First attempt at a layered mandala

That is lovely. And I love @evansd2 hanging idea

10 Likes

That turned out beautiful!

9 Likes

This is insanely cool.

7 Likes

Nicely done!

What is your trick for lining up the layers so perfectly?

7 Likes

Thanks for the great advice!

I plan to frame this one in a 12x12 shadow box and having some hanging or mounting features on the bottom 2 layers would have helped a lot! For now I will use glue and the idea is to add another smaller layer or 2 to give it a floating look inside the frame.

Frames will arrive today. I will post the final image when I am done.

Cheers!

7 Likes

Thanks! No special tricks, just glue them by hand. One thing I found really helpful was to use Elmer’s spray on adhesive instead of wood glue. It allows me to apply a thin and even layer and no squeeze-out to worry about. It also allows for repositioning, but the layers do not shift after slight pressure is applied, plus there is no clamping needed like when using wood glue.

Next round I will add alignment features, like a couple of holes that runs through all the layers so I can use pin of some sort to help align the layers when stacking but the pins will be removable.

10 Likes

I use 1/16 inch brass rods they are common and inexpensive, and they’re soft enough that you can sand them flush.

This is a totally different kind of project but you can see how I use the brass rods here:

14 Likes

Interesting! If you used a very high LPI engrave on a 3/8’ piece of wood, you could have a very similar effect in a single piece. It would be hard to make it as sharp-edged, however. It is also an especially interesting way of laying it out.

7 Likes

Layered art is so fun. I’ve developed some myself, as well as purchased a bunch off Etsy. Yours turned out great!

9 Likes

Yes, I was exploring 3D printing the design as well. But if you take a closer look there are elements that do not have a support all the way down so it will not be possible to laser engrave, CNC or 3D print as a single piece :slight_smile:

I could 3D print the layers and use different color filaments for each layer…

7 Likes

It turned out beautiful. Nice job lining it up!

6 Likes

Yes, I use images with various shades of gray frequently but unfortunately, it only works vertically.
:slightly_smiling_face:

8 Likes

Very nice mandala! Well done!

5 Likes

I needed this advice on gluing. I ruined one of my designs with spray adhesive that grabbed before I wanted it to and then I was so frustrated with how slippery and messy the bottle of glue was. Thanks!!!

3 Likes

Oh my! This is amazing!

4 Likes

Forgive me- I’m definitely stealing this idea.

4 Likes

You can’t steal what’s been freely given!

If you make something along these lines definitely post pics, I’ll be really curious. :slight_smile:

9 Likes

Please do share the results :slight_smile:

4 Likes

This is beautiful, you did a fantastic job!

3 Likes

Really nice. It’s that sort of project that would be nearly impossible without a laser.

2 Likes