Protective Glowforge cover for $0.94

Everything Else
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vinylcover
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As much as I really like the covers that @ajvince makes (check out his Etsy store), I needed to go quick and low-cost for my initial dust cover since I have a lot of dust floating around from the Xcarve. So I made a dust cover for $0.94. Yes, less than a buck.

Materials:

  • Vinyl shower curtain liner (lightweight) from Walmart, approx 71" ($0.94)
  • Duct Tape
  • Scissors
  • Tape measure
  • Sharpie marker
  • Cutout design PDF:
    Glowforge_cover_template.pdf (63.1 KB)

cutcurtain
cutcurtain.jpg567Ă—725 323 KB

  1. Mark out the solid red cutlines from the template onto the shower with a sharpie (carefully, not to puncture the thin material)
  2. Cut out - including the four 1"-long diagonal cuts at each corner
  3. Duct tape the edges, fold each panel up about 1" to give it some weight and strength
  4. Using a square table or coffee table as a guide, and following the dashed lines in the template, duct tape the corners together. There’s some overlap so it’s a little easier. Although I messed up one of the corners, shown prominently in the picture above.
  5. Proudly place your cheap-looking yet surprisingly effective dust cover onto the expensive laser doohickey.

It ain’t pretty. It ain’t sturdy. But it’s functional and inexpensive and fast to create, and will (hopefully) last until I’m ready to either stitch one together myself, or (more likely) when I visit @ajvince’s Etsy store for a far nicer one. But this works for now.

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I’m thinking a nice piece of leather. (But then I thought that would make it look more like an ottoman…somebody props feet up on my GF gonna be Arse Whoopin! Ha!)

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Oh, a cover is great idea. Does anyone know the Etsy store name? I’d love to check it out.

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Can do you better, here’s the link:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/577426375/glowforge-laser-cover?utm_medium=SellerListingTools&utm_campaign=Share&utm_source=Raw&share_time=1513369620000&utm_term=so.slt

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Thank you!

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@Kelly1 Thank you for the shout out.

I am overdue for a new post. I have made a few more covers since my last post (happy to make more).

But I have also been experimenting with cutting out more intricate parts out of fabric, and also cutting out patterns out of MDF to make the parts.

Great thing about cutting the pieces with the laser is i can make micro tabs and notches to help line up the pieces.

I was also able to cut a logo into the fabric (logo is not mine, just a proof of concept).

43 copy
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That’s like BMW motorcycle owners. Stupidly expensive bike after which the owners will bitch and moan about every single thing they buy to go with it and most often go for the cheapest thing available. (Joke is that the cheapest part of a BMW is the rider :slight_smile:)

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Ha! I told them year before last, at the Makers Fair, that they needed a cover! Glad someone is making them.

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Great job … Think you’d prefer this material for your cover … It can be wiped off!

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Thanks for the template and the link. It is as if you read my mind. Will make one immediately (went “shopping” in the garage and found everything needed), to serve until I order one from the link.

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Vinyl shower curtain? Not to be a Negative Nancy but vinyl is not safe to cut in the laser. I hope it was a small enough amount that you didn’t do any damage!

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The GF wasn’t used, check the materials list and you’ll see scissors.

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Yeah…yeah… cover thingy…ok, now let’s talk about the 3d terrain model on the back side of the table… Now THAT’S cool!

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Yeah…yeah… cover thingy…ok, now let’s talk about the 3d terrain model on the back side of the table… Now THAT’S cool!
(Put this in the wrong spot originally) Grrrrr

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Bathymetric Map of La Jolla Shores (20x Layers) :wink:

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Great idea to make your own cheaply!

I got one of these crib mattress protectors awhile back and put a tapestry over it to make it look prettier: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B016OJY402/

I was concerned about my kitty throwing up on the glowforge and getting fur all over it. :stuck_out_tongue:

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I know a few of these people you speak of…

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