Construction of South Church in Middletown CT was completed in 1870. My mom was a member and my dad went once in a while. He was also a handyman for the church. While visiting with church members after attending a service a while back, they learned I am a woodworker like my dad, and I went home that Sunday with a broken chair from the community room.
Months later I was contracted to rebuild the church’s street sign. The wood frame was punky and rotten, so much so that that copper cladding was falling off.
Rusted hardware on the original door frame. Taking the orginal sign apart in order to document it’s dimensions. There was rotted wood throughout. Taking apart the top portion of the sign. Not much left of the original lighting setup. The wood beneath the copper is rotted so the nails have let go. Sapele is bug and rot resistant. Test fitting the original copper while dialing in the profile on the router table. Forming the framework to accomodate the copper cladding. Test fitting the copper – it fits!! Tracing the original metal back onto a new piece of galvanized steel. Prepping the top portion to accomodate lighting. Test fitting the orginal smoked glass. Installing the light sockets. The top portion is nearly complete, only bulbs and the glass to set in place. A rebuilt sign, remounted. I drive by South Church regularly and get to say, “I made that!” everytime.
