Just getting to grips with my new toy, so haven’t had a chance to get involved in the community much other than to lurk and read up on some best-practices.
This is primarily made from Redwood purchased at Lowes…8ft long for about $9. The top logo and faceplate is pf Cherry plywood which looks nice enough, but since the brewery logo is really white text on black it actually reverses it out. I’m now trying to see if I can Make it from black acrylic and spray the etched parts white before removing the masking. The faceplate is inset on the reverse with neodymium magnets as is the handle itself (it was fun making sure they were all aligned and at the right polarity) so the beer can be changed out for another without having to remove the entire handle.
This is also an experiment in keeping costs down, since you have to give handles out to places you distribute to, and they very often ‘go missing’. For the moment, I have figured my material costs including the magnets, adhesives, sealer and 1/8 16th thread should come in around $4.50 a handle.
Further experiments move the project forwards. This time I started by laminating three sheets of 1/4" draft board, just as a test.
I did a rush job on sanding down the burn marks around the edge and tapping in the thread, but sprayed it with acrylic lacquer and think it turned out ok for the most part.
I then also cut an ‘anniversary’ handle out of laminated black plastic that looks like brass. This I simply adhered to the front of another.
@gjuk I have a question or two for you if you don’t mind… do you design those? if so what software do you use? and what kind of jig do you use? My sister is opening a pub and wants me to do some things for her and these were on the list. Yours are beautiful by the way
… although I would caution against just finding any material - you need to ensure it is safe to use in the laser. Even one cut with materials containing PVC/Vinyl (and others) can release gas that will destroy your machine.
