No, I used Loctite super glue. I was going to use weld-on but I didn’t think it would work since some of the triangles have small gaps here and there that I thought were too big for weld-on. So I just spread the glue on the back while it was still masked kind of smooshed it into the cracks. Let it dry for a bit and then took masking off. I am wondering if the fluorescent yellow has anything to do with how it changes colors. I was just going through my scraps looking for transparent acrylic and that’s what I had. Lucky, I guess!
5 Likes
I’d love to see what you do! I can’t stop looking at mine, it’s kind of hypnotic 
1 Like
Wow, that turned out really nice.
2 Likes
Very cool. Added to my list of things to try.
2 Likes
Holy carp! This is freaking awesome! Great job!
4 Likes
Thanks everyone! So, I got the idea when I was wondering if I could do something like my mom’s hummingbird (Acrylic and walnut hummingbird) using clear acrylic as the frame instead of wood so that it could go on an LED base. Then I realized that some of what I used for that wasn’t really suited for this since the LED light wouldn’t shine up through it. I’m guessing that was the more opaque colors I used. And also the color changing might look weird on something that’s not really abstract. So I had already done a notebook cover with the compass and thought that might work. Now I am wondering what other colors of the acrylic would do. I liked that one so much I made a bigger version with the same colors since those are the only ones I had. I am looking forward to trying it again!
4 Likes
What a beautiful turnout!
1 Like
Honestly, I feel like I’m forever way from even becoming close to trying this. I haven’t even tried inlays yet
1 Like
I just remembered something that has helped me when fitting tight pieces together. Turn the piece that feels too tight over and often it will fit. 
3 Likes
Yes, that works when it can be done. I think for this one I actually rearranged some of them as well. Initially I was trying to put the exact triangle in the exact spot because I wasn’t confident they were all the same size. So when things were getting tight, I started rearranging them and somehow got it to work. Now my husband wants me to make two more, ooops. Guess it’ll be more trial and error along the way.
3 Likes
Very nice, I struggle with getting the inlays right - that is impressive
1 Like
Super rad! I think I just heard a “level up” chime in the distance.
4 Likes
This looks too cool - my kiddos have little acrylic light up thingies like that and i haven’t even tried to make custom designs for them 
!
1 Like
Thanks!
Here’s the design if you want to give it a go… you’ll need to do the kerf adjust for the cutout pieces, I would say maybe start with .009 although for me, it was all over the place, which is why I took those out of this file.
Forgot to add, the blue circle is a score. Everything else is cut.
6 Likes
that’s so kind of you! thanks so much 
1 Like
Hey There! I’d love to get some help here. I’m super inexperienced and maybe I don’t even know what an “inlay” truly is…I recently tried a license tag and subtracted the image I was going to inlay. The pieces fit right in but gluing it was a beast! I used Mod Podge and it ruined the finish on the acrylic. What is the true process to do it? Thanks in advance for your help!
Inlays can be thinner material than the main project which requires engraving a space into which you insert the inlay, or it can be two materials that are the same thickness and the inlay simply fits into the other material. Proper inlays require an understanding of kerf which is the amount of material the laser destroys when it makes a cut. It also requires an understanding of how a laser cut is not perpendicular, but is actually slanted. Some inlays involve flipping the interior piece so that the slanted edges fit more snugly in the cut out area. In short, inlays are more than cutting out a piece and gluing it into another.
There are lots of posts in the forum regarding inlays and kerf. Here is a place to start: Search results for 'inlay' - Glowforge Owners Forum
1 Like
Thanks so much for the insight! This is all very new to me! I’ll continue my research starting with your post! Thanks!!!
Also for acrylic, you’d want to use something else to glue it. For acrylic, I use weld-on 4 to bond pieces together. But it’s got a learning curve. E6000 is easier to clean up, I use that too.