Ready-to-go Projects

Adjusta Lamp

Overview: Construct a lamp that has different vertical heights to accommodate a lamp in different environments. A good project for following steps in order to properly assemble.

Materials: Red Oak

Minimum Cutting Area: .375” thick 20”x20” and a .75” thick 10” x 41”

Bit Size: 1/4”

Finishing: Watco stains will add color to the red oak. Make sure to add a polyurethane over the stain to protect the wood. Follow manufactures directions for specific applications.

Project Files:
Adjusta LampTutorial [Download pdf]
Adjusta Lamp Project Files [Download  zipped files]

Drying Rack

Overview: This drying rack pushes flat against the wall and extends out to withstand the weight of wet towels. Great for limited space areas. Simply screw into the studs of the wall and let this rack hang out of the way when not in use.

Materials: 3/4” Baltic Birch Plywood
12– 1/2” dowels 24” long

Minimum Cutting Area: 28”x41”

Bit Size: 1/4”

Finishing: Minwax Wipe On Polyurethane and Minwax Spray Polyurethane

Project Files:
Drying Rack Tutorial [Download pdf]
Drying Rack Project Files [Download  zipped files]

Entry Bench

Overview: This bench measures six feet in length to accommodate all the foot traffic coming and going. No screws are needed for assembly. Simply cut, sand, glue, paint and put to use. The file can also be modified to make the bench longer or shorter to accommodate any size room.

Materials: 3/4” furniture grade plywood

Minimum Cutting Area: 4’ x 8’

Bit Size: 1/4”

Finishing: For this example several coats of latex paint were brushed on to give it the desired color.

Project Files:
Entry Bench Tutorial [Download pdf]
Entry Bench Project Files [Download  zipped files]

Jigsaw Puzzles

Overview: Cut a panda bear or a duck puzzle to create hours of entertainment for kids of all ages. The files for these jig saw puzzles allow the user to cut both projects at once using two different types of wood. There are also a set of individual files to cut only one at a time.

Materials: Red Oak and Walnut

Minimum Cutting Area: Each wood species calls for a 16” x 24” area

Bit Size: 1/4”

Finishing: These puzzle parts could end up in a little ones mouth so it is a good idea to use some sort of food grade finish that would not be toxic to people.

Project Files:
Jigsaw Puzzles Tutorial [Download pdf]
Jigsaw Puzzles Project Files [Download  zipped files]

Kids Work Table

Overview: This simple file creates a neat table for small children to use for multiple purposes. Weather drawing with crayons, putting puzzles together or having an afternoon snack this work table is strong and solid. If desired this project can be modified to a longer or deeper size.

Materials: 3/4” furniture grade plywood

Minimum Cutting Area: 4’ x 8’

Bit Size: 1/4”

Finishing: Remember children will be working on this table so check with your local paint supplier to find one safe for children. A latex based paint was used for this example.

Project Files:
Kids Work Table Tutorial [Download pdf]
Kids Work Table Project Files [Download  zipped files]

Festive Cookie Stamps

Make your own “cookie factory” with these fun Cookie Stamps! The project features nine cookie stamp design plus a convenient rack to store your stamps. Kids and adults alike can have a great time “stamping” decorative cookies!

The designs are V-carved into DuPont™ Corian® but any solid-surface machinable countertop material will do. Cast acrylic would work also, but please avoid non-cast acrylic plastics, as these tend to melt when machined. Sources for solid-surface material include cabinet shops, eBay, or you can order 10 x10 samples directly from Dupont (see source page). I used ¼"-thick material, but ½" is fine, as well. (Remember to alter the material thickness in the ookie_Stamps.crv file if you use a thickness other than the specified ¼" ).

The overall dimensions of the assembled project are 13 " L x 5 " D x 4¼ " H.

It was modeled in VCarve Pro 6 and cut on a ShopBot Buddy PRSalpha 48.

The VCarve  file is available from the Vectric website -  Festive Cookie Stamps Project

Festive Cookie Stamps Project Tutorial [Download pdf]

Holly Christmas Wreath

A decorative wreath remains one of the most distinctive symbols of the Christmas season.

This Holly Christmas Wreath project will be a pleasant addition to your holiday decor, hanging on the front door or prominently displayed in an entry foyer to welcome friends and family to your home!

There are two versions included for the wreath project...one with a pocket recess for the carved Bow, and a “plain” wreath without the Bow pocket, in case you want to embellish your own wreath with real ribbons/bows and so on.

The finished wreath ring is about 17 " in diameter.

The project sample was carved on standard 3/4 " thick stock, but you can use thicker stock, if desired. If you do use
thicker stock, be sure to enter your new project thickness dimensions and calculate fresh toolpaths in Aspire as required.

It was modeled in Aspire3.5 and cut on a ShopBot Buddy PRSalpha 48.

The Aspire file is available from the Vectric website -  Holly Christmas Wreath Project

Holly Christmas Wreath Project Tutorial [Download pdf]

Wooden Hinged Photo Frames

This month’s Vectric project demonstrates how to create slotted photo frames with integrated wooden hinges by cutting out components and layering/gluing them together on top of one another.

Each frame will hold a 3½ " x 5 " photo with a clear plastic protective sheet and cardboard backing. This project is compatible with both VCarve Pro 6 and Aspire 3 (or greater).

The design is laid out as a tri-panel set, but can easily be modified to a bi-panel (by deleting the middle panel) or to an unlimited number of interlocking panels (by duplicating the middle panel as many times as you wish).

The finished dimensions of the assembled project are about 1 " thick x 6 " tall. Overall length will vary, depending upon the number of panels created.

It was modeled in VCarve Pro 6 and cut on a ShopBot Buddy PRSalpha 48.

The Aspire file is available from the Vectric website -  Wooden Hinged Photo Frames

Wooden Hinged Photo Frames Project Tutorial [Download pdf]

The Shoe Butler

The Shoe Butler provides an attractive and organized way to store your shoe polishing items! I normally would store shoe polish, brushes, and rags in a zip-storage plastic bag but decided enough was enough, and it was time to design something nicer to keep my shoe care supplies in.

The container features a rotating up/down handle and two dowel-hinged lids for convenient access to either side. I hope you will find this Shoe Butler “tote box” as handy as I do!

The overall finished dimensions of the project (handle folded down) are about 13½ " w x 8 " h x 10 "d.

It was modeled in Aspire 3 and cut on a ShopBot Buddy PRSalpha 48.

The Aspire file is available from the Vectric website -  The Shoe Butler

The Shoe Butler Project Tutorial [Download pdf]

Piece by Piece Basket

Overview: This basket is built using 123 identical pieces, plus one base piece. It is built in layers that cascade down to a single piece. This basket makes a great decorative piece in any home or office.

Materials: For this example Baltic birch plywood is used; however, an alternating pattern of light wood and dark wood make this basket very attractive.

Minimum Cutting Area: 24” x 48”

Bit Size: 1/4”

Finishing: It is best to finish this project with a spray on polyurethane after the project has been assembled

Project Files:
Piece by Piece Basket Tutorial [Download pdf]
Piece by Piece Basket Project Files [Download  zipped files]

Scissor Stool

Overview: This stool folds flat for storage and carrying around. The dimensions of it can be increased or decreased to make this a stool, table, foot rest, etc.

Materials: This file is written for .70 thick Baltic birch plywood. To modify the file for thicker wood simply increase the width of the pockets. 5/8” dowel. One 8.5” long; two 1 1/16” long and two 7/8” long”

Minimum Cutting Area: 25” x 26”

Bit Size: 1/4”

Finishing: If the stool is going to be kept indoors simply rub all the pieces with a Minwax WipeOn Poly before assembling the stool. If it is going to go outdoors use Minwax SparUrathane and coat all pieces before assembly.

Project Files:
Scissor Stool Tutorial [Download pdf]
Scissor Stool Project Files [Download  zipped files]
Scissor Stool Assembly Videos [Download zipped files]

Bistro Set

Overview: This is a set of four stools and one table that create a complete bistro set. Works great both indoors and out. By removing only a couple screws the entire project comes apart and can be stored flat when not in use.

Materials: Two sheets of 4’x8’ plywood

Minimum Cutting Area: 4’x8’

Bit Size: 1/4”

Finishing: These can be painted or stained for interior or exterior use. For this example one color was used on all of the table tops and foot rest while another color made up all the legs.

Project Files:
Bistro Set Tutorial [Download pdf]
Bistro Set Project Files [Download  zipped files]

Marble Madness

Overview: Create a marble game to keep your family and friends entertained during different gatherings.

Materials: Any wood you can get that is 1.5” thick. Poplar was used for this example. Also one marble 1/2” to 5/8” diameter.

Minimum Cutting Area: 18”x18”

Bit Size: 1/4”

Finishing: The wood is sealed with Minwax Spar Urethane. A bristle brush, foam brush or piece of clean rag make it easy to get down in the grooves to apply a nice coverage. The Plexiglas does not need any finishing.

Project Files:
Marble Madness Tutorial [Download pdf]
Marble Madness Project Files [Download  zipped files]

Tic Tac Toe Game

Overview: Round up miscellaneous scrap wood around your shop and turn it into this fun for all ages classic Tic Tac Toe game.

Materials: Something dark for the “O”s (walnut used here) something reddish in color for the “X”s (red oak used here) and something to contract the colors for the game board(maple used here)

Minimum Cutting Area: 32”x18” overall or see example for using multiple pieces

Bit Size: 1/4”

Finishing: Watco stain on the X’s, Minwax wipe-on poly for the O’s and game board.

Project Files:
Tic Tac Toe Game Tutorial [Download pdf]
Tic Tac Toe Game Project Files [Download  zipped files]

Dowel Puzzle

Overview: This is a hands on puzzle that has the user thinking which puzzle slice connects to the next using wooden dowels. Each of the 12 pieces are different, and to win every hole on every slice has to be filled with a dowel. Great for kids; however, just as appealing for adults.

Materials: Try to find a piece of wood that has a neat grain pattern, these little pieces will really come to life. For this example beach is used. Material needs to have a thickness of 5/16”. 18” of a 1/2” dowel will be needed.

Minimum Cutting Area: 18” x 12”

Bit Size: 1/4”

Finishing: Minwax wipe on polyurethane is ideal for this project because it covers the faces well and allows one to wipe poly into the holes.

Project Files:
Dowel Puzzle Tutorial [Download pdf]
Dowel Puzzle Project Files [Download  zipped files]

Collectors Basket

Overview: Whether you need a place to pile up your old magazines or a collect-all for children's toys, this basket is easy to fill up and move around. It is held together with mortise and tenon joints making it very strong so one can load it up with a lot of weight if needed.

Materials: This file is written for .70 thick Baltic birch plywood. To modify the file for thicker wood simply increase the width of the pockets.

Minimum Cutting Area: 24” x 48”

Bit Size: 1/4”

Finishing: It is very difficult to get a finish in between the slats, so finishing with a wipe on polyurethane or a brush to each piece before assembly makes for a better process.

Project Files:
Collectors Basket Tutorial [Download pdf]
Collectors Basket Project Files [Download  zipped files]

Trivets

Overview: This is a set of three different shaped hot plates. These work great when removing hot items from the stove or oven that need to be placed at a serving area while they are still warm.

Materials: Any 3/4” thick hardwood that is acceptable to warm surfaces. Red Oak is used in the pictures.

Minimum Cutting Area: 10”x10” per trivet

Bit Size: 1/4”

Finishing: A food grade mineral oil or butcher block oil.

Project Files:
Trivets Tutorial [Download pdf]
Trivets Project Files [Download  zipped files]

Shop Steps

Overview: These are heavy duty steps that work great around the home and in the shop. They can be used individually as steps, or a plank can be placed between them and they can be used as a catwalk.

Materials: 3/4” plywood. These steps can be furniture grade or just by regular flooring plywood if you do not care about appearance.

Minimum Cutting Area: 4’ x 8’ (cuts three of these)

Bit Size: 1/4”

Finishing: they can be left bare if they will stay inside, or put some polyurethane on them if you plan on standing on them with wet boots.

Project Files:
Shop Steps Tutorial [Download pdf]
Shop Steps Project Files [Download  zipped files]

Two Stepper

Overview: It sure is a pain trying to reach the top shelves of kitchen or pantry cabinets. Instead of storing a fold up ladder in a already full closet, why not add a decorative step stool to your home décor. This two step stool allows you to reach the top shelf.

Materials: Red Oak

Minimum Cutting Area: 38”x42”

Bit Size: 1/4”

Finishing: Watco Danish Oil is a great stain to use to bring out the color in the oak. Then cover with Minwax WipeOn Polyurethane.

Project Files:
Two Stepper Tutorial [Download pdf]
Two Stepper Project Files [Download  zipped files]

"The Reader" Magazine Rack

Stow your magazines with “The Reader” Magazine Rack! You can even customize the magazine front and back cover text with your own wording using Aspire 3’s handy Text Tool and Distort Between Two Curves option. By also utilizing the “Project toolpath onto 3D model” option in the V-carve/Engraving Toolpath menu, the v-carved text conforms seamlessly over the contours of the magazine.

 The overall finished dimensions of the rack are about 18½ "w x 13¼ "h x 9¼ " d.

It was modeled in Aspire 3 and cut on a ShopBot Buddy PRSalpha 48.

The Aspire file is available from the Vectric website -  "The Reader" Magazine Rack Project

"The Reader" Magazine Rack Project Tutorial [Download pdf]

Vintage Wooden Spoon Wall Rack

This project was inspired by a 100+ year-old, hand chip-carved sliver spoon holder wall rack of Dutch (Frisian) origin. This near-replica project can be enjoyed by VCarve Pro owners and Aspire owners alike!

The Vintage Spoon Rack provides unique as well as convenient and decorative access for up to four wooden spoons. The plaque can be mounted on a wall or cabinet near the cooking/mixing area of your kitchen.

The overall finished dimensions of the assembled project are about ¾ ” D x 9 "W x 12 " H

It was modeled in VCarve Pro 6 and cut on a ShopBot Buddy PRSalpha 48.

The Aspire file is available from the Vectric website -  Vintage Wooden Spoon Wall Rack Project

Vintage Wooden Spoon Wall Rack Project Tutorial [Download pdf]

You've Captured My Heart

Michael Tyler created this fun project that expresses to a loved one how he/she has captured your heart! This project was originally created with Valentine’s Day in mind, but it is perfectly suitable for many other special occasions such as a wedding proposal, a wedding anniversary celebration, a birthday, or simply “just because”! This unique decorative item features a ‘captured heart’ suspended from a golden chain inside a wooden cage structure with the V-carve lettering phrase “You’ve Captured My Heart” encompassing the circular base. The overall finished dimensions of the assembled project are about 7" round x 8½" tall.  All parts (except the dowels) are carved/cut from a single board measuring 0.75" x 11.2" x 22". It was modeled in Aspire 3 and cut on a ShopBot Buddy PRSalpha 48.

The Aspire file is available from the Vectric website -  Valentine's Day Project

You've Captured My Heart Tutorial [Download pdf]

Michael says "The ShopBot Buddy performed flawlessly when I ran the project, and I am duly impressed! What a great machine!"

Stools for the whole family!

This month's CNC project is a family of different size stools from ShopBotter Sallye Coyle ... stools for the shop, the utility room, or general family use. These stools make a great beginning CNC project or and easy way for a CNC expert to produce some easily customized stools for the shop.

Sallye has set the project up for cutting with different sizes of material, so the project will work well with a ShopBot Buddy or a full-size gantry ShopBot -- the files are already set-up and ready to go for several different layouts. If you're the type that likes to have things your own way, the designs for all the tools are provided as PartWorks ".crv" files so you can customize them or the layouts all you would like.

First, read through the instruction PDF and this will fill you in on which of the ZIP files you should download for the way that you would like to work.

Sallye Coyle runs Good Harbor Bay, a fused glass and CNC consulting and training operation in Durham, NC, and is a "Fabber" in the 100kGarages.com Network.
 

Instructions_ A Family of Stools.pdf Overview of the project and the various file and size options
24 x 32 inch material.zip (zipped files) “Load and Go” files have been generated for three quarter inch material. ShopBot Parts (.sbp) files have been generated for each file so you can run the .sbp files in the order suggested. The files have been written for a .25” bit, with a 60V bit for V-carving lettering.
24 x 48 inch material.zip (zipped files) “Load and Go” files have been generated for three quarter inch material. ShopBot Parts (.sbp) files have been generated for each file so you can run the .sbp files in the order suggested. The files have been written for a .25” bit, with a 60V bit for V-carving lettering.
96 x 48 inch material.zip (zipped files) “Load and Go” files have been generated for three quarter inch material. ShopBot Parts (.sbp) files have been generated for each file so you can run the .sbp files in the order suggested. The files have been written for a .25” bit, with a 60V bit for V-carving lettering.
Master Files Shop Stools (zipped files) All the parts for the stools are laid out on a sheet of 96” x 48” material. There is a Master file for .75” material (slots .78” wide), and one for .5” material (slots .53” wide). No tool paths are included in the Master files.

Korn Hole Game

Angus Hines (Hines Design Lab) shares one of his favorite games in this ready-top-cut project. Here's how Wikipedia describes it:

Cornhole a.k.a "tailgate toss," "bean bag toss," "baggo," or "bags" is a lawn game in which players take turns pitching cornhole bags—cotton duck bags filled with feed corn—at a raised platform with a hole in the far end. These platforms are usually made with plywood or occasionally plastic, and are often decorated. A corn bag in the hole scores 3 points, while one on the platform scores 1 point. Play continues until a player reaches the score of 21.

This project uses some interesting CNC joinery and Angus provides all the files and instructions you need to get into action, and even tells you where you can purchase corn-stuffed bags.

Korn-Hole Game Instructions (zipped) All the files and instructions for this project are in a single zip file, ready to download and extract.

Quilt Rack

Here's a project for beginning-to-intermediate level ShopBotters developed by Oscar Garcia and James Booth. Cut it on a Buddy or a full size ShopBot. This project will show you how to cut and assemble a self standing quilt rack. There are a couple of different versions of the design. The first can be made simply from plywood and the second is modified to include 3D carvings and be cut out of hardwood. *Extensive Video on Project!

There is a selection of files to download for the entire project. Start with the “Quilt-Rack-Instructions” document to see what the project requires.

Quilt-Rack-Instructions.pdf Overview of the project and what is required to machine and assemble it
Quilt-Rack-0-70-2D.crv (zipped) PartWorks design file for use with 0.7” material.
Quilt-Rack-0-75-3D.crv (zipped) PartWorks design file for use with 0.75” material
Circle-Lilly-B.v3m (zipped) Vector Art 3D model file for use in creating the 3D toolpaths
Quilt-Rack-Video.exe (zipped; 54M) Self executing video file showing how the project is setup