WoodMarvels Blog

It’s been a while since I posted an update on my WoodMarvels.com Opportunity Mars Rover project so now is a good time. After several days of computer problems over the past few days, here is an updated screen shot of this upcoming model.

Why design a Wooden Mars Rover in the first place?
I began this project to both challenge myself mentally as to what was truly possible using only 2D plywood pieces and, most importantly, to learn more about engineering. I [...]

For as long as I can remember, I wanted to show how I designed the stuff you see on WoodMarvels.com. From taking screen shots to videos of the whole design process… nothing seemed to work for me. Although designing to me is fun, I’m sure to the outside observer, it’s a rather dull and illogical process – especially when you consider I do everything straight from my head without any sketches or plan (though I use to when I first [...]

While I’m waiting for my latest project to finish rendering, which will be sometime tomorrow – I began working on a very complicated model that I’m sure will be by far the most complex things I’ve designed so far.
A wooden version of the Spirit / Opportunity Rovers currently residing on Mars. As my only material is wood (by choice) and all my parts must be cut out of 2D – I think this is a great opportunity to really challenge [...]

I’ve decided to update the design of the WoodMarvels Blog, one because the old one would cut half an inch off the videos I posted here and more importantly… change is good I think I want to get away from “wood” looking designs and more into “light” (meaning prism/laser) multi-colored ones as my stuff is focused mostly on lasers to begin with and rainbows are more colorful than oak
The main WoodMarvels.com site is due for a [...]

I’m always trying to get better quality video showcasing the assembly animations so started playing with lots of settings… right now, bandwidth limitations are hindering my goal of full 1080HD but I’ve managed to make strides using smaller video but still rendered in HD.  Keep in mind that this is the exact same animation so without further delay, here’s an example of what is achievable… you can tell which one is HD vs not… amazing!
Lots of new stuff in the [...]

Since I discovered the nuances of laser cutting the designs found on WoodMarvels.com, I’ve become very good at optimizing files to make them affordable using as much board space as well as few doubled-up lines as possible. This means that I can usually cut my production costs in half as I wrote about earlier here: How Jon Cantin shaved 71% off his making costs
The Advent of CNC on-demand manufacturing
About a month ago, I started selling my optimized EPS files for [...]

I wrote a small piece on sister site LegendaryLife.com about how WoodMarvels.com is evolving as we grow in both inventory and options for people around the world.
http://blog.legendarylife.com/woodmarvels-com-the-evolution-of-a-business

There is a surprising amount of things happening here considering I thought the month of August would have been a little slower… it’s been anything but in both sales and amount of work happening!
I mentioned earlier that I was working on Volume 2 of my WoodMarvels.com book, well, I am going to be evaluating the first proof in a few days time so I can start writing about what it will have.
What models will make it into the book?
Level [...]

The mobile crane was the last model I plan on releasing until September as I will be working on my next WoodMarvels.com book titled “WoodMarvels.com Volume 2: 50 Laser Cut Plans” which I am planing on releasing in September
Laser cutters have come a very long way, surprisingly, you can get a table for only a few thousand dollars and they are, in many ways, just as capable of producing amazing work as a room full of traditional woodworking [...]

I’ve created a publishers account with Amazon and now you can view the inside of our very first book before making a purchasing decision.
WoodMarvels.com: Top Sellers
Cool!