Had only a day each of the past weekends so wanted something quick. Crosses sell well, but I wanted something smaller than my usuals and cheaper to build.
6-1/2" x 4" with 1-3/16" wide arms. Various thicknesses around 3/8" Eight in total, four wood types in order of gallery photos:
Maple QS White Oak Jatoba Walnut
Great way to use up some resawn cutoffs!
Celtic knot for decoration, laser etched and resin/mica filled.
It all begins with getting the parts flat. Drum sander and 180 grit.
With the design in Lightburn for the laser, I cut out some thin junky particle board for a router template.
From this, I routed another thicker template for the actual routing. Think of the first as a pattern and make a working template from that.
Scrap of 1/4" masonite makes the final version, avoiding the hole in the scrap.
Inside corners are radiused for mt 5/16" bearing tipped flush cut bit.
I prep the surfaces with a grain sealer to keep the fill resin from leaking into the surface. Usually I'd use tape, but this time I tried LBD's method. Worked great!
Resin applied then waited until next weekend to flush it up.
I lasered in the etching, about 2mm deep with some variance depending on the wood type. The oak took the most energy since it has some fibers that just don't want to burn down. Faint outline of the project so I have something to align the template when taping on for routing.
When trimming the waste on the bandsaw, I leave the excess material at the ends of the arms. Arrows show the routing directions and the ovals show places where the bit transitions from end gran to long grain and potentially will flake off a large sliver. These are the paths I route first and the excess acts as a backer to protect the edge.
Routed to shape then round over bit (1/16" R) to smooth it out/
Small magnets in the back, 1/8" diameter x 1/16" thick. I doubled them up and drilled pairs of holes top and bottom for enough grip to hold the weight on a fridge door.
Finish was fuming the oak a bit and then Osmo.
Mica shows up well depending on the light, but will use different colors for better contrast next time. Maple was excellent.
Well written up Splinter and nice crosses. You should have made it 14 for the stations of the cross. Are you sure there aren’t any pieces of fine furniture hiding under your bed? Is this for sale with the last box you made? I’m sure they’ll see. Keep us informed.
Splint, these look great and should sell fast. Maybe adapt them for hanging - drill hole, or install small hook on top, etc. Then they can be sold as Xmas Tree decorations. Great work for a one day exercise in the shop.
Thanks OT, I had originally planed on a hook, but the others had that so I was thinking something different. The ornament idea is great since any design can be put onto simple wood shapes for trees.
Another neat laser usage Splint... You mention "something quick"... quick and 'poxy is an oxymoron to me... I know I sound like a, but I'm still a backfill Timbermate fan.
These items would make any pagan not get cross! Well maybe a could cause shekel loss.
If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD
Thanks everyone, I have something like 50 colors of mica to choose from and I keep using the same ones (something about insanity?)
Ryan, this is the LM3 10W head, I usually use about 90% @ 10-15mm/s (jatoba) with air assist at 10 LPM. I'll bump or drop the power for soft/hard. Offset fill for these type shapes.
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