Cliff May Restovation

I'm also trying to relocate the house numbers:

This is turning out to be a lot tougher than I thought. Originally, they came with a paper template for drilling the holes. Now I want them horizontal and since the place I'm putting them is a very specific width I want a very particular spacing.

I thought I'd be super smart here. I positioned the numbers and traced them. Then I put in the rods in back, dipped them in red paint, and tried to position them (lining up with the traced outlined) to mark the drill holes. Unfortunately the rods are a bit long and I wasn't as lined up as a thought.

This is one of those times I remember what a car upholsterer told me. He said just about anyone can recover car seats. The key is having patience and being willing to redo things a bunch of times until you get it right. This is definitely one of those things where that applies. I want the numbers aligned just right and I've got some ideas to improve my method.