First time flex cut: pencil box in GF Catalog breaks

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Happy Saturday, everyone!

Can you help with something that must be user error?

Yesterday, I cut a file from the design catalog (the pencil box). It was my first time cutting anything with a flex cut and it was a complete fail.

What did I do wrong?

Here’s what I did:
Machine: Glowforge Pro
File: unaltered design catalog pencil box
Material: proofgrade poplar hardwood

Result:

image
image588×850 207 KB

Thank you so much for your help!

Cheers,
Heather

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Living hinges don’t work well with hardwood. Try ply. You can also soften the wood a little (water and heat) before bending and securing in-shape.

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I echo the plywood suggestion!

I was able to do a few in hardwood by literally soaking the wood along the hinge and bending a bit - then letting it dry - then soaking again and bending a bit more - then letting it dry - ad nauseum until it hit the curve I needed. I then lined the interior with stick-on craft foam (you could also use leather or fabric) because I’m fairly sure the hinge will eventually fail.

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Thank you so much!

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Also…try to orient your design so that the wood grain is in line with the living hinge cuts, not across them.

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@davidgal2 — I didn’t think of that, but it makes a lot of sense! Thank you!

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All the above advice is great and will lead to success. I made one on the medium basswood ply and it came out fine.

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Thanks for the answer @o-o and @davidgal2, that’s right. I’m going to close this thread - if the problem reoccurs, go ahead and post a new topic. Thanks for letting us know about this!

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