Originally Posted by
DiverBob
I have a source for 1/8 and 1/4 Russian Birch plywood sheets, no veneers. I get the 5x5 sheets cut in half so they slide right through the pass through doors on the laser. The sheets are prepped by sanding them smooth, stain, and coat with 3-4 coats of Polyurethane. The shipwreck pieces use a back sheet of aqua stained and the front is Honey Oak stain. I laser the sheets after finishing as I found that it is much easier to clean the sheets with White Vinegar to remove residue after layering. I use screen printer ink and a squeegee after lasering to fill in and highlight the cut and engraved portions of the wood. After the ink drys a damp rag removes all the excess ink except for what gets trapped in the cut and engraved lines. Mainly I use white ink but other colors can be used also. The layers are glued together to create the final output. The calendars have an extra step before glueing, each edge is sanded to 40 degrees (for the 12 sided cube, 35 degees for the 32 sided cube) and I use masking tape to hold the pieces in position before gluing. Those are the hardest items to do so far since the goal is to get all the corners and edges to line up. A little wood putty takes care of any misalignment.
The maps are my own design, had to learn how to use GMT (Generic Mapping Tool) to create the maps, contours, city and shipwreck locations. I’m starting work on one for Lake Huron this week, it will take 3-5 days to get all the computer files together so I can populate the map accurately.
Bob