Pretty sure Baltic doesn’t come in 1/16.
I’ve only seen specs on 3/6/12mm and maybe higher. If someone has docs about it I’d love to see it.
Pretty sure Baltic doesn’t come in 1/16.
I’ve only seen specs on 3/6/12mm and maybe higher. If someone has docs about it I’d love to see it.
Or a track saw. Or put one of those Kreg saw guides on your circ saw. I have a small Ryobi that’s good for this purpose.
The kreg saw guide is what I use, it’s called the rip cut.
By the way I found out what happens if you are a bit too rough with that creature:
Do not taunt super happy fun ball.
You’re right, I found the packaging which refers to the material as “wood squares”. They are very consistent, but the fact that they didn’t cross-grain the layers (if indeed there are two layers) may limit their utility.
I just got some of the recommended 1/16 stuff from Amazon. I’ll give it a try. Seems a bit flimsy, but that could just be first impressions.
Like a lot of three layer ply there’s a rigid direction and a flexible direction. Baltic is the same way.
I’m speculating but I think it’s because two layers are oriented the same way and the third is out of phase.
EDIT: this is particularly useful to know when deciding which way to orient a living hinge.
Is that a model of the Russian sputnik?
Very nice! I picked up a pack and just cut some parts for a smaller astrolabe for myself, engraves and cuts nicely! Getting 1/16 locally was next to impossible for me, and this is a good price. Opens up a lot of things I had been hesitant to make before. Thanks for sharing!
Top are from my go-to 5/32 Columbia Forest Maple Ply from THD. Bottom is this stuff. Excellent!
(sharp eyes will spot that the thinner ones are double-engraved - didn’t even bother testing settings so ran a 2nd print, may have moved the board just a smidge. Not going to give it a second thought, as this is just for display…)
I was thinking of getting some of the 1/8” from the same source, but then I saw a review where the person said it’s really significantly thinner (2.5 mm) and that would mean a lot of designs would have to be reworked. Still on the fence about it.
Just scale the whole design down by .83 or so? I do that all the time when I switch up material.
The Columbia Forest stuff is the best I’ve used. The surface is very nicely prepared, and the sheets are flat. I’ve used a ton of it. I wish they made a 1/16… The stuff here is nice but the finish is nowhere near as smooth. I just lightly sand the finished pieces, as I don’t have to mask it and that removes the bulk of the “soot”… if necessary, I just bump up the engrave power to compensate.
I’ll add this about the 1/16" plywood: it’s pretty strong!
I just tried to snap a small part I made and was pleasantly surprised at how much force it took. It was about 1/4" across, it fought bravely.
I used the leftovers from a couple of sheets to cut a bunch of hold down pins and, frankly, this 1/16 holds up better than the 1/8 or 5/32 I was using before.
I came in to add, though - this material arrived flat, but has warped since I’ve been using it. It’s stored in the plastic wrap it came in, and I run a dehumidifier, but every sheet I pull out is getting progressively worse.
I will be buying more, it’s great stuff, and easy to pin down to cut. Just wanted to note that because it’s the first material I’ve had do that. I’ve got stuff going back all the way to the beginning when we got our “starter pack” that is still perfectly flat. If I was to stack everything together, I’ve probably got over 2’ of materials from multiple sources.
I’ll also add here, people panic over material warping due to humidity. I still have the same box cut from simple draftboard around my external weather sensor outside, made it years ago when I first got my machine. Now and then I will break out the calipers and check it (when I change the battery) and it is precisely the same thickness as when I first cut it. It’s been hanging outside in the GA humidity (but under an eave, so not exposed to direct rain) for many years…
Mine did that too (warp). I took it all out of the wrap and laid it flat and it settled down. It’s back to flat again.
I’ve long said that the humidity and material thickness thing was a bad theory. Potential warping sure but thickness always seemed like a myth to me. Glad we finally have some data to back it up.