For this build, I decided to make my own siding from basswood sheets. You can buy pre-cut basswood strips, but it is cheaper to buy the sheets and cut your own. No, it won’t be as uniform as buying the factory cut strips, but the kind of siding I am after makes that okay. :D
Since the sheets (and the strips for that matter) had stickers on one side, I marked that side with diagonal pencil lines. The glue residue will prevent even staining, so I need to make sure I can always tell which side was the back.
I then marked 6″ increments. I also made some of the sections in 8″ increments.
I marked 3/8″ wide planks.
I cut the sections apart. In some places, I had to make additional marks to indicate the back.
I then cut the planks.
Here’s my pile of planks. You can see the back markings here and there.
I sanded the fronts and front edges then taped the planks to painting boards for staining.
I stained the various boards using slightly different stains to end up with variegated, reclaimed siding.
