Ribbon box

[zaxis4]

Just a simple box that I cut out on my basic 4. I used two profile cutouts on 3/4 cherry which were then glued together to form the box. I added 1/8 inch corresponding holes in the two halves to make line up for gluing easier. The bottom and lid were cut on 3/8 cherry with pocket and profile toolpaths. The ribbon had to be done on a scroll saw mainly because the Padauck used in the ribbon was too fragile and broke to easily along laminaton lines. I had planned to cut them out with profile toolpaths also. A 1/8 inch upcut with a 1/8 inch shank worked perfectly for the job, I just needed to choose stronger wood in my lamination. I laminated 5 pieces of 1/8 inch material together to make a block to cut ribbon from. I am confident on my next one I can make it 100% CNC. I love my Axiom and Vetric software.

[noland]

Very Nice!
I like that.

[traindriver]

Really cool! I've got a bunch of odd scraps of padauk and purple heart around, I think I'll try something like that!

[zaxis4]

Traindriver, thanks for the complement. I think the purple heart would really work much better. The padouk is not as dense. Use lots of glue on your lamination and clamp it really tight. I'll bet it will hold together a lot better. I made my ribbon 3/32 and it thick gets pretty fragile.... I also plan to make the next one 1/8 thick. As far as cutting 5/8 deep the 1/8 x 1/8 end mill worked great. I used high rpm and slow feed. Probably over rubbing but whatever....something fun to try out.

[redwood]

How much time did you need to sand that ribbon? It looks great.


I've done a fair amount of laminations like this on a larger scale and though the CNC does a perfect job of cutting the pieces, I can never perfectly align the pieces during glue up.  Thus, a fair amount of sanding is required.

[zaxis4]

Redwood thanks for the interest. The surface of the ribbon either from the CNC or scroll saw really require no sanding. Ii is almost a polished finish. After the initial ribbon and bow pieces were cut I formed the tails on the ribbon with a scroll saw with a really fine blade. I would think a dremel tool with sanding disk would do the job also. The fitting part was done by trial and error and free hand on a small disk sander. All there is to do is to sand fit the tails so that they meet at the center, which is close to a 90 degree included angle on each end. One has to play with that a bit. The bows and ribbon are just held in position and instant glued. I used super glue and quick set. I suppose my RC airplane building days helped with that. It gets a bit tedious but the payoff is worth it.... I think so anyway. 

[savannahdan]

Would you be willing to share your files (V-carve/Aspire)? Thank you for sharing the pics.