A good friend of mine approached me about making a cribbage board for his parents. He provided a couple pieces of mahogany, some spray-on shellac, and design ideas. I helped out with the tools.
Once we worked out a design and performed a few test cuts, the CNC machine did most of the work.
Prior to cutting the final cut, I took a 90-degree V bit and cut around the profile of the piece. This results in the 45-degree champfer you see around the edge, rather than a 90-degree sharp corner. It makes the project look more polished and professional.
My friend added two or three coats of shellac and the board came out perfectly. It'll make a great gift.
A year or two back, my father suggested I should make a jewelry box for my mother. It took me a while to find a design I liked and work up the courage to put it all together. The box is made from solid maple, cut on the CNC machine, and finished with oil and polyurethane.
The box top (the lid) was too wide for anything I could find at the lumber yard, so I glued together a couple pieces.
The sides and top of the box have a beautiful V-carved pattern. This is a cornerstone feature of the software that came with my CNC machine. It's easy to design using only an image and a lot of fun to watch. I took a video of the top being carved and sped it up. It's mesmerizing.
When the cutting is complete, you can't tell the lid was once separate pieces of wood.
The font and back are similarly patterned, then glued together.
I finished the box with a mixture of boiled linseed oil and polyurethane, thinned down with mineral spirits. On the bottom, I engraved the date and a hand-written message, which I'd scanned into the computer and converted to a CNC path.
After adding a short piano hinge and rubber feet, the box is complete! It turned out well. Merry Christmas, Mom!
