Easy Wooden Ornaments
Intro: Easy Wooden Ornaments
UPDATE: if you like these but don't have access to make them yourself, you can buy them from me here
It is very easy to create beautiful, natural wooden ornaments. This method can be used to create these ornaments out of an assortment of materials, and using several different construction methods depending on what you have available to you:
Laser cutting is the simplest, but I'll go over the extra steps needed to use a CNC machine.
I used several types of 1/8" hardwoods to make these; specifically African Mahogany and Walnut.
It is very easy to create beautiful, natural wooden ornaments. This method can be used to create these ornaments out of an assortment of materials, and using several different construction methods depending on what you have available to you:
- Laser cutting
- CNC milling
- Scroll / Band saw
- Hobby saw (by hand!)
Laser cutting is the simplest, but I'll go over the extra steps needed to use a CNC machine.
I used several types of 1/8" hardwoods to make these; specifically African Mahogany and Walnut.
STEP 1: Create Your Star / Snowflake Design
I used this convenient Snowflake Generator I made to create this Chicago star design. You can also use it to create way more complex shapes though! Then you can simply download it as an SVG file.
STEP 2: Create the Notch for Interlocking
Open the design in a vector editor such as Illustrator or the free alternative Inkscape which is available for all operating systems. Then you need to create a notch halfway into the design. The width of the notch has to be the width of the material you are using.
For my 1/8" wood, I made a 1/8" notch in the star that went down to the middle of the star. If you want the file I used specifically, you can get it here.
For my 1/8" wood, I made a 1/8" notch in the star that went down to the middle of the star. If you want the file I used specifically, you can get it here.
STEP 3: [Milling Only] Generate Tool Paths
I use the web based MakerCAM to create the g-code toolpaths for my Shapeoko 2 CNC machine. It is very simple:
- Upload the SVG file by going to File -> Open SVG File
- Click on the shape and go to CAM -> Profile Operation
- Input your bit size, material depth and feed rate settings, and click Ok
- Click CAM -> calculate all
- Click CAM -> export gcode
STEP 4: Make It!
Laser cutterBring your vector file into the laser cutter software and make two identical copies.
CNC MillUse the gcode file created in the last step to mill two copies. I use the Universal G-code Sender to send gcode files to my Shapeoko 2.
Cutting it by handIf you are making a simple design like mine, it is fairly straightforward to cut the design with a scroll saw or with a jewelers saw.
CNC MillUse the gcode file created in the last step to mill two copies. I use the Universal G-code Sender to send gcode files to my Shapeoko 2.
Cutting it by handIf you are making a simple design like mine, it is fairly straightforward to cut the design with a scroll saw or with a jewelers saw.
9 Comments
zposner 7 years ago
Laser cutting may be a better technology for cutting them.
billgeo 9 years ago
I made those out of pplexiglass last year! They look great!!!
mdeblasi1 10 years ago
Lucite!!!
I am suddenly so excited!
mdeblasi1 10 years ago
been playing with "Snowflake Generator" for hours now. ..
plkap74 10 years ago
elizabeth55 10 years ago
action pig 10 years ago
I'm thinking about buying the Shapeoko 2 - how do you like it? I'd love to hear your thoughts, it looks great but I haven't seen one in action yet...
plkap74 10 years ago
plkap74 10 years ago