After seeing a picture of some similar ninjabread men cutters by Fred & Friends on epicwinftw.com I HAD to have some. Not being one to just buy something, I thought I'd have a go at making my own using strips of 0.5mm stainless steel and a jig to bend it around.
Not being a dab hand with graphics software I twisted the arm of my friend gmjhowe to make me some outlines. The ninjas in the PDF he sent me back are pure awesome, and should be a wee bit easier to make than the shapes of the originals I got my inspiration from.
Once the artwork was done I could cut out a template to use to bend the strips of sheet steel I had bought into the desired shape.
Read on to see details on how to get the best result and how to make the all important template.
Not being a dab hand with graphics software I twisted the arm of my friend gmjhowe to make me some outlines. The ninjas in the PDF he sent me back are pure awesome, and should be a wee bit easier to make than the shapes of the originals I got my inspiration from.
Once the artwork was done I could cut out a template to use to bend the strips of sheet steel I had bought into the desired shape.
Read on to see details on how to get the best result and how to make the all important template.
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Signing UpStep 1: Tools, Materials & Ingredients
None of these are absolutely necessary, you should be able to get by with less, use your imagination! The steps after this one show how I used some of the below tools to make the ninjabread man production process smoother and easier.
Tools: ( a selection of, not all necessary)
Materials:
Ingredients:
See step 13.
Tools: ( a selection of, not all necessary)
- tin snips
- long nosed pliers
- a fat, straight, round pen
- a thin, straight, round pen (a felt tip would be handy, since it can also write on steel)
- gloves (may be useful if you have soft hands)
- sand paper
- a vice
- a printer
- a spot welder / pop rivets / araldite
Materials:
- paper
- ply wood (or acrylic)
Ingredients:
See step 13.
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Do you think I could make these cutters out of Acrylic Strip? It will be easier to bend using a heat gun /hairdryer.
I would mkae the templates out of MDF which would be a little taller than the acrylic strip.
Will have a go and let you know the results.
Mike look at this for a school project?
Can make other shapes, if the acrylic works out?
I may just have to buy them but I want different poses. Thanks
i like the end results on the acrylic :)
J
might be to much for a newbie, but i'm all fired up to make my CNC,
so whether you tell me about you're or how did you make the laser cut alone? (can it cut in a manual way without a CNC Router??)
and better to give me an idea about the budget :P
(by the way i did check you're blog but still can not find a picture or a post regarding the Laser Cut it self)
and thank u 4 the respond.
The laser cutter I used I didn't make. It's a Chinese import, bought from a company called HPC Lasers.
It's a fairly low cost (4k gbp), 40W laser cutter. You can get much more expensive ones, but this one gives great results despite having poorly translated safety signs and slightly dodgy software.
If you want to see more about it I'll hurry up the blog post I'm writing about ways we've improved it. It now has a nozzle to direct the air closer to the job, a screen on a stand I bolted to the side, and the PC to edit the jobs is now located in the cabinet underneath it. We've also now got several nice ways to line up jobs, since once you've cut something, if you move it it is really hard to get it back into the same place to start working on it again.
yet i would love to see you're post :)
Thanks for the clues! It sounds much easier than I thought it would be.
Also, you can buy small pieces of aluminum flashing from DIY/plumbing/hardware stores, that would probably work well for this.
I'd join the lapped edges with either a metal "weld" epoxy like JB Weld, or by running a solder bead along them, because I don't have access to a spot welder.
Thanks again!
Not as important for these as for a bowl or baking pan, since they touch the food only for a short time, but still something to consider.
Great point about the solder. Modern plumbing solder is silver-based, and therefore food-safe; electrician's solder may contain lead.
:)
Brent Geppert
I liked the friendly tact used by Fredandfriends when they wrote to you and I like your response.
You are a creative guy, so I'd have thought that if you fancied selling templates for biscuit cutters, you'd be able to come up with lots of original and interesting shapes which would appeal.
Very impressive stuff; I feel inspired.
Thanks
We do have a little problem when someone creates an exact duplicate of our product and profits from that.
If we find an original idea on a craft or DIY blog, we immediately contact the designer to obtain rights to manufacture and distribute his or her idea.
The Ninjabread idea was licensed from an English designer, to whom we pay royalties for its use. Your actions directly affect his ability to make money, and possibly infringe on his copyright. I would therefore urge you to reconsider the sale of your templates.
And if, in the future you can come up with a new, original idea, we might be interested licensing it from you.
Sincerely,
Fred and Friends
Thanks for your comment.
Before your comment was posted I had already removed the offer to sell templates to people, having come to the same conclusion as yourselves, it would have screwed someone else over, and that it wasn't a very good idea.
I'd hope that you don't mind me leaving the instructable "as is", I would expect that you'd get a far greater amount of sales from those too lazy to print and make their own that the loss from the few that do decide to go the DIY route since it's had quite a lot of attention. Would you agree?
Regards,
Jayefuu