Hello everyone!

In this instructables I'll show you how you can make a simple, but beautiful wooden toy memory game with a laser engraver. This was a project I made a while ago on my YouTube Channel, but since I did not post it on Instructables, I thought this was the right moment to enter the "Laser Challenge"! If you like this instructable and my video, don't forget to give me a vote in the "Laser" challenge!

Sooo, let's get started!

Supplies

To make this memory game I used some scrap plywood I had in my scrapbin, it's 3mm thick. I also used some superglue to fill in some tear out I had on the plywood.

To engrave the cards I used a mini laser engraver, the Gorifei laser, from Made The Best. It's a pretty small laser, with a small engraving area. But the engraving quality is fantastic and I love to work with it!

Step 1: Preparing Cards

Before I sawed the plywood into cards, I first sanded the surface smooth. Then I was able to cut the cards to size. My cards were 5 by 5cm in size. On the disc sander, I gave the cards a nice curve and then sanded the edges smooth.

While sawing the cards, I had some tear out. I have filled it with some super glue, when that was dry I could sand the cards smooth again.

Step 2: Engraving the Cards

The Gorifei Laser Engraver

You can control the laser with your smartphone, this is very convenient! But you can also control it from your computer. Personally I have only worked with the app on the smartphone, it's really easy. I've set the engraving power to 60% and this gives me a nice result. You need to adjust the focus of the laser with your hands. And then you can position the laser how you want it, first you can let it run a preview to show you the engraving area. It's really handy! And then you can hit start and the laser does all the amazing work! Because it's just a small laser, it takes some time, one card took me around 18minutes, so that's a lot. But the result is fantastic in my opinion!

Step 3: Coloring the Cards

As you could see in my previous step, I used super glue to fill in the breakout. But unfortunately, this was still too noticeable on the back. As a result, we decided to give the cards a color with Osmo Decor Creative. We applied one coat, let it dry for 20 minutes and then wipe off the excess. After 24hours we applied a second coat, with the same technique. After two coats we used Osmo Hardwax Oil original to finish the front and back of the cards.

If you want to see the full video:

https://youtu.be/g_oWX9p4-JI

If you like this instructable and my video, don't forget to give me a vote in the "Laser" challenge!

Thank you for reading to the end

Warm regards, Jolien