Build idea
Laser-cut Christmas village
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Three tab-and-slot houses and two small trees cut from thin Baltic birch plywood on a diode or CO2 laser. Each house lifts off over a small battery LED light so the windows glow.
- Rough size
- About 3 to 4 in wide and up to 5 1/2 in tall per house
- Wood
- 1/8 in Baltic birch plywood
For battery LED lights only, never candles. Wood can catch fire. Keep button-cell batteries away from children.
Laser: never leave it running, keep an extinguisher in reach, and with an open-frame laser everyone in the room wears eyewear rated for its wavelength. See laser and CNC shop safety.
Tools you might use
- Laser
- Sanding
- Laser cutter/engraver
- Laser software
- Exhaust fan or ducting to the outdoors, or the fume extractor your laser's maker specifies
- Fire extinguisher or a fire blanket, plus a spray bottle of water, within reach
- Laser safety glasses rated for your laser's wavelength
- Digital calipers and a steel rule
- Hold-downs or pins
- Sanding block with 180-grit paper, and a barely damp cloth
Right tool for the job: Do you need air assist for laser engraving? · What should you put under a laser engraver? · What free software can you use with a laser engraver? · How should you deal with smoke from a laser engraver? · Diode or CO2 laser for wood: which kind should you get?
Key techniques
