Eiffel Tower

[Darren Wright]

I was helping someone on a FB group find a model for the Eiffel tower the other day, I liked it enough that I decided to give it a try myself.

I re-arranged and got all the parts to cut out on five 8.5" x 12" sheets of 1/8" plywood. All the cutting took about 3.5 hours. It took me a while to get the right cut settings, on the first sheet I had to cut out 1/3rd of the pieces with an exacto-knife. Lots of waste with these.


More of the parts



The assembly, just used yellow glue and tape to hold it while drying. Came out to about 25" tall


The assembled piece, took about a half hour to glue up. It is surprisingly light, just a few ounces in comparison to the 5/8" thick stack of sheets I started with.

 

[Leo Voisine]

I like that.

 

[Robert Horky]

Very nice.

 

[Bill Arnold]

 

[Brent Dowell]

Cool project!

 

[Darren Wright]

Thanks all. My next project for it is to make a base for it and spot light it from the bottom using some neopixel led rings.

https://youtu.be/CrKjIbWI_AI

 

[steve kelly]

That's a fantastic Job....Love it!!

 

[Vaughn McMillan]

You're having way too much fun with that laserator, Darren.

 

[Jay Caughron]

Thanks all. My next project for it is to make a base for it and spot light it from the bottom using some neopixel led rings.

Where did you get those it looks like something fun to play with and I have been wanting to cut the tower for a long time now have had the file for almost 2 year so it about time

 

[Bill Arnold]

What is the best source for thin plywood like you used? I'd like to get some 1/8"(3mm) and 1/16"(1.5mm).

 

[Darren Wright]

Where did you get those it looks like something fun to play with and I have been wanting to cut the tower for a long time now have had the file for almost 2 year so it about time

The neopixel rings came from ebay, but you'll need to get an nodemcu to run them. I've been running an arduino sketch called McLighting (https://github.com/toblum/McLighting), which has a webpage to control the lighting display from.

What is the best source for thin plywood like you used? I'd like to get some 1/8"(3mm) and 1/16"(1.5mm).

I ordered a bunch of 12" x 24" sheets the other day and some 1/32" thick sheets from here: https://www.idealtruevalue.com/store/Search.aspx?searchTerms=plywood&submit=true&type=AND

Brent linked me to this the other day, which I'll probably order next time. https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B013NT3OAC/?coliid=I2PN153YRPLSF3

 

[Bill Arnold]

Thanks for the links, Darren.

To cut your tower, did you do only multiple passes to make the cut or step the Z axis down with each pass?

 

[Darren Wright]

Thanks for the links, Darren.

To cut your tower, did you do only multiple passes to make the cut or step the Z axis down with each pass?

I didn't need to make more than one pass with the k40, but yes, you would want to move your focal point a bit closer to the laser with each pass for optimal cutting, but may not be worth it for only 3mm. Maybe set your focal point at center of the plywood and run with it.

 

[Leo Voisine]

I have been buying my baltic birch plywood in the 60"x60" from my local hardwood dealer. They also have a decent supply of quality plywoods. I forgot how much money it was but it is much less expensive than in pre cut pieces. The sheets cut beautifully into 20x30 sheets which is perfect for my machine.

The prices you linked to were very attractive

 

[Bill Arnold]

Thanks, Darren. I'll do some testing and see what happens.

 

[Darren Wright]

The prices you linked to were very attractive

I think I can get them cheaper from my hardwood supplier, but hours and location make it difficult to get over there. The 12 x24 sheets are about perfect as I've been cutting each them to 8 x 12, which fits my table quite well. I'll probably upgrade to something like yours down the road, but currently would not have room for it without adding additional space to the office or building another climate controlled room in the shop. Some day though.

Thanks, Darren. I'll do some testing and see what happens.