AOL Plaque Building Pack 631
Revised: 9/08/08 Holman
Revised: 5/07/10 Neary
The plaque design described in these instructions and the jig used to produce the
plaques was created by Doug Hudson and Ken Schibler in 2005.
This not a difficult build if it is done step by step without rushing. It can be accomplished
in a short period of time with a larger number of people but will take much more
organization and does result in significant idle time of one team waiting for progress of
others. If a large group is going to work together on this I recommend a small subteam
complete tasks 9 & 10 prior to the larger group assembling for work. Step 11 is the big
time consumer and you should plan to have people spend lots of time here. After step
11 you can divide the work up in to teams as follows:
2 People – Task 12 – One of these people needs to be comfortable and
confident with a plunge router. I don‟t recommend changing who operates the
plunge router unless there is a problem. Once one person has the technique
down, let them do every plaque design.
1 person – Task 13
1 person – Task 14-16
1 person – Task 17
All hands on deck again – Task 18
1 person – Task 19
2 people – Task 20 – One mark, one route (need to be done with task 12 to do
this one)
Anyone available – Task 21 – Be picky here. This is the last chance to get it
smooth before the stain / sealant work.
2 people – Task 22-34 – Generally best to NOT have a lot of people doing this. It
doesn‟t take long for two people to do it. The shellac or polyurethane are not
time consuming at all. Just best to do them with many thin layers rather than one
or two thick layers.
1 person – Task 35-36
Make it a party – Task 37-39 - We‟re serious here. Plan an “Arrow painting
party” one evening for the parents. Do pot luck appetizers, etc to enjoy the
socializing with the parents you‟ve directly and indirectly spent much of the last 6
years with. Each couple paints their son‟s arrow.
1 person – Task 40-42
Don‟t rush the sanding. Well sanded surfaces make this plaque look very nice. Poorly
sanded surfaces will be easily visible after staining and sealing.
Steps to build / finish an AOL plaque.
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Early Preparations
1. Order nameplates for each scouts plaque with other information like AOL date,
pack, etc. Crown Trophy (Kehr's Mill and Clayton road, near Fortel's and
Charlotte's Rib) does these well and has a file with examples of the previous
order. They should have the file copy under “Pack 631” - Holman for 2008, and
“Pack 631” - Neary for 2010.
2. Order one Cub Scout and one Boy Scout emblem for the two ends of each
plaque (see picture at top of page). Again, Crown Trophy has been good and
has the file with the previous order.
3. Order the arrows. Allow several weeks for completion of your arrow order as
most arrow centers will have to special order the shafts. Specify length, fletching
colors, fletching size, fletching placement (critical for the painting jig), and arrow
point. (Summit Archery Center in Grey Summit does great work on these. Ask
for Jeff (636)742-2531). Two blue and one yellow fletching shows better on
medium to light plaques. Two yellow and one blue is best for very dark stains.
Overall arrow length is between 32 to 33 inches from tip to end of nock. Take the
arrow from the painting jig to the arrow shop when you order the arrow to ensure
the arrows you order will fit the jig. The fletching form last years arrow (2008) is
5 inches in length and is longer than the example arrow in the jig. The longer
fletching length looks much better on the plaque and is recommended. The arrow
must have a minimum of 24 ½ inches of shaft available to paint for the
achievements.
4. Check arrow paints and replace any that are dried out or low.
5. Develop color chart for the back. Include the AOL date and the boy‟s names in
the den(s). Print with a high quality color printer (ink jet printers will see some
“bleeding” when shellac or polyurethane is applied….even if sprayed on).
.
6. Procure boards. St Charles Hardwoods has a nice selection and will give a
discount to Cub Scout Packs. Plan to purchase the wood several weeks
before you start the project. This will give you time to be selective about
the wood you choose. The hardwood store will sell S3S lumber and
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sometimes quality and quality is limited. S3S (surfaced three sides)
lumber is straight line ripped on one edge, and surfaced on both faces to a
nominal size and is sold by the board foot. Beech wood has been used in
the past, for its even color and tight grain.
a. A hardwood is a must for this project; this plaque will be something the
boys will keep for a long time. Each plaque requires 39 ¼ inches in
length and an absolute minimum of 7 ½ inches width. It‟s best to
purchased boards with at least 8 inches width.
b. Stain color used in 2005 was Minwax‟s Rosewood color (on Beech) ,
2007 was Minwax‟s Vermont Maple (on Beech), 2008 was Minwax‟s
Gunstock color (on Oak), and 2010 was the same Gunstock stain from
2008 (on Red Oak).
7. Check sufficient clips to hold the arrows to the plaques. These are actually 3 AG
fuse clips and are kept in the AOL / Crossover supplies in the cage. Make sure
you have enough (2 per plaque). If not order more from …. (see task 43 for
details that must be finalized).
8. Consider need for replacing (procuring) any of the following consumables:
a. ½” diameter “V” groove router bit (90 degree) with ½” shaft mount
bearing.
i. In the past this bit has not been readily available at local hardware
stores such as Home Depot, Ace, Lowes, or Sears.
Recommended stores to buy this bit are: St. Charles Hardwoods,
Rockler, or Wood Craft, or numerous on-line stores.
b. Quarter round router bit (radius selected to preference) ½” recommended
radius. Can use other finishing edge but rounded seemed to work best
on previous plaques. The transition from the top straight edge to the arc
is the spot to consider when selecting your edge design. It seems like
simple ends up looking the best. The focus still should be the arrow, not
the plaque. The plaque just helps make the arrow look better.
c. Keyhole router bit
d. Sandpaper (80, 120, 200, 220+)
e. Blades (fine cut) for table saw, scroll, etc.
f. Shellac or polyurethane (sanding sealer if desired). You can use brush
on but we‟ve found spray polyurethane does well and is easy to manage.
Minwax also makes a “Wipe on” poly which is easy to use.
g. “Pedestals” to use when staining and sealing to raise the plaque off the
table. “Ketchup cups” from fast food stores work well. Ask for a donation
of about 5 or 6 per plaque you will make.
Woodwork Prep
9. Gather tools & Supplies
a. AOL jig and 3 templates
b. Outline template
c. Arrow painting jig and paint kit.
d. Bar clamps or large C clamps to hold the template & plaque in the jig.
e. 90 degree pointed router bit with ½” bearing on shaft (best to start with a
new one each year. The picture below does not show the bearing.
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f. Quarter round (arc radius based on preference) for rounding the plaque
edges. Lowering the depth setting will produce a rounded corner with a
decorative fillet.
g. Keyhole router bit. May also want a ¼” forstner drill bit to start the hole if
you are not using a plunge router for this step.
h. Plunge router, a must have when routing the design, to minimize
damage to the templates.
i. Router table and router
j. Table Saw (not required but useful)
k. Scroll saw with fine cut blades
l. Sanders and sand paper
m. Squares, tape measures, straight edge, pencils, etc.
n. Handy to have some wood carving tools for detailed cleanup in the routed
design. Particularly smoothing out the “bottom” of the arrow point after
routing. Only use by hand….do not hammer. Alternatively John Holman
has had success using a Dremel with plunge attachment to do the clean
up work. 2010 note: John Holman found pencil sanders which used a
band of sandpaper stretched around a spring loaded “pencil” shaped
sander which worked very well.
o. Work surfaces (flat & clamping)
p. Planer (only needed if your purchased boards are particularly rough or
irregular across the board width and length)
q. Safety glasses and hearing protection.
Woodwork
10. Ensure one edge of each board is straight. This will form the bottom of each
plaque and needs to be straight for good placement in the jig.
11. Select board sections to use for each plaque. Cut wood to length (plaque width).
If using extra wide boards rough in general shape (with spare) for each plaque
when cutting to length. Be sure to leave enough to allow solid clamping when
you route the design. You want zero movement during that process.
12. Plane if necessary and sand prior to routing. Recommend getting the front, back,
bottom edge and both side edges nearly to final sanding quality. Work
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progressively from 80 to at least 200 sandpaper. This is one of the big time
consumers of the project and one that most people want to do fast. Chances are
if you think it‟s good enough it needs more sanding. Compressed air will help
revel areas which need additional sanding.
13. Trace the outline of the plaque on the board by using the outline template.
14. Place each board in the jig and clamp in place.
a. Test cutting the design (or at least part of the design) on a scrap board
using steps d & e below before cutting on a plaque. Make sure the arrow
routing design will be in the proper location of the arc. Try different depths
of cut to get the look you desire.
b. If the bit starts to burn the wood, stop and go get a new bit, burns are
extremely hard to sand out of this design.
c. Use plunge router with one of the templates to route part of the design.
i. Best to start with a new ½ inch pointed router bit (90 degree
angle) each year.
ii. Need a ½” bearing on the shaft to fit within the template slot.
15. After setting the template in place above the plaque board, clamp the template
and the plaque firmly together. Make sure your clamps will not interfere with
movement of your router. For added support and to pull the board tight, clamp a
scrap piece of wood to the underside of the board near the center.
iii. Be quick when inserting the bit to begin cutting. Time
spent at the start or end of a cut will result in „burning‟ that is very
difficult to sand out.
iv. Allow the bit to fully stop before aligning the position for the
next cut. This will significantly lengthen the time to make each
plaque…but is the ONLY way to ensure the templates last long
and don‟t get destroyed by the spinning router bit that is slightly off
line. Making new templates is NOT an easy task. If this must be
done, contact Doug Hudson to see if he still has the detailed
drawings used to make the originals.
d. Repeat step 4d for the remaining 2 templates. All three templates are
required to complete the AOL shape.
16. Somewhere between now and step 20 have someone “clean out” the routed AOL
design. A good set of carving tools is highly recommended for this work.
Cleaning most of the lines of wood tassels is quite easy. Cleaning and
smoothing the “bottom” of the arrow head is the most challenging. A small chisel
used backwards and scraped (pulled by hand) against the wood works well. John
Holman had good luck cleaning arrow heads using a Dremel and plunge
attachment.
17. Cut the shape of the plaque as close to the line (drawn in step 13) as possible.
Use a hand scroll saw or a band saw.
18. Attach the outline template to the back of the board using four wood screws in
the countersunk holes. The two remaining holes mark the location for the keyhole
bit (for hanging).
2010 note: Brian Neary and David Smith used the keyhole bit to make a single
horizontal hanging slot on the back. Detailed notes at step 23.
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19. The plaque and outline template should look like this.
20. Route the outline with a pattern bit. The bit used is from wood craft no. 129640.
Be patient here. This is the biggest opportunity to irreparably screw up. Keep
the router flat on the outline template and do not move too fast or try to cut off too
much on one pass.
21. Sand the edges of the plaque prior to routing the radius on the edge. If all goes
well in the step above very little sanding is needed. Failure to start with a smooth
edge will result in a wavy rough boarder that will be subject to splits and cracks.
22. Use a router & router table to round the edge of each board all the way around.
The desired arc radius edge bit is personal preference. You will need a bearing
on the bit end (not the shaft). This can be done by hand if desired but is a bit
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easier on a table. Again experimenting with some scraps will help determine the
best direction of feed across different grain sections.
23. Use a ¼” forstner drill bit to start the keyholes. Test depth of drill bit and keyhole
bit on scrape wood prior to drilling and routing. The outline template marked the
location for two keyholes. I recommend two holes but one in the center top may
be used. Two holes is a bit harder to hang but one hole has two potential
problems. One the plaque may tend to want to tilt when hung and two you must
be careful to not cut too deep. Test depth on scrap wood. The keyhole would be
directly behind the AOL design. At a minimum you will end up with minimal wood
thickness between the keyhole and the design. Again I recommend two
keyholes, one near each end. Mark a 1/4” straight line from the hole towards the
top edge of the plaque. Route the keyholes.
2010 note: Instead of 2 keyhole slots for hanging, a single horizontal keyhole slot
was made with a center hole just below. To cut this, a simple rig of 3 parallel
boards was used as a guide for the slot. One board for the bottom edge of the
plaque was clamped to the work surface. The next board, parallel to the first,
was clamped to the work surface at the top edge of the plaque (only touching at
the top of the curve). The third board was placed 3.25” (our plunge router was
3.25” from center to edge of base) from where we wanted the slot on the back of
the plaque, again parallel to the bottom edge of the plaque. We used a square to
make all 3 boards square with the same edge of the work surface to guarantee
they were parallel. We marked a vertical line on the back of the plaque at the
center (19 7/16 for ours, double check by measuring from each side), and then
put a mark at 3.25” from the top board where our slot would cross the centerline,
and 3 5/8” where the bit would enter the plaque.
To either side of the centerline, we put a mark 5/8” left and right of center to mark
the boundary of the slot. Then, using a plunge router and keyhole bit (set depth
on a test board), we started the slot at the center line at the 3 5/8” mark, moved
the router along the center line to the 3.25” mark where the top board provided a
straight edge for the router, then moved left and right using the top board as a
guide for the edge of the router to cut a 1.25” slot. Stop the router, then move
back to the starting point and lift out. Once the boards are clamped down, all
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plaques can be swapped in and out fairly quickly, and the hanger only requires
one screw or nail be put in the wall, and holds it flush to the wall.
24. Sand all surfaces, using progressively finer paper up to at least 220 grit is
recommended.
Finishing
Use some sort of pedestal to keep each plaque off the table top. Ensure the
pedestal is not out to the edge of the plaque. I‟ve found that “ketchup” cups from
some fast food stores work well. Often you can get a bunch donated for scouts.
Plan on 5-6 to support each plaque.
25. Clean all surfaces of dust. Recheck sanding and design is ready for finish.
26. Stain to desired color
27. Let dry and sand as necessary (sand lightly with very fine sandpaper)
28. If using sanding sealer, apply to prevent absorption of shellac or polyurethane
into the wood.
29. Let dry and again sand smooth if necessary (very fine sandpaper)
30. Glue the arrow point color code and list of scouts onto the back of each plaque.
31. Apply shellac or polyurethane to the back of each plaque. Don‟t do the edges
yet. Watch for drips down the edges.
32. Allow to dry thoroughly.
33. Apply shellac or polyurethane to the front and edges of each plaque. Watch for
drips as the material is pulled by gravity.
34. Sand if necessary (lightly with very fine sand paper) and apply additional coats to
create a shiny hard finish. Multiple thin coats are better than one thick.
35. Allow plenty of time for the shellac or polyurethane to dry thoroughly. Finger
prints in the finish are not pretty.
36. Drill a very small pilot hole and attach two clips to hold the arrow.
37. Apply the name plate, Cub Scout emblem and Boy Scout emblem to each
plaque.
a. The Cub Scout emblem goes at the rear of the arrow, the Boy Scout one
at the tip to signify transitioning from one to the other.
Arrow Preparation
38. If necessary, lightly sand the arrow shafts. Arrows from Summit Archery came
sanded and sealed and we were able to skip to step 39.
39. Seal each arrow shaft with shellac or polyurethane. Sand and repeat if
necessary. Allow to dry thoroughly.
40. Develop a list of the achievements of each Cub Scout (Bobcat, Tiger, Wolf, Wolf
arrow points [up to 5], Bear, Bear arrow points [up to 5], Webelos, number of
Webelos activity pins, AOL, and religious emblem. Do not put this off until the
last minute, as it may take some parents time to get all of this together.
ScoutTrack.com is a huge help in this area, so be sure to use it!
41. Place an arrow in the painting jig and paint the appropriate bands on the arrow
for each achievement above for each scout.
42. Allow paint bands to dry.
43. Seal the arrow shaft with shellac or polyurethane.
44. Allow to dry thoroughly
45. Connect arrow to the plaque made above using the clips. The clips are actually
fuse clips. They are 3 AG fuse clips. Heartland Electronics in St. Peters is
where we got the clips from in the past. Bought 500 for plaques starting in 2008.
The clips we‟ve been using are from Emerson / Heartland and are part number
3531. Also, Keystone Electronics in Astoria NY was helpful finding the right clips
so could be another source for ordering. Screws are #4 1/2” pan head phillips
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metal screws. A pack of 100 was bought in 2010 which should last for a little
while.
Final Wrap-up
46. Repair any damage to the three template boards and outline template. If any
“nicks” or “rough spots” exist in the AOL design on the template boards, fill with
wood putty, let dry and carefully had file to smooth. Be sure not to change the
original line shape or location. The slots should remain ½” wide to fit the bearing.
47. Store the jig and all there templates in a safe dry place for next years team.
Have fun presenting these awards to your boys. It‟s a keepsake you‟ll admire for a life
time.
Special Note: If a catastrophe happens, and for some reason one or more template
boards needs to be made, contact Doug Hudson to see if it is still possible to print a new
set of the scale CAD drawings of the design. We used detailed scale drawings, glued
them to the template boards and carefully hand cut / finished each of the three
templates.
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