# Flashing Signs - Part 2 of 3



## rmwitch (Aug 17, 2009)

Once glued, I had to put weight on them and let them sit overnight. Once dry, I painted the exposed plywood with the same flat black paint I used earlier.

Now that the signs themselves were completely painted, next comes the stakes. I took 1X2X8 foot furring strips that I bought from Lowes for 98 cents each and cut them in half, giving me 2, 4-foot stakes. Once the length of the stakes was cut, I cut the “points” so I would be able to drive them into the ground. If you want your signs to look crooked/warped, talk to the associates at Lowes and they will sell you the warped furring strips for HALF PRICE.










I cut these points on the stakes with a chop saw set at 22 1/2 degrees (you can cut them with anything you have at hand). This gave them a nice sharp point!










After all the stakes were cut out, they also got a coat of flat black paint.

Once the stakes were painted, I screwed them to the back of the signs. I positioned them so that they would stick above each sign by 4 inches. This would give me something to pound the stakes into the ground without damaging the signs. BE SURE to drill a couple of holes in the stakes large enough for the screws to go through before you screw them to the back of the signs. This will ensure that you don’t split the stakes. Also, depending on the type of ground you have, you may have to make a starter hole with a crowbar or something to avoid running into rocks/roots.










I used 1 5/8 inch coarse thread drywall screws (2 per sign).










Attaching the stakes to the signs… Center the stakes on the back of your sign, leaving 4 inches above the sign, and screw them into the plywood.

Next comes the lights… Whenever the mini lights (either Halloween or Christmas) go on closeout, I buy some. I have gotten them for as little as 37 cents per strand! Some of my lights were 50 light sets and some were 100 light sets. In the end, I preferred the 100 light sets and I’ll explain later.

Because of the size of my signs, I was able to space each mini light 1 1/2 inch apart. I took a cloth fabric tape measure and wrapped it around the sign, making pencil marks every 1 1/2 inch where each light would go.










I ended up with 38 lights per sign. I took each light set and put the “flasher” bulbs (the clear one with the red dot painted on it) into the strings to make the string flash. I used two flasher bulbs for the 100 light sets and 1 flasher for the 50 light sets.










Now, starting at the first light on the string, I placed a small dollop of hot melt glue on the first pencil mark. Next, I placed the light “base” in the hot glue. 










I positioned each bulb so that the bulb itself extended over the sign and held it in place with a 3/4” hot dipped galvanized poultry net staple, placing the staple over the base of the bulb and pushing it into the foam. BE CAREFUL not to glue or get glue where the bulb goes into the base otherwise you’ll never be able to change the light bulb if necessary!










Once all the lights were glued/“tacked” and “stapled” into place, I went back and added more hot glue. I glued a “fillet” to make this stronger (encompassing the bulb base, staple and foam).










Now, what to do with the extra bulbs????

Once the 38 bulbs were in place and glued securely, I stapled 7 more lights, using 9/16” curved staples and a staple gun (one for each of the 7 lights). I stapled these 7 lights down the “front” of the stake and ran them towards the point of the stake.


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