First few projects!

Ok, it’s taken quite a while since I received Glowman Mars. And, as I’ve been away with work all week every week :sob: … I haven’t posted first projects. There’s also the fact that I was totally unprepared (despite the long wait lol) and had no projects ready to print.

Here’s a few projects then! All (apart from one) feature 6 mm (~1/4") birch ply (non-:proofgrade:) layered up and with sanded edges to reveal those layers!

This first project might be a product for my forthcoming side venture: a business aimed at making products with sustainability at their core. This is a little workshop brush which used up some artificial grass samples which would otherwise have gone to the tip:

I obviously realised that I was going to be doing a lot of sanding. My multitool was taking too much off those edges at times, so I needed more control. I’ve always hated sanding blocks as I never find them comfortable. It took me a few iterations get the design for this next one but it works great! I figured my Dad might want one too and made him one with his initials on the release screw:

My wife Gabbi always hated how stark our living room light is as it has no diffuser. We went for an abstract pattern as an embellishment:

Finally, the curtains in our bedroom hang on a rail which is suspended inside an alcove (don’t ask why, it’s a LONG story!). We need to be able to take them down if we want to open the balcony doors in summer. These new rail hangers stop the extendable rail from getting knocked and falling off a simple shelf-like hanger. I added 3 mm steel dots as an embellishment… shame the curtains hide them most of the time! :smile:

That’s it for now. I’m loving using the sanding block. I think I’m going to be building a few more lasercut, layered up, tools for the 'shop as they’re so gratifying to use when you know you made them yourself.

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That’s how I plan to use the GF. The practical solution and the fun/silly.

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Nice projects! I use a similar sanding block:

image

I’d love to get another (so I could have two grits loaded and switch a bit more easily) but don’t know where to find them now. I am really happy with two features:

It grabs the sandpaper without screws or tools, it just clicks into place.

There’s a 1/4” thick firm foam pad under the paper. It’s firm enough to sand flat surfaces and has enough give to help ease corners when you want to.

I also recently bought sandpaper from amazon that is already cut to size, it’s a small thing but man is it convenient! I’m also really impressed with how durable this paper is, I’d say the sheets are lasting 3-5x as long as the other brand I was using.

320 Grit Dry Wet Sandpaper Sheets by LotFancy - 9 x 3.6" Silicon Carbide Sandpaper for Metal Sanding, Automotive Polishing, Wood Furniture Finishing, Wood Turing Finishing, Pack of 45 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075WV9YLP

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Nice - mind if I ask home much the block cost you?

I have to trim the paper to size but a single cross-ways cut across the paper is long enough, I just need to cut it to width. I went for a standard handle and multiple different widths for the block so you can change for more precision / more coverage.

Screwing down is a little faffy to start but it’s really easy once you get the hang of it as the paper is already bent in the right places. I might add a cork sheet to a specific block to help soften the touch though - good idea.

Question… if you saw something like this in a store / online and liked the handmade look, how much would you pay for it? See, I think sanding blocks just aren’t a premium enough product to demand what its worth in time / materials - even with the custom screw engrave.

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I inherited the block from an ex, actually! Hence my difficulty finding another. The competitors I see use wing nutshell bulky spring loaded arms to tighten the paper down, I think this system is much better.

I used to also crosscut my paper but am glad I jumped on the precut stuff. It was always disrupt me and was fiddly. I should have rigged up some sort of template and just cut it all ahead of time, but honestly this paper is far better than what I was using.

As for what I’d pay… I’m a practical frugal person, not your target market. If a tool works and is comfortable to use, I don’t mind how it looks. I think you would need to go after the handmade aspect and I’m sure there’s a market— I just don’t know what that market would bear.

The intermediate possibility is to sell the plans so people can make their own, tons of people to this on Etsy, and then there’s makecnc for a more rigorous example.

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You’ve got some really inventive first projects there! I really like that workshop brush (adorable!) and the sanding block. Really, I like everything you made—can’t wait to see more!

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Aha! I found the 3m version. Looks identical, already ordered one. Just over $11USD after tax. Lowe’s apparently carries it too, but Home Depot carries the version with screws. I would imagine the screws are more durable but the quick release plastic clips are so easy. If I were on a professional construction crew, I’d probably go for the screws… but no, I’m a nerd with a laser in my tiny workshop.

3M Drywall Hand Sander, 3.3125-Inch by 9.25-Inch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0084LZYA8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_0kD3AbW5ZWS8F

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Hm. Veeeerry interesting Mr Bond. I reckon I can make mine for about £15-16 (if I was in the US, I reckon the same in $'s) which would pay for my time and add a teensy bit of profit in too. Might be a go-er then.

Also, I totally agree on the selling of plans… hoping the Glowforge catalogue will help me do that too and basically subsidise the production of physical products.

@cynd11 Thanks! :smiley:

Keep in mind Glowforge shop (EDIT: if it ever appears. Big if at this point.) is always going to be a fairly narrow community, there are just not that many of us. Etsy has a far broader reach, and looks to be the de facto standard.

Well dang, I should have read the fine details, this is the same concept but it’s designed for 3 strips cut lengthwise on a sheet of sandpaper, so it wont fit my precut sheets from amazon. Dang. It’s nice, but the wrong size for what I have. The hunt continues.

Great designs, and I love the Chia guy! :smile:

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Srsly dude… You have a forge… make one!! :joy:

If I thought I could make one as convenient or comfortable to use as the one I have now, I’d definitely do it. But the Norton model is really really nice, no way I could get that quality in a reasonable timeframe.

Could you post pics of this swish mechanism they use to clip it all together please? I’m curious as to how how it would be to make a ‘forgery’ (I’m coining that btw).

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Here are my first run projects.

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Oh wow - cool idea on the map coasters. Really like those!

That’s an awesome orb lamp too! :grinning:

Kind of not the point of this thread, but we did end up talking about it…

I found a sanding block that fits the paper I needed it to fit, uses a clip instead of wing nuts, and is comfortable and easy to use:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-Pro-Grade-Precision-3-7-in-x-7-in-Large-Sanding-Tool-463-000-PGP-4/205415674

Wow, not great reviews there. Have you used it already? Are people using it incorrectly (wouldn’t surprise me!)?

Seems like £/$ 10-12 is about the going rate for a plastic one. I reckon I could sell something nicer and more adaptable for £15-18 and make profit on that too.

On the ‘idiot people not using things as intended and then posting bad reviews’, I found this beautiful the other day for a mini BBQ

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