davedoublem
Established Member
Hi everyone,
this is my first post so please go easy as I'm not a woodworker or overly familiar with most tools. I'm actually a sculptor that normally works with gypsum plaster and have only ever owned a scroll saw in the past.
I'm in the process of working on a new project making some photo holders with a narrow (2mm-3mm) horizontal slot across various small shapes. These might measure no more than 100mm x 70mm with a depth of between 30-40mm. The slot depth in most cases might be no more than 15mm. An example of some basic shapes might be an outline of a dog with 4 standing legs, body, head, tail. I'm using basic molds of the shape to pour the plaster into, but these are a similar appearance to the types of shapes that might be cut out of wood. The reason why I'm using plaster is I wanted them pretty thick so as to stand up without falling down easily, and it's more cost effective making them out of plaster than wood.
The idea is to cut a horizontal slot across the entire shape so as to hold a photo. On straight forward flat surfaced wood shapes such as standard rectangle photo/display holder, this is fairly straight forward to do, and could even be done with a standard saw. However, if using a dog shape (I have a few different designs), the head may be raised higher than the body, and the body might also be slightly rounded rather than flat so it's impossible to use any kind of handheld saw. I need the slot to penetrate both the head and body in order to hold the photo correctly, and the slot has to be completely level.
I've never actually attempted sawing through plaster, but know that it's possible to drill into plaster fairly easily so would assume if using an appropriate saw it could work just as well. I might only be making one sample of each shape so ideally wanted to do this on the cheap. I would then make a silicone mould from each sample once I have a slot in each and create all casts from these moulds rather than needing to saw each and every photo holder I make.
Can anyone suggest an acceptable tool or bit of machinery for a novice that does't break the bank since it might only be used no more than a handful of times. More importantly it needs to be suitable for plaster? Alternatively It might be wise to send a handful of the finished plaster shapes to someone to cut these slots for me....not sure if there are any companies out there that offer such a service, but there might well be someone on here. I would have a handful of new designs every so often any anywhere from 5-10 shapes at a time.
I appreciate any help.
Many thanks
this is my first post so please go easy as I'm not a woodworker or overly familiar with most tools. I'm actually a sculptor that normally works with gypsum plaster and have only ever owned a scroll saw in the past.
I'm in the process of working on a new project making some photo holders with a narrow (2mm-3mm) horizontal slot across various small shapes. These might measure no more than 100mm x 70mm with a depth of between 30-40mm. The slot depth in most cases might be no more than 15mm. An example of some basic shapes might be an outline of a dog with 4 standing legs, body, head, tail. I'm using basic molds of the shape to pour the plaster into, but these are a similar appearance to the types of shapes that might be cut out of wood. The reason why I'm using plaster is I wanted them pretty thick so as to stand up without falling down easily, and it's more cost effective making them out of plaster than wood.
The idea is to cut a horizontal slot across the entire shape so as to hold a photo. On straight forward flat surfaced wood shapes such as standard rectangle photo/display holder, this is fairly straight forward to do, and could even be done with a standard saw. However, if using a dog shape (I have a few different designs), the head may be raised higher than the body, and the body might also be slightly rounded rather than flat so it's impossible to use any kind of handheld saw. I need the slot to penetrate both the head and body in order to hold the photo correctly, and the slot has to be completely level.
I've never actually attempted sawing through plaster, but know that it's possible to drill into plaster fairly easily so would assume if using an appropriate saw it could work just as well. I might only be making one sample of each shape so ideally wanted to do this on the cheap. I would then make a silicone mould from each sample once I have a slot in each and create all casts from these moulds rather than needing to saw each and every photo holder I make.
Can anyone suggest an acceptable tool or bit of machinery for a novice that does't break the bank since it might only be used no more than a handful of times. More importantly it needs to be suitable for plaster? Alternatively It might be wise to send a handful of the finished plaster shapes to someone to cut these slots for me....not sure if there are any companies out there that offer such a service, but there might well be someone on here. I would have a handful of new designs every so often any anywhere from 5-10 shapes at a time.
I appreciate any help.
Many thanks
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