I’ve been working on a layered box designed to hold a bottle of wine. I was inspired by gothic cathedral arches (in DC, I drive by at least 6 each day on the way to work). I’ve gone through a few versions (pictured here) and finally gotten to a version I feel comfortable sharing.
The one on the right of the image is the prototype. It’s built out of 1/8th inch Birch plywood. Each layer of the box is glued together with wood glue and then stained. The innermost layer has a sheet of .02" PETG attached for that final ‘stained glass’ feel.
It’s designed to fit most bottles of wine – there’s a piece at the bottom that guides the base of the bottle into place. That particular piece is sized for a standard Cabernet bottle, but if you have a bigger one, you’d only need to cut a new base piece with the hole enlarged.
The file assumes a kerf of .0055 inches. The birch ply was .119" thick. I used a 60W laser, but I’m afraid I don’t have the power and speed settings on me, I just calculated kerf from the defaults on that machine. I included the original parts I used to create all the tabs, however, so you should be able to make adjustments as needed. I also color coded by layer of the box.
Also, the AI is Illustrator CC. So, if someone needs a legacy save to a particular version, let me know. You should (in theory) be able to open in earlier versions without relevant data loss. But versioning always vexes me.
Also, if you want an EPS let me know – the file’s pretty complicated so I was cautious about saving that way.
Wow, this looks great!! The layering is awesome. I keep telling myself that once the weather gets cooler I’m going to spend a day in the heart of DC just photographing and sketching all the awesome architecture we have- such good inspiration!
I used Pebeo Stained Glass paint, and had pretty good results. Though I don’t know if it’s weatherproof, or how it would react to long term sunlight exposure. Also you’re supposed to bake it to seal it in, which I don’t think I can do on PETG, since it’s a thermoplastic. All these tests are on my to-do list.
I hadn’t thought of that. Maybe I’ll add that in if I ever get around to the more ambitious version – where the wine bottle is in the steeple of a whole church, the rest of which opens up to reveal a picnic basket.
