Custom Laser cut baseboards

[Penrhos1920]

I want 3 custom basebaords that will form half a circle, outer diamter 2.4m.  The joint between boards 2 & 3 needs to be hinged so that I can get into the middle.  Each piece of 'wood' can be cut from a 1200 x 900mm sheet.  I've not been sucessful in getting any of the normal people to quote; White Rose won't do curved boards, G&H say it's too big for their machine, Tim Horn is too busy and Elite appear to have disappeared.  I've found a couple of companies who will laser cut to order so I'm thinking of drawing all the pieces myself and ordering from one of them.  If I want to tab and slot 2 pieces of 6mm ply together, do I draw the slot 6mm wide or does it have to be a fraction wider to account for the material and laser thicknesses?  I've done a bit of etching in the past and I know material thickness needs to be taken into account.

[JSModels]

3 hours ago, Penrhos1920 said:

 If I want to tab and slot 2 pieces of 6mm ply together, do I draw the slot 6mm wide or does it have to be a fraction wider to account for the material and laser thicknesses?

 

It's really difficult to give you an answer to that one, as it depends on exactly what thickness the '6mm' ply is. Whereas 6mm MDF is usually slightly over in thickness (6.1-6.2mm) 6mm ply is usually undersize - it can be as thin as 5.3-5.4mm, but occasionally it can be quite accurate.

 

I would (initially) draw them at 6mm, in order to have a drawing you can get quotes from. Then, when you've decided on a supplier, ask them what width you need to allow for & alter the drawing accordingly before they cut it.

 

Jonathan

JSModels

 

PS - I would offer, but my machine is only 900 x 600mm...

[chris p bacon]

3 hours ago, Penrhos1920 said:

If I want to tab and slot 2 pieces of 6mm ply together, do I draw the slot 6mm wide or does it have to be a fraction wider to account for the material and laser thicknesses?

 

You need to check with the companies as it will depend on what ply they are using. Laser cut ply isn't the same as the stuff we buy in merchants as it is subjected to high heat at the cutting point. They should be able to give you some basic specs to work to as well as what the cutting file should be in.

 

On the subejct of curved boards, there will be an awful lot of wastage from a sheet so I would try and work out the optimum size for the sheet size they are able to use, I would also think about any extras you might want that can fill the spaces up (tool trays?) I have curved boards at the ends and had to order 10'x5' which meant I could just get 2 boards from each board rather than waste a lot of an 8'x4'

[Giles]

You might find a company ready to CNC it out for you, rather than lasering it........