Planar butt jointing techniques

[jbmanning5]

@evansd2

Wenge/Padauk

That’s a great combo, I think. My eyes and brain blend the joint together really well.

[evansd2]

Here’s a better explanation of cut shape (or cut profile) with illustrations by @jules. Hopefully it can show why flipping one piece helps to make the edges mate cleanly.

Cutting the same shape twice

If I understand what you are asking about here, it’s the normal result of the shape of the cut profile with a surface focal point. A laser that is focused at the surface of the material does not cut (or burn in this case) straight up and down because it burns a little bit less farther away from the focal point, than it does right at the focal point. It’s an intensity and focus thing. So a side view of the cut edge looks like this at different focal points inside the material: [profile] And …

[timjedwards]

Absolutely beautiful work, thanks so much for sharing! Very inspiring.

[ChristyM]

Not sure whether I’m more inspired or intimidated. That box is just stunning. I love the color combos!

[geek2nurse]

Oh, man, it’s all beautiful, but “shockwave” takes my breath away! Amazing stuff. Keep blazing trails, I love learning from you!

[pauline.lally]

Absolutely beautiful.

[dcarolan]

As a woodturner, the wenge/maple hexagon gives me a ton of ideas for segmented bowls. Beautiful work.

[evansd2]

@davidgal2

My favorite is the maple and padauk.

I like it too, but caveat: the padauk orange/red color wants to bleed into the maple when you sand. The sawdust from the padauk will get ground into the maple and end up with orangey smudge into the maple side.

To counter this, I had to do a few techniques:

• constantly clean the sandpaper
• use a brush to remove the sawdust from the piece as I worked
• generally work “into” the padauk side, meaning slowly migrate the sanding block toward the padauk side
• use a light touch with the sandpaper to prevent grinding the dust into the maple
• thoroughly clean the piece before finishing
• finally when finishing (with wipe-on oil),I would apply the oil, gently scrub the surface, and then wipe all oil off immediately. The very fine remaining orange dust comes off with the oil and the end piece is fairly bleed-free.

Then I’d do a proper oiling for final finish.

So yes I like padauk/maple but it’s a bit of a pain too

EDIT: I’ve since found that a light touch with an orbital sander cleans this up about as well as anything

[johnbrooker]

@marmak3261

a post that will launch a thousand projects

I think this is the ‘finger on the spot’.
John

[ptodd]

Oh my goodness!! The reverse swirl design with maple and padauk? Oh my goodness! So beautiful!

[coloradocaver]

This makes perfect sense. When you said meet face to face, I was thinking of the top face of the wood, not the the cut edge. Thanks!

[ryan_haskell]

Wow, great stuff! Thanks for the inspiration!

[emacartoon]

Ohhh myyyyy ::fans self::

[loribnance]

These are so great. Love the way you think, mashing up joinery and inlay. Also like that you gave yourself rules to your study.

Thanks for sharing!

[evansd2]

@loribnance

Also like that you gave yourself rules to your study.

Thanks! I think guidelines are key to keeping yourself a bit focused. There are so many more things that could be done with this sort of technique but it keeps me from falling too far into the rabbit holes.

[sailbyc]

That is so much fun and the result is spectacular! I love the swirl box. I need to spend more time with marketry style work. Really special.

[loribnance]

Yes, rabbit holes…

It could be fun to open a thread that’s a challenge/study topic with accompanying rules posted and have people reply with their interpretations…

[Bigjohn]

holy crap.
Or, as i’m known to say - “Dayum! Just Dayum!”

thank you so much for the pictures. I aspire to try this one day.

[Rita]

oh my goodness; I’m in love!

[cynd11]

Ohhhhh, beautiful! I really can’t decide which is my favorite—they are all amazing!