Laser Marquetry Box with Glowforge

thank you glowforge for sponsoring this video to get a 500 discount and also to support my channel use this link glowforge.com weber [Music] in my last video i did a little experimenting with laser cut marquetry on my new glowforge pro [Music] i tried various offsets to account for the laser kerf and i found that about 2 000 of an inch was perfect for my machine you could probably tell i'm pretty excited about this whole laser marquetry thing so i guess you could say i just made a sizable investment in the future of my woodworking with this absolutely incredible stack of wood veneers i ordered these from a small family-owned us-based company called veneersupplies.com no relation not sponsored go check them out [Music] i'm using a program called affinity designer for ipad but you could also use adobe illustrator or any number of free programs it really just depends on what you're comfortable with [Music] i'm using koa mozambique rosewood mahogany and curly english sycamore [Music] i imported my design into glowforge and arranged each part of it on a different species of wood [Music] and that is how long it took to cut the marquetry design [Music] so [Music] i'm using this self-adhesive contact paper to stick down my veneer pieces and hold them together [Music] after applying some glue i lay down my eighth inch plywood substrate and then another layer of veneer for the underside of the lid then the whole thing gets clamped between two pieces of plywood for even pressure after the glue dries the big reveal [Music] go easy on the sanding the veneer is very delicate [Music] i'm just preparing some cherry stock for the sides of the box it was just something i had on hand [Music] [Music] and then i started on the box bottom [Music] i'm making this the same way as the box top but without the design [Music] but this time i left the edges rough and let the glowforge cut it to its final dimensions [Music] i'm cutting a couple of eighth inch grooves in the box sides for both the top and bottom of the box [Music] this first laser marquetry box is really just a proof of concept [Music] so i'm keeping the joinery simple and using splined miters for the corners for the next project i'll probably get a little fancier [Music] always sand your inside faces before assembly and then take the extra time to tape all your inside corners to protect them from glue squeeze out [Music] the masking tape will hold the miter joints together until the clamps are in place for a little extra pressure [Music] now you can see why i use so much tape on the inside of the box parts once i glue it shut there's no opportunity to wipe up any excess glue drips [Music] this is called a spline jig and i use it to cut the little slots in the corners for the splines that reinforce the miter joints [Music] so [Music] i like using my oscillating belt sander to sand the splines flush [Music] and then i do all the final sanding on the sides of the box with my random orbit sander [Music] and finally it's time to cut the box open i cut most of the way through on the table saw and finish it with a handsaw [Music] [Music] i clean up the edges on my drum sander so i know that they're flat and i won't end up with any gaps under the lid instead of a knob or a handle i'm just sanding a little indentation for your finger [Music] huh [Music] so [Music] if you're new to my channel my go-to finishing process is several layers of wipe-on polyurethane followed by hand polished wax [Music] i've always used leather to line my boxes suede side up but this time i'm letting the glowforge cut it for me [Music] [Music] once again in the interest of keeping things simple i'm using these tiny solid brass hinges that don't require a mortise but i did have to clip the screws a little shorter so they wouldn't go all the way through the back of the box so [Music] so [Music] remember to use this link to save up to 500 on your glowforge purchase a huge thank you to all of my supporters on patreon for encouraging me to go out into the shop late at night after the kids are in bed and produce these videos if you want to join the club get access to my sketchup files t-shirts stickers and other merchandise or see your name at the end of these videos just find me on patreon see you later

Channel: Blake Weber

Views: 33,453

Keywords: laser engraver, laser engraving machine, cnc laser, laser machine, laser cutter, cnc laser engraver, how to use glow forge, diy, laser, cnc, how to, make money, easy laser, home laser, can glowforge cut, how thick, wood, woodworking, woodworking tips, woodworking tools, full spectrum, Make, laser printer, software, cut acrylic, 3d printer, desktop, hobby laser, marquetry, laser marquetry, wood veneer, jewelry box, simple box, laser box, glowforge, veneer box, design, joinery, miter

Id: CtMyTouUiok

Length: 11min 19sec (679 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 17 2021