Woodworking newbie here. I’ve been buying these already made birch plaques from Lowes to make signs. Well…they may be discontinuing them and I have not been able to find them anywhere else.
So…what equipment do I need to make this? A router? The Xcarve? Both? What does what?
Cheap way is a router. Expensive way is an Xcarve.
Essentially you’ll cut the desired shape out of the wood with some kind of saw (in that case it’s probably a bandsaw which would be your best bet), then the profile on the edge would typically be cut with a router and a bit that matches the profile you’re trying to get.
Xcarve would be cool and it’d do both the cut and the edge profile, but man that would be pricey!
For an edge profile like that, a trim router is going to be the quickest and easiest method. If you’re doing that along with some sort of v-carving or other complex routing, a CNC would make more sense.
If you’re in the US, Michaels carries a lot of stuff like this as does hobby lobby. I’d go hunt around on their sites before I went down the router path.
if you are happy with the available shapes (and their prices), find a new source and keep sourcing them.
If you want custom shapes with traditional tools: bandsaw and router
If you are looking for an excuse to buy an x-carve, this is a fine excuse.