The Wood

I took my document down to the wood room, as it was an illustrator file it needed to be converted to a CAD file as we discussed the CNC machine would be better for my design than using the laser cutter as I could use thicker wood to make the tree sturdier. The CNC machine cuts the wood using a drill bit with for my design 4 passes to help create a neater cut. I decided on using a 6mm plywood for my design, however I dint want the look of ply wood, I wanted my mug tree to look expensive and fit in with the standard the NT set with their products so I choose to use a wood vanier to make the wood more expensive looking. Below is an image of the basic piece of ply wood before I applied the vanier.

To apply the vanier to the wood, I first had to stick together all the pieces I had with some tape to the size of the wood, next I had to cover the vanier with some glue and lay it on top of the the plywood, the wood was then placed into a press for 15 minuets to secure the 3 pieces together with pressure. I left the wood to dry over night before I could cut into it the next day, once the trees had been cut out, I had to spend about 3 hours sanding the tree and coasters down before I could coat them with a finish. Below I have posted two images of the difference between the colouring from before and after the oil was applied. This was lindseed oil applied with a rag and left to dry. The finished tree is really beautiful and just completely helps bring the brief to life, it is definitely worth the 3 days it took to make!