I've seen these growth charts for kids all over Pinterest, Etsy etc...I knew I would make one eventually. I stumbled across one tutorial in a magazine where the person used a router to make grooves for the lines instead of simply painting the lines on the piece of wood. I decided to mimic this idea.
Wood type: Pine board
Finish: Polyurethane, Minwax oak stain and black paint
Hardware: n/a
Finish: Polyurethane, Minwax oak stain and black paint
Hardware: n/a
I wanted a rustic look, so I bought an 6' x 1" x 12" rough pine board. I planed the board and then then rounded the edges with some sandpaper. I also distressed it by having a little fun and threw some tools at it to created some imperfections. I then went over it quickly with a palm sander.
I wanted to ensure my height measurements markings were as a accurate as possible so I decided to hang the board on the wall fist and then mark the measurements. I created two keyhole slots on the back to hang the growth chart with my router. Below is a photo the bit I purchased.
I then created two keyhole slots on the back with my router to hang the board up. I wanted it to be secure so that it didn't fall off.
I then affixed the board to the wall on the screws and measure 1ft off the ground and made my initial marking.
I then made a simple jig to ensure the router dado lines were straight and perpendicular. The photo on the left illustrated the use of a stop block to ensure all the lines were the same length. I made 3" wide lines to mark every foot.
I then started working on my other ruler increments. Below is a sample of my progress...
Once all the router line were complete, I did some quick sanding. I then stained the board, and then filled in all the markings with black paint.
My wife has a cricut machine, we made some templates for the numbers and then painted them black. I then put on two coats of polyurethane.
This is the magazine (below) where I got the idea and tips from. As you can see there was only 6 small photos on the right page, so I hope this helps. In their growth chart, they didn't fill the router dado markings with black paint. The choice is yours...
Project Complete!
Project Complete!