Laser + CNC

[Xxray]

I don't want to be a jerk, just the base of this was done with CNC, the tiger itself is painted plexi [pretty large about 12x8], the laser etched the tiger and I wanted a simple but elegant base so I machined a bare bones plexi base and painted it black on one side, looks nice.

As you can tell I am not done with this, I'm not much for painting and was intimidated to try but I finally made the effort and its easier that I had thought, as long as you stick to general tiger patterns you really can't go wrong, plus you can pretty much slop it on with no worry about going over black since the black is already there ,, They look nice unpainted too, or you could spray paint the back white or use colored papers for a background, but the only way to do it right is paint it.
Obviously, it could also be backlit, haven't tried that yet amazingly enough.

Tried out a new 1/8 upcut endmill on the plexi, machined beautifully, I really like these dirt cheap simple bases, they match, look decent, are effective and keep the costs and time way down.

Unpainted

Partially painted, will post back when complete

the base, only challenge here is getting tight as fit as possible

[Tex_Lawrence]

Doug, that is stunning. I know what you mean about painting. Especially when you think about screwing it up and having to start over from scratch!

About your base, you could add some springiness to your slot by intentionally oversizing it and adding several smaller slots next to it. Bend the wall with a small wedge (with heat applied?) of the adjoining slots to tighten the main slot. Then fix the size of the smaller slots with colored epoxy. I did this on a larger scale item than yours, so YMMV.

[Leo]

That is so cool. I need to add that to my bucket list of ideas to try.

[scottp55]

Amazing detail Doug!
Loving it!!
scott

[Xxray]

Very snug fit in the base is a challenge, I usually start the slot under size and work my way up until it just fits. Due to the inability of a round bit to make a square inside corner, if the workpiece is 8", you will need to go 8.1 or 8.2 for a fit. With mdf bases and plexi a little underfit is fine, I can smash it in with a mallet for a nice friction fit, but thats not an option with plexi on plexi.

Since the bases are thin as well as the workpiece, I want to get as much depth as possible, which means milling right through it. I could turn it upside down and, keeping it flush with the slot, just apply a few dabs of crazy glue to secure it. Problems I can foresee with that:
* Might get some gravity feed runoff on the workpiece
* Bottom of the base is spray painted, poor adhesion for any glue
* Some people may not want a base, they may wish to frame it or tack it to a wall

I should go with 3/8 bases I would have more options, including not having to mill all the way through, then I could just put the dabs of glue right in the slot and not have to worry about runoff ,, And if someone really wanted it out, probably could be forced out without too much trouble.
I think that, by and large, anyone buying something like this would display it in front of a window, in a cabinet or on a desk, I doubt if very many wouldn't want a base.

[Xxray]

Here it is finished, am satisfied for a painting amateur. A few mistakes and color bleeding, paint kinda wanted to smear and I had to do 2 even 3 coats in some areas ,,, Painted the mess on the reverse black to cover it so no backlight with this, honestly is looks best in low light from a little distance.
I think the white is too vibrant, will try toning it down if I do another. But I'd really like to use something that covers good in 1 coat.
Tough to get a good shot of the clear one as whatever is behind it shows through.

[mtylerfl]

I love both of them, Doug. Nice work!

[sakle2k]

Beautiful work. Is that with the J Tech laser or a stand-alone machine?

[Xxray]

Beautiful work. Is that with the J Tech laser or a stand-alone machine?

Buying a laser is a weird process, much weirder than CNC. Mine is an 80w MOPA fiber laser.
Not much available in the USA unless you want to buy from a reseller at a huge markup, so I bought direct from the source from Haotian lasers in china through a guy named "pascal", has a very good rep in the FB laser groups so I had it drop shipped to my house, arrive in less than a week after I paid

[Luvtocarve]

For someone that hasn’t done much painting, you did a beautiful job. Looks like something to be proud of to me.

[Xxray]

For someone that hasn’t done much painting, you did a beautiful job. Looks like something to be proud of to me.

Thanks Steve, I would classify is as "Ok", would really like to see someone who knows what they are doing work some magic on one of these. I think my biggest downfall is blending, colors like this don't just start and stop on a line, they are gradual and I never got the hang of it, but at least I am aware of it and stand the chance at getting better with practice.

[Jimcad]

Superb.

Jim