hardware
We joined Techshop last year. What a release of creative freedom. The place is chock full of the best of tools and we plan to use them all. Not only are the tools good, but TechShop is a good place to meet like minded people, talk about their projects, and get some advice on mine. If you like making things, you might want to join the crowd.
2017 Update... Sadly TechShop went bankrupt. There is a new non-profit we are working on called Maker Nexus. If you are near Sunnyvale, California, then please join us.
The items on this page are a few things we have done. We don't sell them but brother Bob does at Prawn Designs does.
Game board - Settlers of catan
Bob had the idea and did the initial layout. Jim did a few practice cuts and suggested some changes. Back and forth we went until this final design was realized.
We cut this one from 1/8th inch MDF on the ShopBot using PartWorks software. We did it in two passes with a 0.5 inch mill bit for the big areas and a 0.25 inch mill for the detail. Total cut time is about 90 minutes.
We're working on a new layout that will let us cut it all with the 0.5 inch. That should cut down the time to 30 minutes and avoid the vagaries that a bit change introduces.
We've revamped the entire design and now produce it on a laser cutter. Brother Bob at Prawn Designs is selling these and so much more. Check them out and get on his mailing list!
Card holder - Settlers of Catan and others
This is really has universal use for any game that uses stacks of cards. Bob did the design and layout.
We cut it from 1/8 inch cabinet plywood on the Epilog Helix. The laser has a very fine kerf so we could butt the pieces up next to each other.
Brother Bob at Prawn Designs is also selling these and other game accessories. He's making some cool stuff. Check them out and get on his mailing list!
landscape model
I wanted a model of the local park where I hike a lot. It's a beautiful place with a number of endangered plants growing there.
I started with a topographic map from the USGS. A little bit of crunching in CorelDraw and I had a set of squiggly lines to cut out.
I cut them from mat board on the Epilog Helix and glued them together with a cheap-o glue stick.
The most work was in the preparation of the topo lines and deciding which ones to cut together. With more work the task could be optimized to leave the model hollow and thus use less material.
This project became an Instructable.