I’m entirely self-taught, animation to design, and if you want to get an idea of how I cut my teeth in the custom world, at first virtually for many years before migrating to the physical world, check out my site CNCKing.com – lots of great stuff there that will eventually, one day, slowly, work its way to SandboxRanch.com as kits.

The material I used for this platform crane B kit was quarter inch plywood, nothing special grade wise but as mentioned in the video, plywood is never the thickness you buy it at, it can grown and shrink on you, as such, the scale of the finished model is based on the thickness of the material, so the completed and assembled model would be bigger or smaller by the same proportion.

Laser cutting plywood in this case, was done with a mask on the front and back, as such, smoke was contained only to the edges of the model where it was cut, making the surface of the platform crane B kit plywood free from contaminants.

Each part interlocks into the other, you can really see this directly with the legs of the platform crane B kit in the top picture, the top and bottom parts are distinct, as such, assembly is relatively straight forward for this SandboxRanch.com model when it comes to building it yourself.

This platform crane B kit model actually when through quite a few permutations before settling on this final design, it was actually among the first designs I made as it used round wooden dowels to start with, which I later fixed as this was a BAD design decision (they are NEVER the correct diameter nor easy to fix).

Once fixed-up, I cut it out many years later with my Shopbot Desktop CNC router… that’s how I learned to bring my virtual models into the real world after years of designing on my computer exclusively!

As computers got better, I decided to also improve the assembly graphics so people could get an idea of how it was built without needing extensive instructions, though, those are also provided.

I then started to differentiate model “streams” from laser cut to router cut, they are essentially the same design, but a few extra programming “helps” built-into the model that CNC routers need that CNC lasers don’t.

And there you have it, this is the journey that this platform crane B kit has taken through the years!

When I was designing all these kids toys, I never imagined that one day my own son would be enjoying my passion for these, he’s got a growing collection of wooden toys that he enjoys, I’d say, being rather biased, far more than his plastic or store bought versions.

Laser cutting plywood is pretty straight forward, there are a lot of things I could have done to greatly complicate this model but experience has taught me to keep the piece count low and as streamlined as possible, with parts being as obvious as possible when it comes to making kits for now SandboxRanch.com.

Now that this platform crane B kit is cut, you can see how my design approach, which is still very much valid almost 20 years later, is still very much a good one when it comes to making these kids toys that I put so many hours into putting together and now make available on SandboxRanch.com.

Of course, the nesting for this platform crane B kit is absolutely horrible, I have learned A LOT since cutting this years ago but for demonstrative purposes, each part can be clearly seen, quite a contrast to how you see things being cut now!

I still very much enjoy cutting these models, although I’ve routered and laser cut this model multiple times through the years, it’s always fun to revisit my beginnings into the custom fabrication world.

The reason why you don’t see any wood grain on these platform crane B kit pieces is the masking, that now needs to be removed on the front and back of each piece, something that would actually be done by YOU when you get this kit, if you opted for this option when you bought this kit from SandboxRanch.com.

After removing the masking on both sides, it’s time to get way too many clamps and glue and stick the entire model kit together, it takes a day to let everything dry and another day for the final glue-up to work.

I hope you appreciate the time put into making such a complex model with many axis of rotation and movement using so few plywood pieces once you get to this stage of the build process of this platform crane B kit.

I couldn’t think of a way of interlocking the spinning top and bottom together without causing more issues than it solves but for my son Simon, he doesn’t seem to care, this works fine for him and rarely does it come apart, the glue makes a massive difference when it comes to stability and keeping things tight enough to not fall apart once just friction fit together.

There really is no way around clamps in a shop, or when making kits like this, and the more parts you have, the more steps are involved with glue to final fit and functionality of the SandboxRanch.com model.

From experience, I’ve learned to use far too many clamps than necessary, things like to move while the glue dries, and using too many clamps when building a model with so many interlocking parts makes sure that these drying movements occur as little as possible.

Once the platform crane B kit was all dry and ready to go, you can see a little more glue was needed to keep the gantry in place and to make sure the string didn’t get loose, when I re-strung this for Simon, I actually just drilled a hole and strung it that way through the gantry rather than on top of it, it worked better with his busywork flow.

There you have it, a finished platform crane B kit ready for countless hours of fun from SandboxRanch.com!

Want this kit fabricated (or any others on the site) and shipped right to your door? Get it now at SandboxRanch.com!

The post Platform Crane B Kit Launch appeared first on SandboxRanch.com.

Custom princess coasters have become a trend among those who love everything related to princesses and fairy tales, these coasters are designed to bring a touch of magic and enchantment to any home, office, or event.

They can be customized with a variety of designs and patterns, from classic fairy tale princesses to modern interpretations of royalty, these custom princess coasters are square but they could have been oval, round or even in the shape of a tiara if you wanted it to be.

One of the benefits of using custom princess coasters is their versatility, they can be used in a variety of settings, including home décor, office spaces, and special events such as weddings or birthday parties, as they were in this case.

We can of course combine materials however you wish for your custom coasters.

These custom princess coasters by SandboxRanch.com can be as unique as you wish and thoughtful gift for anyone who loves fairy tales, princesses, or fantasy.

For this specific run of custom princess coasters used 1/4″ plywood, the same we used for the Scrabble coasters and the periodic table element coasters you see on SandboxRanch.com.

Custom princess coasters can be designed to match any style or theme and can also include personalized names or messages to make the birthday party (in this case) all the more special.

Custom coasters can be made out of just about anything, even solid surface materials!

Although SandboxRanch.com can design and fabricate custom coasters out of anything, generally the material of choice is related to wood, it has a warmth and feel that other materials just can’t match.

Custom princess coasters can also be used to decorate themed events, such as a princess-themed birthday party or a fairy tale-themed wedding and of course, we can make other matching themed items to go along with these.

Another reason custom princess coasters have become popular is their ability to be a conversation starter. as they can be used as a way to express one’s personality and interests, and can even spark conversations about favorite fairy tales or princesses.

Acrylic makes for wonderful coasters, they are incredibly (surprisingly) durable and can be customized just as much as other materials at SandboxRanch.com.

In terms of cost, custom princess coasters can be relatively affordable, depending on the materials and designs chosen, they are a great way to add a personalized touch to any space or event without breaking the bank.

Additionally, SandboxRanch.com can offer bulk discounts, making them a great option for party favors or corporate gifts and yes, if you wanted each of them to have a little unique design element, that’s fine too as they don’t all need to be identical.

Solid metal is an option with deep engraving if you want something extremely unique for your coasters.

Materials such as cork, steel, ceramic, and wood can be used to create durable and high-quality coasters and at the higher-end of the spectrum, stainless steel through titanium or even solid glass.

With SandboxRanch.com, you have no limitations when it comes to design through fabrication options that we can offer you, either using your design or our help turning your concepts to reality.

Something to keep in mind is that weight plays an important role in creating custom functional coasters, too light, and they lift with your glass, too heavy… well, that’s not a problem.

In this case, the custom princess coasters made at for SandboxRanch.com, the laser engraving process was actually a no-cut-through cutting process rather than an engraving one.

After the engraving process is complete, they are individually cut out, again, they don’t need to be square, it just happens that this is the preference when it comes to coasters.

In this case, SandboxRanch.com made a production run of 5 custom princess coasters, whether you want a half-dozen or thousands, we can make it and ship it right to your door!

Here’s a close-up of the complete small production run of custom princess coasters from SandboxRanch.com.

Need custom coasters? Anything goes… contact us or order online if you see something you like from SandboxRanch.com!

The post Custom Princess Coasters: 1/4″ Plywood appeared first on SandboxRanch.com.

If you want to see what a decade does to a creative man, here’s me showing this model off way back when!

My son loves his CH-47 Chinook helicopter, it instantly become one of his most favorite toys among all the other toys I’ve made for him so let’s see how I made it!

As you saw, I originally cut this out using my ShopBot Desktop, a machine I still have to this very day, but I decided to laser cut it out this time around, the model works either way, and each technology has a plus and a minus when it comes to making model kits, there are no best machines out there or processes, just the best given what needs to be made.

For this specific CH-47 Chinook helicopter kit that I’m cutting for SandboxRanch.com, I used plywood that was slightly less than 1/4″ thick, it was actually 15% thinner, so the model was scaled to match, thus the finished model is 15% smaller in scale than originally designed to be quarter inch.

I design my projects based on material thickness, it makes the model so much easier to design and scale as the % off the designed thickness is just applied to the kit design file and voila, you have a perfectly fitting interlocking model when done.

For this CH-47 Chinook helicopter model kit on SandboxRanch.com, laser cutting it out means I don’t have any clean-up on the edges to do as I’d have if I made this with my router, that being said, it is a lot slower to laser cut than router cut this kit all other things being the same.

As you saw in the video, I made a few modifications to the kit for my son, he’s 2.5 years old and as such, there are certainly hazards that I saw ahead of time so that they don’t become a problem.

This CH-47 Chinook helicopter model kit has been cut a few times, and yes, I’ve laser cut this before as well, but the models have been lost through the years so it was time to cut a fresh one for my son.

This just shows you how ageless model kits are, what I designed over a decade ago still cuts fine and fresh today as it did back then, regardless of the technology used to make it with.

Before SandboxRanch.com or even CNCROi.com, there was CNCKing.com (and WoodMarvels.com), so it’s been a progression through the years of teaching myself custom fabrication as equipment and software evolved over time.

Laser cutting plywood is no different than other materials we cut at the shop, it just goes faster on thinner material and slower for thicker, this being quarter inch, it’s relatively fast and CNCROi.com has cut a ton of that though the years.

Our CNC laser makes relatively quick work of the plywood to transform it into pieces that will then form the finished CH-47 Chinook helicopter kit.

You’ll notice that the wood does warp a little during the cutting process of the CH-47 Chinook helicopter kit, these do not affect the finished SandboxRanch.com model.

There are internal stresses present in plywood that get released when our laser goes through the material, so this isn’t caused by heat, but by the internal composition of the plywood itself.

These stresses are also released in plywood when we use our CNC router, so they are not exclusive to laser cutting of, in this case, SandboxRanch.com‘s CH-47 Chinook helicopter kit.

Plywood is a unique animal but these stresses present in it are just more apparent the thinner the material is, you also get these in hardwoods and other materials, including metals so they are present in both man made and natural materials.

Now that SandboxRanch.com is finished cutting this CH-47 Chinook helicopter kit, you can see all the components that will make the finished model.

Before gluing the model together, I always do a quick dry-run, just to know ahead of time how things go together, even though I’m the designer of this CH-47 Chinook helicopter kit, I still follow this process myself.

I always apply plenty of glue on all my kits that I personally put together, I’ve been screwed in the past by not putting enough so I’ve found putting too much to be the better necessary evil.

For this specific SandboxRanch.com CH-47 Chinook helicopter kit, I painted it green then gave it to my son Simon to play with, about an hour later, one of the rotors was broken, as such, time to make them indestructible!

So I laser cut polycarbonate, which is bullet proof glass, and also add washers and longer screws to hold the rotors in place.

Here’s the broken rotor Simon did and the updated rotor design, it’s safer and slightly shorter as well, works out great!

Here’s a close-up of the rotor one layed onto the other, the reason for the additional circle of material on the polycarbonate rotor for the SandboxRanch.com CH-47 Chinook helicopter kit is for strength and to give less room for him to hit his head against it when he spins it.

And here’s the finished model with the updated polycarbonate rotors, it’s now his favorite SandboxRanch.com toy until I make him another toy.

Get your kit now at SandboxRanch.com.

The post CH-47 Chinook Helicopter Kit appeared first on SandboxRanch.com.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue3xodSRiqE/

These custom Scrabble tiles were 4″ square in this production run but we will be selling them in bigger and smaller sizes, and by extension, I’ll also be doing the same for the chemical element coasters as essentially, those can be scaled up or down just as easily.

When it comes to these custom Scrabble tiles, I made one of each for photography and to show you what we can do, but every aspect of them can be customized however you like as SandboxRanch.com is essentially making them one at a time.

The contrast you see being produced by the laser engraving is actually charcoal, not paint or special dyes, as such, it will never fade, crack or peel overtime.

If you want to see our other related “tile” product on SandboxRanch.com, checkout our ever popular chemical element coasters that have the same options as these custom Scrabble tiles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lE0yazHTSWw/

These tiles can be made out of any material or just about any application, if you wanted custom Scrabble tiles made out of stainless steel 12″ square, SandboxRanch.com can make that for you just as easily as 1″ square acrylic ones.

As your options are endless, keep in mind that there is way infinite options can be added to the website, so it’s always best to contact SandboxRanch.com if you want something a little different.

Making custom Scrabble tiles is no different than any other project we make at SandboxRanch.com, the quality is top of mind and it’s made to order then shipped right to your door.

When I’m not working for SandboxRanch.com customers, in the same shop, I’m doing projects for CNCROi.com, so the capabilities of one lend themselves well to the other, hence being able to offer just about any customization options you can imagine.

Laser engraving is done before laser cutting to make sure everything is cut accurately and with absolute precision, don’t want any elements of these coasters (in this case) to be off.

Having multiple machine platforms allows us to make on-demand, a variety of custom products and ship them when done relatively easily without having to hold inventory.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPsyIAFsYfQ/

Although I show laser engraving of the large letters in these photos and video, they could have been cut through if you wanted them, we’d just have to use a stenciled font.

Of course, if you wanted these custom Scrabble tiles to be made using a different font, that would have been fine, different profile, different shape, whatever you want, SandboxRanch.com can make them for you.

Now that this production run of custom Scrabble tiles is finished, you’ll notice some smoke on the surface, this isn’t an issue, it sands right off but if you wanted it to have them, we can of course leave them on this SandboxRanch.com product.

Here are a few close-ups of the custom Scrabble tiles we just made at SandboxRanch.com, again, these can be customized however you wish or want.

If you want custom scrabble tiles, any size, shape or material spec, contact SandboxRanch.com.

Custom Scrabble Tile Poem

Scrabble tiles, small squares of delight
Each letter holds, a story so bright
Custom made, with love and care
A game of words, a treasure to share

The wood is chosen, smooth and strong
Cut with precision, a perfect song
Letters can be painted, colors so true
Making each tile, a work of art too

CNC’ed uniquely, with care and pride
The letters come together, side by side
A game is born, with endless play
A story for every letter, every day

The letters spell out, words of wisdom
Memories made, a lifelong prism
Custom scrabble tiles, a gift so grand
A lifetime of fun, at your command

So when you play, and spell your words
Remember the care, that went into each letter
Custom scrabble tiles, a treasure so rare
A game of words, a love forever.

The post Custom Scrabble Tiles: New Production Launch appeared first on SandboxRanch.com.

This four in a row game has a number of improvements, they are focused on making the game solid and a lot stronger so that my two and a half year old won’t destroy this game when it plays with it in his free time.

I had some scrap plywood and MDF in the shop, both quarter inch, so that’s what I used for both the custom four in a row game and the tokens that you use in the game for this new SandboxRanch.com product launch.

Here’s the first video launch of this four in a row game I made, back in 2009, as you saw in the video at the top of the blog posts, I made a few modifications to my design for extra strength and durability for a young child.

I then 3 years later released another animation at a higher resolution to make the video clearer.

Simon knows his numbers, colors and shapes, in three languages, so it will be interesting to see how well he puts it all together to realize that this is a game that’s actually very simple and learn the rules that all he has to do is put four of these in a row to win.

When it comes to four in a row games, the rules are exactly that, vertically, horizontally or diagonally, just put four tokens in a row.

The cool thing about designing your own items is that you can customize it to your needs exactly, there are no molds or rules other than physics that you need to adhere to, this is an aspect that I really enjoy and am so happy I taught myself to do all those years ago.

As you can see, this is quite a contrast to the banks I made earlier, but to me, it’s really all the same.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inSCPwuZoRM/

As the laser cuts away through the quarter inch plywood, you can see some smoke stains appearing on the surface, I wasn’t concerned about this as it’s for personal use and I was expecting to have a few issues in this prototype that would require me to make a nicer version of this four in a row game but as luck worked out, everything was perfect so I ended-up using this one to play with my son Simon with for this upcoming SandboxRanch.com product.

The nice thing about laser cutting this four in a row game is that I don’t have to worry about holding the material down like I’d have to do with my routers and I don’t need to account for extra cutting material being lost due to using a spinning bit, as such, the process is slower but also faster, the precision is the same.

Quarter inch plywood is nothing for my laser, it cuts it fine, the inner corners are sharp, not rounded like they’d be if I used my router, and I can nest things incredibly tight across the board as the diameter of the beam is almost nothing.

If you are wondering, this material actually comes from a custom box making project I did a few months ago, have just one more sheet of scraps left over from this project which I’ll use for another job then it’s all eaten by production!

My main business, CNCROi.com, has and continues to engrave and cut a wide variety of materials, this is left over plywood from one of those such products, I prefer to use what I have in the shop if possible for product testing as it’s already in place and I’ve already optimized the cutting process for this material.

The design of a four in a row game is pretty straight forward, front and back, with spacers in-between and held together with two side parts and a solid base, once all glued together, the overall structure is incredibly strong, which is why I designed it this way.

Making this entire four in a row game out of plywood gives it a lot of strength as well, laminated wood, either as ply or slab, which I do for the SandboxRanch.com banks, adds a lot of redundancy to a design and lessons the power of warping from humidity and environmental changes that can slowly cause a model to break apart.

Doing a dry run of this four in a row game, everything fits together fine, if it was for non-2-year-old use, I’d say using it without glue is very possible, but with a little boy, this is guaranteed disaster, so it will be thoroughly glued together.

This isn’t the first plywood project I have on SandboxRanch.com, this is the same plywood I used for our element coasters.

But first, I need to make the little tokens, or chips, that will be then painted contrasting colors on both sides to turn this game into a four in a row game where colors and numbers are required, it’s actually a fun little game, the rules are simple, but if you go fast, easy to screw-up and lose from innateness.

I used my go-to paint, enamel paint, the red came out great on this quarter inch MDF and the white just as good – really enjoy using this paint, it spreads great, provides a solid color and cures very fast.

After the red side is dry and somewhat cured, I used the same board that I cut these out of to do the other side, this way, the paint doesn’t get onto the edges of the custom four in a row game tokens.

Of course, if you wanted these chips to be made out of hardwood, not a problem, we also make custom wooden coins, which is basically these things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cloFGjEKMQE/

While the tokens are drying on this SandboxRanch.com game, I can begin the assembly process, again, I wasn’t expecting everything to work perfectly right off the bat but it did, so the smoke stained and seeping glue version of this custom four in a row game is the one I brought home to play with my son Simon.

There is one slight design change I’ll do to this custom four in a row game though, I noticed that the base wanted to go beyond the supports I gave to it, it’s a minor detail that didn’t affect the model but a slight mod will make the assembly by somebody that isn’t me that much more intuitive, and that’s the goal on SandboxRanch.com, to sell both assembled models and those that you do this yourself.

I decided just for fun to sand one side of the custom four in a row game, looks great to me!

There are a ton of game options that I want to launch on SandboxRanch.com soon, here’s another one I did many years ago that’s a prime candidate.

I played a game against myself and I won, this custom four in a row game is awesome!

If you are interested in buying this game, it’s available now at SandboxRanch.com, head over to the top header under buy now and follow the linking hierarchy.

I no longer sell digital files for various reasons, so you can buy this in pre-cut kit form or fully assembled, up to you… of course, shipped right to your door!

The post Four in a Row Game: New Product Launch appeared first on SandboxRanch.com.

The process of developing these custom plywood periodic table element coasters was a few years in the making actually, I made all the design files and developed this product years ago but just never got around to making it available.

What SandboxRanch.com offers me is a way to release products that I’ve had in my head but no way to actually promote properly through my main site CNCROi.com, which does only custom fabrication – it just wasn’t a good fit.

The impetus for these custom plywood periodic table element coasters was a plywood job I did for CNCROi.com which led me to have a lot of extra pieces of plywood without a purpose at the end of the job, as such, right away, from deep in my head, I realized this would be perfect for coasters!

As I already had the design files for the entire periodic table developed AND the coaster files as well, it was just a matter of a few minutes to get it and start making custom plywood periodic table element coasters.

The site I was planning to launch these coasters on has now shut down and migrated to SandboxRanch.com, here are the cutting boards I developed and the next on my list, at that time, were these very coasters which I never got around to until many years later.

The advantage of using our laser to produce these custom plywood periodic table element coasters over any other technology we have at the shop is that everything, engraving to cutting, is done in one shot, one process.

If you wanted these coasters out of stainless steel (which we can also make), they’d be plasma cut and then fiber laser etched.

If you wanted these coasters out of glass, they’d be waterjet cut and then laser etched.

If you wanted these coasters out of hardwood, they’d be CNC router cut and then laser engraved.

I’ve spent years making custom coasters for customers across North America at CNCROi.com, as such, any ideas you get from this can be applied to the periodic table coasters as well.

Having a shop with a wide array of equipment allows us to make these custom element coasters out of anything, but the most cost-effective yet durable option are these custom plywood periodic table element coasters, anything else, the price will be higher.

In this case, I made the entire periodic table of elements using wood I would have typically thrown into the fire pit (though keeping the bigger pieces for future projects), in this case, I converted them into custom plywood periodic table element coasters.

As for the options available for these custom plywood periodic table element coasters, they are endless both size, material and design wise to be endlessly customizable to your needs.

The goal with SandboxRanch.com is to show what’s possible and to offer that to order right now, if you want something different, not a problem, just contact us with your ideas as that’s what I do in my regular day “job” at CNCROi.com day in and out.

From live edge to pallet wood, coaster options are endless.

As each batch of custom plywood periodic table element coasters was produced, you can start to understand that making these on-demand is a powerful tool, it means SandboxRanch.com doesn’t need to hold inventory, pay for inventory or have sales to get rid of inventory, things are made once the order arrives and ship right to your door!

Of course, actual production runs of these custom plywood periodic table element coasters would probably be off fresh plywood, unless I had a job like this again that I could use the material for.

As for the finishing options, plywood is pretty durable, but adding tung oil adds a whole new level of protection from humidity and the general environment which SandboxRanch.com offers you.

Steel, plastic, wood, rubber or whatever material you want, SandboxRanch.com can make custom coasters to suit any need.

As I ran through the rest of the plywood left over from this job, oddly enough, I had the perfect amount to make the entire set of custom plywood periodic table element coasters, you can see just how flexible my approach to making these coasters is, if you want a hundred the same or the entire table, it makes no difference to the machine.

Each and every custom plywood periodic table element coasters is made to spec, the machine doesn’t need a coffee break, smoke break or gets tired of mindless activities which could affect the final outcome, it just works and works and then works some more!

After one batch of custom plywood periodic table element coasters was finished being made, the next one was already lined-up and ready to go!

When it comes to the periodic table coasters that SandboxRanch.com offers, regardless of quantity, we make them on-demand and on-order, as such, options that aren’t available if these were mass produced are clearly possible with us.

The nice thing about using the laser to produce these coasters is that no secondary processing is required, meaning the contrast created is done so by the process itself, there is no additional painting or printing required.

You can see in the image below how tricky some of the placement of the custom plywood periodic table element coasters cutting was, my goal was to use as much material as possible, thus utilizing it as efficiently as possible.

I had the absolute perfect amount of plywood for this run of periodic table element coasters, I really couldn’t have had a better perfect fit of material to project.

These custom plywood periodic table element coasters are now available right now at SandboxRanch.com, order them now!

The post Plywood Periodic Table Element Coasters appeared first on SandboxRanch.com.