Help with wood artifact preservation needed

[John Winn]

This isn't CW related (sorry) but I thought this might be a good forum to ask a question.

I volunteer at an historic cemetery doing preservation work. We recently discovered two wooden markers that have been stored in a city building for decades and we're thinking we'll mount them on 4x4 posts (i.e. above ground line) and put them back out in the cemetery. We're doing that because there's no place to preserve them inside (the city needs to clean out the space), there's no local museum, and the local historical society can no longer accept physical objects due to lack of funding.

So, we are wondering if they might be treated in some way to make them last a little longer out in the weather than they will if not treated. The wood is over 100 years old and bone dry. The pieces are about two inches thick, about twenty inches wide, and about three feet long. Originally the inscriptions were raised (and probably painted) but now they are barely legible and only if you have the right lighting and look closely. We were also hoping that a treatment of some kind might also make the raised lettering a little more visible.

Any wood workers out there with a suggestion ? Thanks for your consideration.

I'll post this on Chat also.

John

 

[ikesdad]

Pine, oak, or something else ?

 

[John Winn]

Pine, oak, or something else ?

I can't tell what type of wood it is but it's fairly soft and definitely not oak. I'd guess likely pine (Ponderosa or white pine) or Douglas Fir (all commonly available locally).

 

[Seduzal]

I can't tell what type of wood it is but it's fairly soft and definitely not oak. I'd guess likely pine (Ponderosa or white pine) or Douglas Fir (all commonly available locally).

Can you post a photo so we can look at?? Try to get a close up of the lettering or order details. Thanks in advance.

 

[John Winn]

Can you post a photo so we can look at?? Try to get a close up of the lettering or order details. Thanks in advance.

Unfortunately, I'm tied up until next week so won't be able to get any photos right away. It might be a bit tricky with lighting to get the lettering to show but I'll try.

 

[ikesdad]

I'm betting the inscriptions were flat and raised a bit over time in the elements. I've seen much of that happening.
Possibly check with a sign painter in your area to get it restored. That means none of the original paint will be left but repainted as the original was. If you dont go that route and prefer to keep it original and protected from the elements, seal it in plastic - a quality polyurethane.

 

[John Winn]

Just in case there's anyone actually interested we decided to just apply some Thompson's wood sealer. We did find a company that makes specialty wood preservative products and that was an option but they were expensive, required buying way more than we need, and also required weeks of curing between three separate treatments.

We got advice from two archeologists who've dealt with wood markers and for our purpose they both said just use Thompson's. We realize the markers will degrade over time but just accept that. We are going to have little plastic plaques made which we'll attach to the 4x4s that will have the inscriptions as per the originals.

They're going up on Saturday.

 

[EJ Zander]

Id consider building a case to put them into then mount the case. Doesnt have to be fancy just has to keep elements off. Thinking of something like a bird house with a plexiglass/ lexan front so the marker can still be seen but is protected.

 

[John Winn]

Id consider building a case to put them into then mount the case. Doesnt have to be fancy just has to keep elements off. Thinking of something like a bird house with a plexiglass/ lexan front so the marker can still be seen but is protected.

That would be an elegant solution but, unfortunately, nobody has the ability to manufacture such cases and there is an element of urgency as what to do with the wood markers has been an issue for a while now and the city really just wants us to get them out of the tool shed (where they've been for a very long time - definitely before the current sexton's time and he's been there some 20 years).

So we're just going to put them out. They'll weather but, given their thickness, will last a long time although I imagine the faint remnants of the lettering will disappear (thus, the plastic plaques).

If you were local we'd have hired you !

 

[Mike Serpa]

Just in case there's anyone actually interested we decided to just apply some Thompson's wood sealer. We did find a company that makes specialty wood preservative products and that was an option but they were expensive, required buying way more than we need, and also required weeks of curing between three separate treatments.

We got advice from two archeologists who've dealt with wood markers and for our purpose they both said just use Thompson's. We realize the markers will degrade over time but just accept that. We are going to have little plastic plaques made which we'll attach to the 4x4s that will have the inscriptions as per the originals.

They're going up on Saturday.

I was just going to suggest that!

 

[John Winn]

Today we put up the markers and treated them with Thompson's water seal. If you are actually standing beside the markers you can make out the lettering but getting it in an image was more than I wanted to deal with today (I think if one zooms in one can make out a little of the marking from these photos). On one you can see that the base was painted with a tar-like substance to help prevent rot and there are two spots of the original white paint remaining (the lettering, we're pretty sure, was painted black).

There were some rough edges along the bottoms of the markers where they'd been in the ground and, since those had dry rot, we trimmed that off. The wood I believe now to be Douglas Fir and it's shop grade stuff with really tight grain. Back then this was a hopping timber region and they only cut the big trees with the best wood. It tickled this old forester's heart just a bit to look at and sniff that 136 year-old wood.

So, after probably at least sixty years on a shelf those folks have their markers back.

The flag on the right in the second photo is for one of our Civil War veterans.