December 12, 2007
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The bird mobile
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Miscellany
Holiday Ornament Swap 2007
This was done by laser cutting, in 1/8 inch thick cherry and white 1/8 inch acrylic, by the good folks of Pololu. I finally managed to find a local shop for future jobs but was so pressed for time that I mistakenly e-mailed Pololu the wrong vector file (I used Illustrator and drew my shapes in 0.25 pt black line), and while the results were beautiful, I was saddened to see that my house shape was not perfect (the apex is off-center ever so slightly). Thankfully, unless you have my gimlet eye, it's not noticeable.
The interesting thing about lasercut wood is that the laser cuts by burning a vertical hairline through the wood so there was a slight discoloration on the top surfaces which I sanded off, and a definite color change on the interior cut surfaces. That was entirely too much sanding given the deadline for the ornament so I left that alone (by the way, does anyone have any good guesses as to how this was done?). I also noticed a faint burnt wood odor which dissipated in time.
Wood shapes this small need to be simple and not crowded on the template (I tried to keep everything separated by about a quarter of an inch), so I ended up drilling the extra holes I needed with the smallest bit in our toolbox. Since it was solid cherry there was minimal breakage. I only lost two of the little house shapes, and a couple of leaves meant for another project. A final word of caution: for laser cutting the wood needs to be flat with no buckling or discernible uneveness. I bought mine here, and if anyone has another source as reliable I'd appreciate an e-mail, thanks!
Meantime, the loveliest things are arriving in the mail :)
Update:
Mobile with ceramic birds
Earlier mobile with acrylic birds