After a year of having my GF and learning from this wonderful community how to use the tools to design for laser cutting, I finally decided to start posting my creations (other than simple things like coasters and rulers).
My best friend is celebrating his 60º birthday and I wanted to make him a custom gift that would remind him where he came from, and how much he had achieved to get where he was now.
I came up with an idea that I called LifeMap which is basically a set of panes with relevant maps of places and dates, with discreet markers to identify locations important only to him.
I store purchased an appropriate sized shadow frame and sized the panes around that. I then created simplified black and white maps using Snazzymaps, image traced them in illustrator, cleaned the redundant lines, removed color, and placed in a solid frame with the name of the place and the date.
Using medium maple plywood, the maps are scored at a very low power because of the closeness of the lines. The frame and letters are engraved at a slightly higher power, just enough to slightly mark the veneer of the plywood without burning through to the next ply. The markers are also engraved, and the final process was to cut the perimeter of the pane.
I made several tests with other materials like painted acrylic and white melamine panelboard, and also painting the markers with red nail polish, but decided to stick with the simplicity and elegance of plain unstained wood.
I added a scored dedication on the back. I am very pleased with the result and I think my friend appreciated it because he actually hung it in his home.
What a fantastic and original idea! The inscription is an extra special touch, It is nice to have a friend, but even nicer to have a friend with a laser! Great job! I agree with @geek2nurse - I kinda want one, too! Hmmm…
Thank you all for your input. I hope it inspires others into similar projects, just as I was with all the great work displayed by Glowforgers in this forum.
These are the places where he has spent at least 4 years of his life: where he was born, where he studied college, where he specialized, and where he married, raised his family and currently lives and works.
As a matter of fact I did mention to him that it was fortunate that the number of relevant places was an even number because it helped the symmetry of the design. I will have to think of something if he decides to retire to Florida.
Reminds me of a gift for my sister! Did you happen to use my posts to help with the mapmaking? Always nice to see fellow cartographers making lovely gifts for the special people in their lives.
