The tabs/ears do not have to be as tight as long as they still look like a puzzle piece and more importantly, still fit together...Harry wrote:Latz, sorry I have been a bit preoccupied lately. Looking at your part I see two things that would be troublesome, one is the need for a holddown since I do not have a vacuum. This could be either tabs or an onion skin and either would mean some finish work on however many parts you are looking at there. The other issue is more problematic and that is in the tight radius, just looking at it I would say the area at the narrow point of the protruding connectors might be pretty tight getting a bit into there and the 9* taper on the bit will mean the bit is a smaller diameter at the tip than up at the top of the piece.
I think it would be very possible with the right design, I can also imagine it would involve quite a lot of time with so many pieces. I am thinking one would first run the tapered sides with a bit that matches the slanted edge and no tabs on these sides because when you use them with a tapered bit you get lines up the side of the piece then using a straight endmill cut the other two sides leaving tabs. It would certainly make for a very interesting piece especially with a variety of woods.
Hmmmm, been sitting here looking at it and I dont think it could be cut with a tapered endmill and fit together right. I think it could be done though by setting up a fixture to hold the stock at 9* and cut with a straight endmill. If you want to get a cost estimate I would be willing to set up a test but I can imagine it might be 5 to $10 per piece plus material. Send me a PM to get my attention (triggers an email to me)
For material, I would buy that and either have it shipped to you directly, or I can have it sent to me, cut it down into workable squares and then ship to you...