How to Make an Arrow of Light Plaque

Scouting can get so expensive and when it was time for my son to receive his Arrow of Light, I was surprised by how fast it all added up. But there is no reason to spend lots of money on an Arrow of Light Plaque when it is so easy to make your own. It is easy enough that your Cub Scout could do it!

This was my first time using a wood burning pen, and I have gotten hooked. I even made a Christmas ornament with one using a wood disk.

How to Make Arrow of Light Plaque

1) Cut a 1×6 board to 21 inches in length.

2) Sand it down well.

3) Print out the Arrow of Light template. It is 19 inches long, so you will need to print it out over two pieces of paper and then tape them together.

4) Place the Arrow of Light template to your board where you want it to go. Be sure to leave space below for your plaque. Secure it to the board with tape.

5) Using a black ballpoint pen, trace the outline of the template. Be sure to really dig in deep. If you leave a deep line in the board, it makes it easier to use the wood burning pen later. The deep lines makes it easy to color in the lines.

Here is what it looks like when you take the pattern off.

6) Heat up your wood burning pen and start to trace the outline and shade into the middle. This part was so much fun! There are lots of videos online if you need some tips.

7) I decided to add a coat of stain, but if you do, you will want to make sure you burn the inside of your arrow design dark enough that it still shows up.

8) Once the stain dries, I drilled two holes on the right and two holes on the left so that I could tie the arrow on. I used leather cord and tied beads at the end.

9) I then added an engraved plaque that I bought at a local trophy store. It has my son’s name on it too, but I blurred it out in the photos.

In all, the Arrow of Light Plaque cost me only about $3 for the wood and leather cord and $8 for the engraved plaque. It was a lot of fun to do as well.