I just bought mine! Need help finding a SVG

No, unfortunately the Catalog files are not going to be editable. (Locked) Looking at them to see how the frames are constructed would enable you to design your own though, fairly easily. There are box generators that will handle the finger joints at the corners, and you can size those to fit whatever you are wanting to do.

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Okay perfect! I’m new to wood work and crafting things from ground zero (Sewing/paper cutting/ fashion craft is an old hat), but that helps. The ‘tabs’ system in theory works in my brain but visualizing how I design it is another story.

Do you have a box generator you recommend? I’m really concerned about making the cut for the glass in the front and the backing.

Actually, I design my own, but there are a couple that people use a lot:

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I’ve been using the one that installs into Inkscape, but this may help you find your favorite:

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I guess it depends on the exact type of shadow box you need. At its simplest a shadow box is a shallow box with a hole in its top. To make one of those your steps are:

  1. Use a box generator to make a box of the desired size.
  2. Cut a hole of the desired size out of the top.

Here is an example of my overly complex one. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a clear pic of just the outer box.

The box generator should output something like this.

There is a bottom, two sides for right and left, two sides for front and back and a top. You open it in Inkscape, or the vector editor of your choice, and you make a rectangle the size of the opening you want in the top. You then position the rectangle in the top piece and subtract it (or just leave it) from the top. Upload to the glowforge and cut.

This will give you a shadow box with an “undercut” along the four sides. There are a lot of ways to deal with that. As far as glass goes, you may want to start with clear acrylic. You can always cut glass (not in the glowforge) and mount it, but acrylic is easier if your learning style is to learn by doing.

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Thank you! I think I’m going to have to sit down and think about what you said.

My previous boxes I’ve made with circut - I just bought a micheal’s box with front glass, loaded each layer with foam frame, attached the lights on the back panel, then used double sided tape to keep the back panel in place without gluing.

I love the idea of tabs and finger joints - just my brain doesn’t think like a carpenter yet. So its all new to me XD

I think it will become much clearer once you just cut a box. Don’t even worry about cutting a shadow box, just make a plain old box. Cut it from something cheap, like draft board or corrugated cardboard. Then you’ll see how everything fits together. From there visualizing the rest should be easier. Based on the description of your current process it should pretty much work with a glowforge cut shadow box.

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Thank you! okay that tip helps a lot. didn’t even think about running tests on cardboard first.

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I’ve been using these cut settings on Amazon cardboard for years now - always be careful because things with gaps in the interior can flare up unexpectedly, but this should get you started: Settings for Cutting/Scoring Corrugated Cardboard

You can cut both acrylic and wool felt in GF no problem :slight_smile: The wool is STINKY tho.
As always, keep a close eye on it while cutting to avoid a fire situation.

I think Joann’s sells Acrylic felt so…THIS IS GOOD NEWS!

If it can be cut it can catch on fire. Things like stone, tile, steel, aluminum can be lased, but not cut all the way through, and probably can’t catch on fire. If it can cut all the way through it, it can catch fire. You will not start fires with a little common sense. And even if you do manage to ignite some felt, or cardboard, it doesn’t have a lot of thermal energy. That means you can lift the lid and extinguish the fire with a damp wash cloth.

I cut polyester (I think that is what it is, it’s not real felt) felt. The edges are self-sealing when laser cut. Search felt in Beyond the Manual and there are all sorts of threads.

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…I like that saying. If it can cut it can light on fire.

Okay perfect. Yeah I basically want to cut it so it self-seals instead of me heat knifing it. This helps a ton thank you!

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thank you! I will check this out

One note, I don’t know what kind of finish a heated knife leaves, but iirc there may be some browning of the edges with the laser. I only use my felt for backing things, like coasters or the feet of furniture, so I have never bothered to dial in my settings to try and eliminate it.

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if I’m not careful - my patch is done for with discoloring. So its about the same. I might baby step it/etching and see how deep I can get it to go. Still learning phase, my machine wont be with me until Feb, so I have plenty of time to research before hand.

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The absolute best thing you can do is research and learn between now and when your GF arrives. To be honest, I am absolutely dumbfounded when I read of buyers whose GF arrives and they are totally clueless. I guess it is just because it is not my way. I am a researcher by nature. I read everything I could get my hands on, as far back as I could in this forum before I ever hit that buy button. I had many project designs way before my GF ever arrived. Please reach out if I can be of any assistance. You can’t know it all but you can certainly prepare yourself as much as possible which makes this wonderful tool so much more enjoyable.

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Me too!

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Welcome to both machine and group ! :partying_face: You will also want to spend some time with Inkscape and Gimp while you are not pushed to get work out.

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