap wood to be 3 and 3/8 inches highThis will guide us where to nail into the flashing and into the plywoodThis may seem like a lot of up-front work, but it's going to make this a lot easier to buildand harder to mess upWe made printable templates for every letter, and linked to them belowWe printed our letterstaped them togetherand cut them outThen we taped these onto the plywood and traced themBefore removing the template, we used a center guide to mark the center of each holeYou can use a center punch, or a nailThen we drilled holes through these marksThis is where your lights are going to goDrilling can damage the wood when you exit, so either drill from the front, or drill from both sides and meet in the middleThen we carefully cut out the letters with a jigsawDrilling a hole to help us get the hard-to-reach spots of the ENext, we gave it a quick once-over with a sanding sponge and some sandpaperall your edges will be covered, so it doesn't have to be perfectWe finished them off in a Minwax dark walnut stainThe first time we made the marquee letters, this was definitely the hardest partit was difficult keeping the plywood centered with the flashing, and nailing in the right locationThis is where the guides that we made are gonna come in handyFirst, we'll measure each segment of the lettersThis shows us where the flashing needs to bendPut on gloves before handling the flashingIt is sharp!We started the flashing at the bottom of our letterTo make a bend, mark a linethen place the metal on something soft, with givePlace the edge of a thick putty knife against your markand hammer to create an indentionBend it at that indention, and then test fit it before making the next bendKeep making bends all the way around your lettersMake sure you pay attention to whether the corner is bending in towards the letteror away from the letterand if you mess up a bend, you can just hammer it flat and redo itOnce you've gone all the way around the letterCut off the excess metal, but just leave a little bit of overlapNext, you can attach the flashingPlace your letter on the blocks you make earlier, and they'll raise it up to the right heightThe height guide will show you where to nail into the plywoodWe're using a nailgun this time, but last time we used a hammer and finishing nailsand that totally worked tooIf a nail goes through your wood, don't worry, just pull it out and touch it up with some stainWe added a nail about every inch and a halfand we used super glue on a few spots that were too tight for our nailgun or our hammerWe carefully applied just a little bit, and held it together with some scrap wood and some rubber bandsThe final, and most satisfying step, is adding the lightbulbsIf you have to backtrack on a letter, do every other hole going one directionand then fill the empty holes on the way backThat's awesome!Thanks for taking the time to watch our video!If you want to see more make sure to subscribeand click that little bell if you want notificationsAnd if you have any questions about this build, let us know in the comments belowBye!At this point, we could probably just, like, fade to blackI'm kind of thinking the same thingAlright, let's do it!\n"