Router, XCarve or CNC - oh my!

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?

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

Traci

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!

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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.

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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.

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$1.99.

https://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Wood-Crafting/Unfinished-Wood/Wood-Shield/p/80874980

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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.

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This is the best answer.

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