BATCAVE PLAQUE

Here's an easy project you can make in a day. A BATCAVE plaque! Woohoo! It looks good hanging in a work shop or den, or under the carport or out in the garage, or in the living room (if you're spouse allows it.)


First I folded a piece of paper in half and drew and cut out half-a-bat. The clunkier you make it the more Sixties-y it will look. I unfolded and traced the bat onto a scrap piece of wood, and cut it out on a band saw.


I sanded the edges a little bit and sprayed it with gloss black enamel paint.


Then I cut out a lettering mask with an Exacto blade. I had to make little triangles with masking tape for holes in the "A" and "B" letters. I was going to paint the letters white but I was out of white spray paint so I used silver. I think silver made it more snazzy, like something on the tv show.

I used a regular sheet of paper since it was easy to cut. Since it was paper and it was flimsy there was some over-spray(under-spray?) under the edges of the letter openings. After I sprayed it the paint absorbed into the paper and curled it so paint was able to get in where it wasn't supposed to. When you paint it you need to be quick. As an alternative you could use something a bit thicker, like a donut box lid, or you could take the time to make little inside-out rolls of tape to hold the mask down to the wood. I was in too big of a hurry and did it the sloppy way. I kind of liked the over-sprayed look though. It seemed industrial.

The thickness isn't really important. This one measures 5/8" thick. Now all it needs is a hook on the back to hang it.


The requirements for this project are:

A piece of wood
Black enamel spray paint
White (or Silver or Yellow) enamel spray paint
A couple pieces of paper for cutting out the bat shape, and the lettering mask
Masking tape
Scissors
A pencil
a band saw
Sand paper
A hook to hang it
A desire to be awesome