Simple Bookends

With little more than a single peice of acrylic and a heat gun, you can make really simple L-bracket bookends. Throw an awesome Epilog laser cutter and a vector image of a flock of birds into the mix and you have highly stylish and sleek, set of bookends. The best part about this method is that in less than an hour and for next to nothing, you can get a spectacular set of bookends that would make a nice addition to any home.

The birds used to make the flock graphic were illustrated by the amazing Winnie Tom.

Step 1: Go Get Stuff

You will need:

A 12 x 24 sheet of acrylic
An awesome Epilog Laser Cutter
A flat metal bar
A heat resistant work table
Two clamps
A heat gun

I don't want any comments from the peanut gallery about not having a laser cutter! There are many service that will take the file I provide and cut it for you at a minimal fee. Ponoko is one such service. If you really want to do this, create an account with them and send them this file.

Step 2: Laser Cut

Download the file attached below and vector cut it with the following settings:

Speed: 10
Power: 100
Frequency: 5000

Step 3: Clamp

Clamp your bookend to the table so that the half with the birds is lying flat and the solid piece is hanging off the edge.

Step 4: Heat and Bend

Go back and forth across the joint where the acrylic is clamped with your heat gun until you see it start to visibly droop. Carefully, evenly and slowly start to bend this surface down to a 90 degree angle.

Wait for it to cool down and unclamp it.

Step 5: Books

Use it to hold up some books!