DIY Map / Nautical Chart Art
I have been loving all the map projects I've seen all over blogland lately and decided I needed one of my own.
I love maps but nautical charts are my favorite.
We have a fishing boat and live about 5 minutes from the Puget Sound and boating is what we do for fun. My husband calls it fishing but for me it's just hanging out on the water with friends.
Tacoma Narrows Bridges
It feels like you could be anywhere in the world when you are on the water. The Puget Sound is beautiful.
It was a really easy and inexpensive project. I built the frame out of old cedar fence boards that I rescued from my brother. He was burning them. Seriously? I could not believe he didn't think of giving them to me. He said he didn't think I would want them because they are so weathered and dirty. How is that even possible? He knows now, and he will never do it again ;)
To build the frame for my chart I used four fence boards. I started by cleaning them with a solution of bleach, dish soap and water scrubbing them down with a scrub brush. They really were pretty dirty.
Once dry, I ripped them down using my table saw.
I set the gate to 3.5". (the guard is only up for the photo I always use the blade guard, please use all safety precautions when using power tools)
Now I had the two pieces that make up the inner and outer frame. If you don't have a table saw and are purchasing new wood you could just buy pine 1 x 2's and 1 x 3's from your local lumber store. To make the pine look weathered checkout my post on how to make new wood look old
.
I miter cut the corners with my chop saw a
ttaching them with pocket holes, glue and screws.
Then I cut the wood for the outer frame. Just a straight cut, not mitered. I attached the outer frame with glue and nails.
The Nautical Chart is pretty new, I stole it from our boat but you can get them online by searching for printable nautical charts. My husband purchased it at a local West Marine store. I searched on line and found there site,
, it looks like you can get them for about $20.
To mount the chart I didn't want to use glass or damage the chart by gluing it onto a board so I decided to staple it to the frame. I'm sure eventually I will get tired of it and I wanted to be able to give it back to my husband.
It's very light so I just used two saw tooth hangers and small nails to hang it on the wall. That's it. I love the statement it makes and it's fun to show friends where we have taken them on the boat.
People get so turned around on the water.