I came across a design for an earring stand on a the laser-template site but it was a bit too long and wide for my Glowforge Plus. After doing some math and scaling things down a bit to fit and here it is, It is from PG Draftboard. (side note- tested it on some 3mm cardboard first). Dimensions are about 10.5 x 10.5. This was my first living hinge design and I am happy how it turned out. For the card stock, my wife had some laying around from her scrapbooking / cricut machine that I used. She offered to cut it but I said I wanted to try the laser out. Glad I did! I found some good settings and used the Krylon tack spray mentioned in the forums here, stuck perfectly while cutting, and I think it turned out well.
I also cut a ton of earrings, some my design and some that I found online. All from 1.6mm Amazon Black walnut and sealed with spray lacquer. My two daughters are currently beta testing a pair.
I am doing all this because my kids have a “Santa Shop” for their school where they invite crafters to come in and sell stuff to students. It’s giving me some motivation to learn and hopefully make a little money along the way. I hope I’ll get more mileage at craft shows or Maker Faires in the future. Next up is engraving some pencils with a jig…
The people in the community are so helpful here, just wanted to say thanks- really helped me jumpstart into my Glowforge crafting hobby/business!
I think I may do another stand and some earrings with lighter wood so the contrast shows a little better for some of the designs. I have a sheet of PG medium maple that I might try. It is a bit on the thick side though, at 3.5mm. Would that be too thick for earrings?
Kind of what I was thinking as well. I will probably look around for more 1/16th inch wood, it seems to be a good thicknesses. I also have some veneers I’ve been playing with but they are too thin.
I cut a ton of earrings and sell them wholesale to a couple of retailers. I only use the PG medium woods. I found that sourcing wood from other places was not as reliable. Also, the PG wood is already finished. We do dangle earring and post earrings. I will say I bought a ton a wood from a shop on etsy when I first got my GF. It is 1/16 and I use it for card stock. Has worked out well. My GF paid for itself in less than 2 months. LOVE IT!!
Thanks for the info! Wow, less than two months? That is impressive. I was figuring the earrings could be the most profitable thing I make since they are so small and the wood is cheap. I see them going for around $10 for simple engraved post earrings, so it doesn’t surprise me that you are making good $$ on them!
I have some PG walnut and PG maple. Since I already have a walnut, I think I’ll try the maple, it should be good for the contrast.
So I gave the PG Maple Plywood a try and am happy with how it turned out! But now I’m worried I won’t be selling as many of the non PG walnut earrings… since the maple is thicker the engrave seems to pop a bit more. Anyway, thanks for the suggestion and I’ll see how things go in a few weeks!
Yeah looks great. So, we do post earrings (wholesale) for $3 a pair. They have no findings whatsoever. Just the wood cut out and engrave. Some are $2 a pair. Dangle type earrings are anywhere from $4 a pair to $7 pair depending on size. Acrylics are a little more. Usually the post earrings sell for between $10-$14 and the dangle for $12-$18 a pair. Starting Nov1st we started churning out Ornaments. I just sent completed an order this morning that puts us over 500 ornaments. Average price is $6, but we do box and put ribbons on the ornaments. They sell for $15-$20 each. Most of our ornaments are not cut out of PG material. We cut them out of 1/4" acrylic (PG) or 1/4" Poplar or Oak. The only finish we put on them is Danish Oil rub sown. I have done acrylic awards, signs, and other projects too. Recently I am testing stone and glass tiles.
Thanks for the info. You’ve given me some ideas. After things settle down in Dec. I may go to a few local boutique stores to see if they might be interested in my earrings (perhaps give them a full earring board above as a trial to sell). I haven’t tried cutting any acrylic yet, but I was thinking about doing that as well. I have a few hand drawn ornaments that I think would work really well in addition to my wood cut ones that I’m planning to sell for the Santa Shop. Thanks again!!
Thanks! I have been using regular super glue (CA), but recently I switched to a more flexible thin glue. The super glue holds well but it’s pretty stiff. I don’t have the name of the glue I am using handy, but I’ll try to remember to post it when I get back to my workshop. I also know a lot of people use e6000 glue.
It’s not that, but might be similar. I got it from an RC show. They had a ton of different adhesives and worked in different settings. I asked them the best glue for earring backs and they recommended a certain type. Only cost me $10 or so and it will probably be enough for a few thousand pairs
