Shop update #83 (5-29-19)

A couple of weeks ago, my sister asked me if I could make some cupcake stands for my nephew’s high school graduation party. She sent me these pictures for reference. Challenge accepted!

I started out by logging into my free easel account and designing the letters to cut out on my X-Carve CNC machine.

I picked up some 1/4″ MDF from Home Depot along with some black latex paint and some nail-in felt tipped feet. I cut the Q out using the default cut settings on the CNC but it turns out that I had the manual speed on the router turned up too high. The bit overheated and broke on the last pass. I heard the cutting sound change and managed to stop it before it messed anything up.

I verified the cupcake sizing on the Q and then cut out the U.

The next step was to glue on some risers to the bottom to elevate them up. I used some scrap 1″ x 1″ pieces that I had cut out of scrap 2 x 4’s for another project.

Once the glue dried, I gave them a sealer coat of black latex paint, on top and bottom, and let them dry overnight.

The next day, I gave them a light sanding and then applied 2 coats of gloss black spray.

While the paint was drying, I broke down the adirondack chair that I made a couple of weeks ago. I was planning on sanding and finishing it but hanging out with the wife and kids on Memorial Day sounded like more fun.

Once the paint was dry, I gave the letters a few coats of red spray paint glitter because red spray paint glitter is cool. This was after 2 coats and I forgot to take another picture after the 3rd coat.