Hi all,
I've been a long time lurker and this year I started working on my ideas for cases made from wood. I've had an interest in doing this for years but had no previous experience with CAD/CAM or woodworking. With quarantine I found myself with a lot of time to learn new skills, so here we are. These were all made in BC, Canada out of CNCed walnut, brass threaded inserts, silicone feet, and laser cut foam or felt for noise damping. In one of the images I've labelled my designs in the order that I made them. I'd love to hear feedback on the designs, finish colour and sheen, and if cases like this are something people would be interested in buying once I finalize a design. I have a lot of ideas I'd like to explore using brass and resin-stabilized wood to do more complicated designs if I'm able to find the time and budget.
some comments on the progression so far:
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#1 was finished with danish oil. It was my first time ever applying a wood finish and I did so quite liberally and without enough sanding which ended up leaving it quite glossy, slightly textured, and almost plastic feeling. It was comfortable to type on, but I felt that the walls of the design were too thin to show off the beauty of the material, so I decided that moving forward I would design thicker cases.
#2 and #3 were stained and then finished with a mixture of oil and polyurethane. They feel smooth, and the finish is light enough that they still feel like wood. They both feel great to type on, and sound better than #1 due to the thicker walls.
#4 was a failure as it was too bulky and the edges not rounded enough, meaning it was pretty uncomfortable to type on. On the bright side, with this one I had figured out a better sanding and top-coat process which means the feeling of the wood was fantastic and finally what I had hoped for.
#5 was sanded, like #4, to a much better standard and finished with boiled linseed oil. It is very smooth, and has feeling that I am very happy with, but I still am curious to experiment with the colour of my finishes through different oil based finishes or stains.