Designed for Vectric by Michael Tyler. The Merry Christmas Sled project makes a delightful accent to your festive holiday decor!

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Elijah Wood
5 years ago
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com The Merry Christmas Sled project makes a delightful accent to your festive holiday decor!

1 Project Tutorial Compatible with Current Version of: Featuring compatibility with nearly all CNC Machines Merry Christmas Sled! Designed for Vectric by Michael Tyler It is our pleasure to provide our customers with fun and useful projects to enjoy! and Sample Carved with: ShopBot Buddy PRSalpha BT48 The Merry Christmas Sled project makes a delightful accent to your festive holiday decor! The sled can be hung on a wall or door, leaned against a wall, in a corner, near a hearth, or rested flat on a table as a raised serving tray to place holiday snacks and goodies upon! Overall dimensions are: 10.5 " wide x 18.5 " long x 2.25" thick. Main items you will need: 1) The Project Files (included): Christmas_Sled_Body.crv Runners-and-Parts.crv 2) Board(s) with these dimensions: Sled Body 0.75 " x 9 " x 16 " Runners and Parts 0.75 " x 9 " x 20 " 3) Fourteen 0.25 " dia. dowel buttons, two #6 x 0.5 " screws, drill, wood glue, cord or rope to fit 0.25 " dia. holes, paint or stain and clearcoat 4) A Dremel-type rotary tool with assorted sanding wheels and bits to sand small details and speed up preparation for finishing. CNC Bits used for the Sample: 60 V-Bit 0.25 " Up-Cut End Mill (EM) 0.25 " Down-Cut End Mill (EM) Designed by Michael Tyler - November 2016 VCP-85

(fig. 1) STEP 2 - Run the Project When you are satisfied with your settings, save the toolpaths to the

Place your material on your machine bed and proceed to run the files. (fig. 2a) fig. 2a Christmas_Sled_Body.

2c Carefully review all the toolpaths and make any necessary changes to suit your particular bits and

The toolpaths are currently set with feeds, speeds and pass depths that were used in creating the original

You can edit the tools and change the settings to your own preferences and requirements.

2 Merry Christmas Sled! STEP 1 - Open and Review the Project Files Start your VCarve or Aspire software and open the project files. (fig. 1) STEP 2 - Run the Project When you are satisfied with your settings, save the toolpaths to the appropriate Post Processor for your machine. Place your material on your machine bed and proceed to run the files. (fig. 2a) fig. 2a Christmas_Sled_Body.crv Your boards will look something like this. (fig. 2b, 2c) fig. 1 Runners-and-Parts.crv fig. 2b fig. 2c Carefully review all the toolpaths and make any necessary changes to suit your particular bits and machine. The toolpaths are currently set with feeds, speeds and pass depths that were used in creating the original sample. Please don t use them directly until you review them for your own setup. You can edit the tools and change the settings to your own preferences and requirements. It is very important to recalculate all toolpaths after making any edits/changes. Once you have recalculated for your own machine and bits, reset the preview, then preview all toolpaths again to visually verify the project outcome on-screen. STEP 3 - Separate Part(s) from Material and Sand Separate parts from the boards and sand off the tabs and undesirable toolmarks. (fig. 3) Separate parts from the material fig. 3 Page 2

Merry Christmas Sled! STEP 4 - Apply Finish Apply your choice of finish.

4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e) Main Panel and Curved Crossbar One coat thinned SealCoat (50/50 denatured

Acrylic spray on the main panel to seal it very well before paint application Painted all

thinned SealCoat to the curved crossbar and the main panel, sanded again, then applied several

4a Painted the panel bands a medium dark green fig.

4f) Several light coats of Krylon Clear Acrylic spray Apply stain to the runners, small bar

Apply several coats of Krylon clear to seal the panel very well before applying paint to

4f STEP 5 - Assembly Glue the curved crossbar and short bar together. (fig.

3 Merry Christmas Sled! STEP 4 - Apply Finish Apply your choice of finish. Here s what I used on the sample made from Select Pine: (fig. 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e) Main Panel and Curved Crossbar One coat thinned SealCoat (50/50 denatured alcohol) on curved crossbar and main panel, then sanded again Several coats of Krylon Clear Acrylic spray on the main panel to seal it very well before paint application Painted all v-carve recesses with brown acrylic paint Painted the main panel bands medium dark green Apply thinned SealCoat to the curved crossbar and the main panel, sanded again, then applied several coats of clear Krylon spray to seal the panel very well. fig. 4a Painted the panel bands a medium dark green fig. 4e Runners, Short Bar and Dowel Buttons Applied Rust-Oleum Cabernet stain (fig. 4f) Several light coats of Krylon Clear Acrylic spray Apply stain to the runners, small bar and dowel buttons. Spray on a few coats of Krylon clear after stain has dried. Apply several coats of Krylon clear to seal the panel very well before applying paint to v-carve areas. fig. 4b fig. 4f STEP 5 - Assembly Glue the curved crossbar and short bar together. (fig. 5a) Apply acrylic craft paint into v-carve areas. Do a few letters at a time and wipe off excess immediately with rags or paper towels. fig. 4c fig. 5a You don t have to be neat when painting the v-carves. The excess paint wipes off easily, as long as the board is sealed well. Glue this assembly to the main panel. (fig. 5b) Page 3 fig. 4d fig. 5b

Merry Christmas Sled! STEP 5 - Assembly Drill two countersinks in the short bar for the #6 x 0.

Glue a couple un-stained dowel buttons into the holes to hide the screws. (fig.

Drive in two screws to secure the assembly to the main panel.

four 3d x 1.25 " finish nails. Alternatively, you can use a pin nailer instead. (fig.

button recesses and into the runner tops. fig.

assembly. fig. 5g Glue the twelve stained dowel buttons into all the round recesses. (fig.

The runners should be recessed from each side edge of the panel by 0.25 ".

positioning the panel onto the runners. (fig.

4 Merry Christmas Sled! STEP 5 - Assembly Drill two countersinks in the short bar for the #6 x 0.5 " screws, then drive in the screws to securely fasten the assembly to the main panel. Glue a couple un-stained dowel buttons into the holes to hide the screws. (fig. 5c, 5d) Drill two countersunk holes into the short bar. Drive in two screws to secure the assembly to the main panel. Secure the main panel further by drilling pilot holes through the four outer dowel button recesses and driving in four 3d x 1.25 " finish nails. Alternatively, you can use a pin nailer instead. (fig. 5g) Secure the main panel to the runners with a pin nailer or small 3d finish nails through the four outer dowel button recesses and into the runner tops. fig. 5c Glue in two un-finished dowel buttons to hide the screws and contrast with the dark stain of the crossbar assembly. fig. 5g Glue the twelve stained dowel buttons into all the round recesses. (fig. 5h) Glue in the stained dowel buttons. fig. 5d Glue the main panel assembly to the two runners. The runners should be recessed from each side edge of the panel by 0.25 ". I cut a scrap piece board to a 6 " width to use as a spacer and taped a carpenter s square to the table to aid in positioning the panel onto the runners. (fig. 5e, 5f) The spacer board and square helped to lineup and position the runners before gluing on the main panel. fig. 5h After the glue is dry, apply a couple light coats of clear finish overall. (I used Krylon Clear spray.) Cut a length of cord for the curved crossbar. Knot at one end, thread the cord through both holes and knot the other end to finish the sled assembly. (fig. 5i) fig. 5e fig. 5i Page 4 I also used blue painter s tape to secure their position during glue-up. fig. 5f IN CONCLUSION I hope you enjoyed making your Merry Christmas Sled! Happy Carving!

Materials Source Page 3M Radial Bristle Discs from www.mcmaster.

4494A19 220-grit: part # 4494A18 Items Purchased at Home Depot or Lowes

Paint Rags Decorative Cord Items Purchased at Michael s Arts & Crafts Brown

weblinks and prices were valid at time of this writing, but can change at

5 Materials Source Page 3M Radial Bristle Discs from (stack 3 discs at a time on your rotary tool mandrel) 80-grit: part # 4494A grit: part # 4494A18 Items Purchased at Home Depot or Lowes Zinsser Bulls Eye SealCoat Rust-Oleum Ultimate Wood Stain - Cabernet 0.25 " dia. dowel buttons #6 x 0.5 " screws Sandpaper, Wood Glue, Denatured Alcohol Disposable Brushes and Paint Rags Decorative Cord Items Purchased at Michael s Arts & Crafts Brown and Green Acrylic Craft Paints Krylon Clear Gloss from WalMart NOTE: Direct weblinks and prices were valid at time of this writing, but can change at any time. If links don t work, then try visiting the website s home page and do a Search for the item to get directed to a current/valid page. Page 5

6 Additional Resources RESOURCES... There are numerous resources for Vectric software owners to make their experience with their products more enjoyable. The Vectric website includes video tutorials and more, to provide a good overview of the software products and how to use them. Please visit the Support page for a complete listing of available resources for you. Vectric Support: Vectric User Forum Every owner should join the Vectric User Forum ( where fellow users share their experience and knowledge on a daily basis. It is a FREE service that you will surely appreciate. A handy Search Feature helps you find answers to any questions you may have. There are Gallery sections as well, where you can post and view photos of projects created with Vectric software. IMPORTANT: Before outputting any toolpaths you should carefully check all part sizes and the material setup to make sure they are appropriate for your actual setup.you should also check and re-calculate all toolpaths with safe and appropriate settings for your material, CNC machine and tooling. Terms of Use: This Project and artwork is provided on the understanding that it will only be used with Vectric software programs. You may use the designs to carve parts for sale but the Files and/or Vectors, Components or Toolpaths within them (or any derivatives) may not be converted to other formats, sold to, or shared with anyone else. This project was created by Michael Tyler and is Copyright Vectric Ltd. The trademarks, service marks and logos used and displayed in this document are registered and unregistered Trademarks of Vectric and others. Page 6

Designed for Vectric by Michael Tyler

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