Concept Flower Thing v2
This project started out as a design exploration using “Surfaces” in Autodesk Fusion based around some rough sketches I did on paper. I wanted to create a bowl-like project that was challenging to build in order to push the limits of what I could create. I initially was thinking the inside could be sealed with epoxy and the bowl itself would be a plant pot bottom. Not a pot itself, as I have a feeling it would rot over time, but the bottom to hold escaping water. However, I decided against that and wanted to keep it open to admire the interior shape and color, and I wasn’t sure the epoxy would make it entirely waterproof. It’ll just store knick knacks and such, but one has to be careful to not poke themselves on the sharp corners.
Check out the build video on YouTube: 52+ Hours of CNC Woodworking.
I titled the video “52 hours of CNC Woodworking” because I’d estimate the “petals” of the flower have at least that much time put into them on the CNC machine. And that is just the time the machine was running. The actual project took a month to build from design concept to completion, but I did take spring break week off to do a family camper trip and let the epoxy fully cure.
It would be hard to produce something like this for sale. CNC time can be expensive, and 50 hours at a paltry $10/hr would still be $500 as a base price for machine time. Add in materials like wood and epoxy, and it’s up another $150 or $200. Then there is all the time I spent doing all the auxiliary stuff: sanding, cutting, prepping, gluing, etc. I’m sure building a second one would be a lot faster than the first, but for now I’m going to stick with just one.
