The ultimate quiet cut spindle

Ok, it doesn’t spin, so it’s not exactly spindly:

Another candle holder similar to this one:

Fun what you can do with a little “Shapeoko gone wild”!

Dan

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And done!

Dan

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is that a Co2 laser?

You went with the 7W from J Tech Photonics, yes? What settings were you using? (I can see and hear your air assist, hehe.)

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What material are you using? It is very pliable.

Looks like Baltic Birch, or possibly Lauan plywood with a “living hinge” cut into it.

I wish, 7 watt diode

6 passes at 100% 11ipm. This particular plywood is tough to cut for some reason. I can cut 0.118” thick of another brand Baltic birch same settings, this is only 0.063” thick. Air assist is everything.

Baltic birch plywood, only pliable because of the cuts.

Yep! I fell in love with the living hinge design the first time I saw it. I’ve drawn up several in the past to be cut on the SO3 with router, but never tried actually cutting one till I added the laser. This is the first design that worked right and also the simplest, a line with a small circle on each end.

Dan

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@DanoInTx What are you using for the CAD work on those designs?

Old school (sort of), drawing 2D vectors in VCarve, exporting as SVG, then CAM in Lightburn. I could do full 3D designs in Catia, but honestly I like working flat. A little math, and a lot of aligning and trimming tiny lines and circles. The most difficult part is waiting for it to cut, then hoping you don’t break it during assembly, but I’ve learned a couple tricks along the way. I’m think my next one may go a little less square, maybe fold the bottom under and puzzle piece the bottom instead of having a separate form glued in place, maybe even build some varying taper into it :wink:

Dan

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