Enhanced trivet

Instructions

Included above are the SVG files for the top view and bottom view of the trivet (see Photos 1 and 2), based on a trivet width of 6.5 inches and a trivet thickness of 0.5 inches. (The trivet in the photos is actually 0.4 inches thick, because I had to plane out a warp in the workpiece.) I've also included the Fusion f3d file. Within Fusion, use Modify / Change Parameters and adjust the width and thickness parameters shown under Favorites to adjust the trivet size. When I build this I use oak, but any hardwood will suffice. Here are detailed instructions. (These are based in part on Shaper’s earlier instructions at www.shapertools.com/hub/creators/5b437481a92ce901517c0655/shares/5a6a6773693bca000f3b4400.) 1. Import the Fusion f3d file into Fusion. 2. Within Fusion, open the Sketch named TopText, ensure you’re viewing it from the top, hover over the words “ABC + XYZ”, right click, click on Edit Text, and adapt the text from “ABC + XYZ” to whatever you want. I use the Comic Sans MS font because it’s Origin-friendly with no sharp inside corners, and I use a character height of 1.18”. (Maybe someone can find a more modern-looking font that is still Origin-friendly.) Bear in mind that within Fusion, the Edit Text feature is not parameterized; so if you wish your revised text to remain centered horizontally and vertically within the trivet, you will need to make small changes to the location and possibly the height of the text. Then click on Stop Sketch. 3. Then open the Sketch named BottomText, ensure you’re viewing it from the bottom, hover over the words “Made 12 Sept 2018 using”, right click, click on Edit Text, and adapt the text to whatever you want. Here I use the Arial font and I use a character height of 0.394”. Again, adjust the location and possibly the height of the text to ensure it remains centered within the trivet. Then click on Stop Sketch. 4. Editing the words “SHAPER | ORIGIN” and the Shaper triangle logo that is in place of the “A” is a bit more complex, so I won’t go into that here. If you don’t want those words on your trivet, just don’t cut them when you’re in Cut mode. 5. If you’ve modified the top and/or the bottom views, use the Shaper plugin to export the relevant SVG files and use them in place of the ones I provide above. 6. Use a piece of hardwood that is about 9” wide and 18” long. Attach it to your spoilboard with clamps (don’t use double-sided tape yet), and apply ShaperTape. 7. Place the designs for the top view and the bottom view on the hardwood, making sure that the slots in the two views are at right-angles to each other. Because the bottom side has engraved text that is relatively small, it’s best to have the bottom-side slots and text be in line with the grain, and the top-side slots and text be at right-angles to the grain. 8. For cutting the top-side SLOTS, do a roughing cut inside each slot using your 1/4” bit, with a depth of 0.2” and an offset of 0.01”. Then do a finishing cut at a depth equal to half the thickness of the wood, and zero offset. (Note 1: If your trivet width is under 6”, the narrower slots that result will require a 1/8” bit and you may need to do two roughing cuts.) (Note 2: Within Fusion, I’ve set the depth of the top and bottom slots as being 0.001” less than half the thickness of the wood, because when you’re ready to cut the slots, Origin will regard the section along a slot between each pair of exposed cross-slots as being a separate cut if you don’t have the 0.001” factor to prevent the slots on the other side from being exposed to Origin. There will be a small prize if you understand what the heck I’m talking about here. Fortunately, you can ignore this Note if, in Fusion, you’re not going to be modifying the design of the slots.) 9. For cutting the top-side TEXT, do an Inside cut within each letter using your 1/8” bit, with a cut depth of 0.125”, with zero offset, and with the bit diameter set to 0.1” – or, in the case of one or two letters with narrow strokes, to 0.095” – rather than to the bit’s actual diameter of 0.125”. (You need to do this small cheat because otherwise, Origin will say it can’t do an Inside cut in the available space.) If you use a different font or type size, you might need to modify these directions. The key thing is to ensure that Origin shows (using the crawling-ant dotted line) that it’s capable of cutting out each entire letter. 10. Once you’ve done the above two steps, use your 1/4" bit to do an OUTSIDE cut of the top-side view, increasing the depth of your roughing cuts by 1/4" at a time and following standard rules re offsets. Leave small tabs (i.e. uncut sections) when you do your last rough cut; then flip over the workpiece, apply double-sided tape within the now-revealed trivet location, then flip it back and press down firmly before cutting out the tabs and doing a finishing cut. (See Photo 3.) This prevents the trivet breaking loose and being damaged when you’re doing your final cut. 11. Then proceed to the bottom-side view that you have laid on your workpiece. Don’t cut any slots or text yet; do an INSIDE cut with your 1/4" bit, increasing the depth 1/4" at a time. As in the previous step, leave tabs and then apply double-sided tape when doing the last roughing cut. For your finishing cut, use a negative offset of -0.01”. You have now cut a template hole the size of the trivet. Vacuum any dust out of the space, then place double-sided tape on the spoilboard below the template hole. 12. Place the trivet in this hole, with the already-cut slots and text facing down and lying at right-angles to the grain and to the slots you are about to cut. Push the trivet down firmly so it is flush with the surrounding workpiece, and re-do your Z-Touch plunge for safety. (See Photo 4.) 13. For cutting the bottom-side slots, do a roughing cut inside each slot using your 1/4” bit, with a depth of 0.2” and an offset of 0.01”. Then do a finishing cut with zero offset and at a depth equal to half the thickness of the wood plus 0.01”. (If your trivet width is under 6”, the narrower slots that result will require a 1/8” bit and you may need to do two roughing cuts.) When this process is finished, all the intersections between the bottom-side slots and the top-side slots should be clearly revealed. If they are not, increase the depth of your finishing cut by a further 0.01”. 14. For cutting the bottom-side text, do an Inside cut within each letter of text using your V60 engraving bit, with your cut depth at 0.02”, with zero offset, and with the bit diameter set to 0.02”. If you use a different font or type size, you might need to modify these directions. Again, the key thing is to ensure that Origin shows (using the crawling-ant dotted line) that it’s capable of cutting out each entire letter. For letters such as “H”, “L”, “m”, etc. there will be only one cutting line. For letters such as “A”, “D”, “e”, etc. there will be two cutting lines, with the second one delineating an “inside closed loop”. With “B” and “8” there will be three cutting lines. My normal approach is not to cut any of these inside closed loops – in other words, I cut just one cutting line per letter; I find the letters are clearer this way. Too much cutting makes the letters harder to read. Each letter of text should fit within Origin’s corrective range circle. It’s quite fun being in Auto mode and doing nothing while Origin cuts out the entire letter. I usually have it make two full passes for each letter. 15. Remove your trivet from its template hole. 16. Sand the trivet as necessary and stain/varnish/paint/oil as you choose. (Note: I did some experiments with spray painting the engraved text, and then sanding off the paint that got deposited on the trivet surfaces rather than on the engraved text. But even when I used painter’s tape to cover as much of the non-engraved surface as possible, some of the paint leaked from the text to the surface near the text and I found it hard to get a clean separation between the painted and the non-painted parts. So in the end I dropped the idea of painting.) 17. As with the cutlery tray that I’ve posted at https://www.shapertools.com/hub/creators/59d2738d1ca17e0010a3e2e2/shares/5b92d8312e602c000f282931, this trivet is fun to make because it doesn't require any power tools other than Origin, and because it would be hard to make without Origin. 18. The difficulty of the work using Origin I would categorize as “Intermediate”, but when you add on the need to do some fiddly stuff in Fusion in order to modify the top and bottom text, I’ve upgraded the difficulty to “Advanced”. Unfortunately, I’ve yet to find a Fusion project that is easy!