Making Things Is Getting Easier

I used to invent games when I was younger.  I would make up small towns out of firewood, a rug, and a lot of Lego and matchbox cars.  My dad even helped me make a ferry, complete with a motor.  That was a great day!
Making personalized gifts is an extension of that now.  There's something extra special about a home-made gift. 

This weekend, I built a custom photo frame for a dear friend—complete with a laser-etched poem. What surprised me wasn’t just how personal the final piece felt, but how relatively easy it was to make using consumer-grade tools.

I urge you to try out 3D printing or laser etching/cutting.  There are "Maker Spaces" all over cities, some in libraries and universities, some requiring a monthly subscription. 

The possibilities are endless and we can create homemade things like we once did a long time ago!

 

The Machine

I have a machine called a Snapmaker A350 equipped with a 10-watt laser module.  

For those unfamiliar, this is an all-in-one machine designed for hobbyists—it handles 3D printing, CNC, and laser engraving and cutting.  I got it on sale for $2000 which seems like a lot until you see what things you can do with it.

The process was straightforward:

Design

I went to the following web site:

https://boxes.hackerspace-bamberg.de/PhotoFrame?language=en

There are a huge assortment of choices but it mostly gives you box designs.  You fill in the values:

It then gives you an SVG file that you can use to cut out the shapes.  In my case, it was the frame.

Laser Engraving

I imported the files into the Snapmaker software called Luban, positioned it, and hit “Start.” Within minutes, the poem was permanently etched onto the wood with crisp, professional-looking detail.

The Poem

I wrote a poem, and made it pretty in Adobe Illustrator (but you could have used the free software Inkscape to do the same). I exported the various layers (each layer has a different "colour" - which is basically how long the laser burns the wood), and "etched" the design.  The last layer I use is the cutting layer which then cuts out the shape. 

Putting It Together

The pieces fit really well together, so just tapping them gently with a soft hammer and a little dab of glue in the joint seals it up.  A little bit of spray adhesive, and the entire frame came together.

Finishing Touches

A little wood oil will bring out the contrast in the grain, and the final frame should look like something I could have bought from an artisan shop.

Here is what it looks like now (still needs finishing):