Angled cuts via engraving

Assuming all your angles are matched to standard router V bits, cut your pieces then add the bevel on a router table. Will save you a lot of time and produce more consistent results.

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I suppose a reasonable halfway house would be to cut the material to the outline with the Glowforge and to engrave the inner line to use as a sanding/planing mark. that way you would have a very accurate cut and a marked line to be able to trim each piece to accurate angles with your favourite sander, planer etc.

I love that Rhino! I am trying to persuade Mrs The Wife to allow me to build an F1 car at about the size :wink:

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YES! - This is a perfect example of how we should think of Glowforge as ONE of our tools - not THE only tool.

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That is very well, if you happen to have a shop with multiple tools. I would love one but GF is going to be my primary tool and I will have very limited access to other tools, I would love a router or CNC mill :smiley:, maybe in time.

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What I have been thinking about is the Roubo Bookstand . The GF can do lots of the cutting and especially the ornaments. Still some chisel work and the final slice with a veneer saw.

Dan mentioned a workaround that may work , but won’t know how to make one until the unit arrives.
@Dan
"Although I must recommend against it for safety reasons, opening the lower door in front and overriding the safety interlocks by placing magnets against the sensors would not void your warranty.

The slot in the back, however, doesn’t have a corresponding door."

A sled to hold the piece at the correct angle for chamfering could be built, but it probably wouldn’t be effective for anything greater than 1/8" thick material, given the 1/4" max cut depth. You could slide the assembly into the front side of the GF if the laser can get close enough to the front edge of the cabinet to do a “trim” of the piece. I would definitely recommend getting the correct laser safety glasses before trying it though!

Find your local Fab Lab or makerspace. They should have a variety of tools that you can use affordably. They may even have a GF!

I have tried laser cut mitre joints before. I put the wood in at a slight angle to create the joint. You can only cut in straight lines this way or you lose the focal point (I guess with the glowforge it would refocus a little bit)
http://blog.justaddsharks.co.uk/laser-cut-mitre-joints/

I considered doing it with engraving but engraving is very slow and time consuming so unless the glowforge makes some serious steps towards 3D engraving it’s not going to be very practical. We can all hope though.

I used it to make a series of polyhedra (because my jig was good for cutting one specific angle)

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They haven’t caught on around mine, I even thought of opening my own. I expect there are many in London but I’m not taking materials there or taking products back…

Perfect example of what a 5 axis laser might be able to achieve (hence this post: Future feature suggestions)

Of course these things possible with other tools. But that is not the point when one is dreaming.

Interesting thoughts but personally I am more for working to a machine’s strength than trying to push past its weaknesses.

A couple of thoughts: a lot of mitering could be handled in the design phase, 2) a trim router could put the miters on in short order.

Very true, but we were trying to come up with some workarounds for people who might not have access to a whole host of equipment or perhaps live in apartments where routers are generally frowned upon by the neighbors :wink:

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I see your point but if you are to get wild with the gf it would help tremendously to have even a few more tools. If all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail.
That said, we will have to see what kind of clearance the gf has and make a jig, preferably adjustable. Small parts could be mitered pretty quickly with the right work flow.

[Fab Labs in UK][1]
[1]: https://www.fablabs.io/labs?country=gb

Unfortunately there are none near me. 30+miles and you find many

I’ve been thinking quite a bit about beveling edges too. At this point, I imagine that I’ll use the Glowforge’s precision cutting to build custom jigs for my dremel tool to accomplish special bevel angles on media previously cut with the Glowforge.

turbotas’s notion about the etched inner line that could be sanded to would be perfect for calibration here.

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This is what I keep being taught by both experience and other people, if you can’t use a tool to make what you want, you can use that tool to make a tool make what you want.

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I suggested and I hope they do it would be a controlled motor that ca hold round or square materials and turn them slowly as the gf etches and cuts it like a lathe.

cardboard lexus
or you could make one this size

Exactly. I am in such a situation, I do not possess a plethora of tools nor do i have access to a “maker space” there are rumors of someone opening a small one in the area but unique businesses like that have not got the greatest history for surviving for very long. That being the case finding creative ways to use the tools i DO have access to is always a benefit.

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