Yet another Schwibbogen (or three)

[Aggrajag]

Following BodgerBaz's lead (and evolution), after he'd liked my original homemade creations, I decided to try his method of stack cutting identical layers rather than using individual thicker layers to create a scene.

Using the same 1.6mm plywood he had used I opted to stack 6 layers and therefore make 3 double-layer Schwibbogen at the same time.

Summary of parts and costs where known to make the three:
- 3 sheets of 1.6mm ply (two cutouts fit on one sheet) £15.72 total
- 3 power adapters and plug connectors - £10.50 total
- 3 strips of 15 LEDs - Approx £1 total
- wood glue, hot glue, wires, sealant, dowels, scraps of pine, plastic milk bottle cut for difuser
- 5 blades
- 8 hours cutting time!
- 4 hours assembly and wiring

Total PER Schwibbogen including estimated electricity (1kw Extractor running 8 hours) = £11 materials and 4 hours work. (I'm clearly never going to make a living out of this - someone at work thought they were amazing and would pay up to £20 for one :evil: )

All this is only for interest, I actually don't want to make a living out of this, I make stuff to give people I love.

 

[Claymore]

........

 

[Aggrajag]

Cheers for that Brian

I told her I'd rather burn it than sell it for £15! (She said £20 after I said that. (hammer) )

I am thinking of trying to get twinkling stars or slowly fading/rotating lights in a future Schwibbogen but for now I'm going to take a small diversion and make some kids toys

 

[Claymore]

.......

 

[Aggrajag]

I'd be worried about H&S then. I'm going to keep it simple, start off with a seemingly pretty popular Noah's Ark.

 

[donwatson]

Thanks for showing these cracking pieces of work and more thanks for the details of costs etc. I always intended doing a cost exercise like this but always failed. I can't even remember to take pictures of WIP.

 

[Buffalo Chas]

The Schwibbogen look great and the lights work really well. Can I ask what blades you used for cutting them and did you get much fuzzing on the ply. I am cutting 3mm birch ply at the moment using Pegas No 3 skip reverse but am getting quite a lot of fuzzing on the underside. Any info or hints would be greatly appreciated as I'm spending almost as long sanding as I am cutting.

Charley

 

[bodgerbaz]

EXCELLENT. Great to see the latest offerings and the detailed list. That lighting looks great and much less of a phaff than mine. I took your advice and now have a reel of LEDs and will wire up two spares as soon as I collect the transformer/plugs from my sister in England.

Lovely to see them. Well done

Barry

 

[Aggrajag]

Hi Charley, for this one (6 x 1.6mm layers) I used an Olson Skip Reverse #2 blade, my preferred make and type. There was some fluffiness (load the close-up of the trees above) but it was that fine in the end I decided it wasn't worth sanding - especially as the layers were so thin I was running the risk of snapping it.

 

[Aggrajag]

Thanks Baz. I had the lights showing through the thin wood, as you mentioned you had, so I solved it by running my base wood (a scrap of pine actually) through the router to make a trough or rebate, and sinking the lights just a few millimetres solved it. In the end I also actually cut up a plastic milk bottle to create a diffuser mainly because it hid the wires and hot glue.

 

[bodgerbaz]

. . . . sinking the lights just a few millimetres solved it. In the end I also actually cut up a plastic milk bottle to create a diffuser mainly because it hid the wires and hot glue.

Great tip and one that I'll bear in mind. Thank you. I think its much better to have the light diffused as it spreads the light out and doesn't show the electronic bits. The overall effect looks lovely and I can't wait to make some more after several Christmas, birthday and christening gifts I have on my list.

I thought you were supposed to have MORE time on your hands when you retired :lol: :shock: