Sailboat Shadowbox (That Really Sails!)

Made on a Glowforge
#1

My fourth real project (and the REAL reason I bought my Glowforge). I’m part of a sailing community here in NE Wisconsin, and the owners are of course all pretty proud of their boats. But now that it’s winter, we can’t sail anymore until spring.

OR CAN WE??? Check out this video walkthrough: https://youtu.be/TKJ1fcWs0J4

I made the shadowbox out of birch but I want to try it with a proofgrade cherry top. The waves and sailboat undulate via an offset gear mechanism (offset disks of thick MDF and a brass rod with set screw attachments. It’s encased underneath an acrylic window, and can be set on a shelf, mantle, or hung on a wall (it’s actually very light). Snap-together elements make it fairly easy to assemble, and only a bit of glue is required.

I love how the waves move up and down as the compass turns! Very soothing during the dark days of winter here in the upper midwest. And the scored circulating patterns in the waves and clouds add to the illusion of movement.

Enjoy!

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57 Likes
#2

That is really awesome. All I ever did on the water was go fishing and jet skiing…

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#3

That is so cool! Glad you added the video so we could see how it works. Your friend is going to be excited no doubt. Impressive for a 4th project too!

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#4

Very cool! Now to add a little motor and remote control so you can start it sailing from across the room. . . : )

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#5

Very cool. We need video now…

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#6

Love this!

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#8

Here’s a direct link to the video…

22 Likes
#9

Very clever, and the offset gear works fantastic with the multiple layers. I know how passionate sailors are for their boats, so they’ll love this!

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#10

Hello from across the lake!! :slight_smile: I’m in St. Peter (NE of Fond du Lac).

Really cool project and you captured the choppy waves of Winnebago perfectly. :slight_smile:

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#11

This is super neat! I love that the crank is the compass rose, that was a sweet surprise when watching the video :sparkling_heart:

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#14

Wow! I’d love to see how you use your Glowforge.

#15

This is amazing

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#16

I love the art of the waves and clouds too!!

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#17

That is fun! Love those waves! I going to have to learn about offset mechanism dohickeys! Great work!

3 Likes
#18

I was imagining the boat going back and forth across the box, your implementation is way cooler than that! The summer before my wife and I got married I worked at a marina helping rent out boats; my boss told me I would think about that job for the rest of my life. While you could say I have an above average life currently, I do find myself thinking back to that dock and the carefree lifestyle of it all quite often. Thanks for the share, especially with it being an earlier project of yours.

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#19

Super cool.

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#20

That is one outstanding shadow box!

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#21

Bob and all of the other sailors that will get this for their desks are lucky. What a great project.

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#22

Aww, what a cute project! On top of being meaningful, it’s so cute!

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#23

Love the video! They will love taking these for a sail!

2 Likes