Videos – JEMTOY

Dancing Unicorn

Download the Dancing Unicorn SVG file for Glowforge Laser Cutter

I wanted to make a gift for a friend of mine who happens to love horses a lot. In my mind it was simple enough. I imagined the silhouette of a horse rearing up. I designed a wood rocking horse balance toy that bobs back and forth. However, I used up an entire sheet of wood from making poorly designed and unbalanced prototypes in order to get to this thing of beauty.

I don’t know why, but this simple toy took forever for me to figure out. From idea in my head to object in hand was an entire day of moving the horse a bit this way, burning a copy on the laser cutter, and then seeing how it all balances.

When it didn’t sit right, I tweaked the design a bit, made the weight at the bottom bigger, and burned another version on the Glowforge. Trying to guess the balance went on and on forever, much like this description.

I understand that you don’t care about any of that. My suffering matters not now that the deed is done. We just love the happy pony!

Do you know a person who has a lot of love for all things equine? Perhaps you too deeply desire to make a dancing unicorn toy on your laser cutter. I get it. I’ve been there.

So OK. Here it is.

Download the Dancing Unicorn SVG file for Glowforge Laser Cutter

You will need access to a laser cutter, 1/8″ thick plywood (or colorful acrylic could be fun), and white glue or super glue.

Laser Settings:

BLUE: Engrave (set to HD Graphic)
RED: First cut
BLACK: Last cut

How to put the Dancing Unicorn together:

There are 2 balance toys included in this design (a horse and a unicorn) but only 1 base is provided on the template. If you make both the horse and unicorn, be sure to make an extra base set (those 4 other things). Simply remember to copy/paste the extra 4 base pieces in the Glowforge user interface.

You only need to build the base. It has 4 parts. Glue is useful to hold it all together. Wood glue, white glue, or super glue will work.

Above I provide a preview of the SVG file. You will see the 2 sides (with stars.) Above them are what I call the bottom bit (on top left) and the top bit (top right).

Take a side (the part with a star), and insert the square hole on the bottom down into one of the 2 grooves found in the bottom bit. Do it for both sides. Nest them together evenly so the base will stand flat.

Push the top bit down onto the four tabs on top.

Now you need to get the base inside the circular weight and under the horse. You will notice under the horse’s standing hoof there is a point with a slot opening into the circular weight. Slide the hoof and point over the flat top of the base until the horse balances in place on top. I know that explanation is very confusing, so please view the video at the top of this page to see how easily it’s done.

Download the Dancing Unicorn SVG file for Glowforge Laser Cutter

Tiny Temple

DOWNLOAD SVG FILE TO LASER CUT YOUR OWN TINY TEMPLE

Greetings everyone! I was looking for a small altar or tiny temple where I could place my collection of small brass Buddha statues. I have many little Hindu Gods and Goddesses about 1.5″ tall and I wanted little shrines to display them. I looked around and could not find anything small enough, so I designed my own!

This project uses 1/8″ thick proof grade plywood on my Glowforge laser cutter. Mine is made from Cherry plywood with a luscious deep red color to the grain. Due to popular demand, I now offer my SVG file for those who have access to a laser cutter.

The SVG is made in color because Glowforge can see color. For some weird reason the Glowforge defaults engrave and score settings to draft quality, so we have to manually set engrave and score to HD or High Definition Quality for best results. Depending on your laser cutter you may have to change the order of tasks. The laser settings and step order for this design are:

VIOLET: ENGRAVE as HD Graphic
BLUE: SCORE (set to HD)
RED: FIRST CUT
BLACK: LAST CUT

DOWNLOAD SVG FILE TO LASER CUT YOUR OWN TINY TEMPLE

Once your parts are laser cut it is time to assemble your tiny temple.

Put the Base in front of you, flip it so the JEMTOY logo is on the bottom (so you can’t see it.) Position the two front holes facing you.

Stack the Floor on top, making sure the 4 little holes line up and the laser scored line can be seen.

Insert the bottom tabs of the Window into the back two holes in the Floor and Base.

Do the same thing, insert the Front Door into the middle two holes pegging through the Floor and Base.

Insert the two little Railing pieces into the two little holes remaining on the front creating a mini staircase into the Door.

Slip the 2 Walls onto the tabs protruding from the bottom edge of the Window and Door.

Slide the 2 grooves in the Roof down onto the pegs at top of Window and Door. Push them down so there is a clear groove (for Garuda) on top.

Each Wall has pegs at top to set a Wing. Each Wing arches over the Door or Window.

Hold the top together and put Garuda in place to hold it all together. Garuda fits in the top middle groove in the roof. The openings along the bottom of Garuda snap in place sandwiching the Window and Door to the Wings. NOTE: Do not push on the long extended fragile parts of Garuda, they might break making your tiny temple a little ruin.

The tiny temple will hold most statues 1″ – 1.5″ inches tall. The project could also be a wonderful Fairy House or Spirit House – and you leave it empty for tiny visitors to camp out in when they pass through! If you have a big love for all things small, this is a great project to make with a kid.

DOWNLOAD SVG FILE TO LASER CUT YOUR OWN TINY TEMPLE

DOWNLOAD SVG FILE TO LASER CUT YOUR OWN TINY TEMPLE

Cute Ear Savers

Glowforge released an Ear Saver file so folk could laser cut their own ear savers, but I thought the design needed to be cuter! I updated the file to have little bunnies, kitties, hearts, and smilies for that personal touch. Sometimes it is the smallest thing that brings good cheer. Wearing a mask is so impersonal. This small piece of plastic will make you stand out, and it might even bring a little bit of joy to those who see it.

I offer the .svg file for FREE so you can laser cut your own Cute Ear Savers! The file is in color because Glowforge sees color, but you can use any laser cutter. Here are the score/cut steps in order:

Glowforge Laser Cutter instructions for JEMTOY Cute Ear Savers:
Cut from 1/8″ thick Acrylic
Step 1: Blue = Score
Step 2: Red = Cut
Step 3: Black = Cut

Udemy Course: Learn Inkscape to design for Glowforge Laser Cutter

More SVG files for Glowforge Laser Cutter

Rattlesnake Eggs

DOWNLOAD THE SVG VECTOR FILE FOR GLOWFORGE LASER CUTTER

This is an update to a classic practical joke I loved as a kid. My grandfather used to keep a small yellow envelope that had ‘Rattlesnake Eggs’ written on it inside the door of his refrigerator. It was there to freak out anyone who visited his home. If you got curious enough to open the yellow envelope of rattlesnake eggs, you would be frightened by the loud spinning button mechanism inside.

The envelope contained a simple device. First a paper clip was straightened out and bent into a V shape with a loop bent in each end. Two rubber bands were threaded through the hole of a metal washer. The rubber band was stretched across the wire loops of the wire V. My grandfather would spin the button until the rubber band was wound tight, then he would slip it carefully inside the envelope. Once he closed the flap on the envelope, the button could not spin until opened by some innocent bystander. When opened, the button would make such a loud vibrating sound, it often got tossed across the room in fright. People were convinced rattlesnakes had hatched inside the envelope!

Grampy even put a few dry beans in the envelope so there were ‘snake eggs’ rolling around inside the envelope, because the curious would often shake it before they open it. Once they heard the eggs rolling around, they were even more curious to see them.

What I have done is design a little wood box with a lid. When you open the lid, the button spins and rattles. It’s a fun prank gift. There’s even little fake eggs to put in there so they make a sound if the box is shook. This is a fun Glowforge laser cutter project you can make at home using 1/8″ thick Proof Grade Medium Plywood for best sound. Put a box of delicious Rattlesnake Eggs on your kitchen counter and see who opens it first.

DOWNLOAD THE SVG VECTOR FILE FOR GLOWFORGE LASER CUTTER

You will need:

1/8″ thick Proof Grade Medium Plywood,
Glue (white or super)
Tissue or Cotton Swabs to clean up white glue
A rubber band

Glowforge Settings: Be sure to drag the Red/Black CUT layers in correct order within the Glowforge app. Drag Red layer above Black so red cuts first.

Text & Graphics: ENGRAVE > HD Graphic
RED: 1st Cut
BLACK: 2nd Cut

Q-Tip Crossbow

My Udemy course, Learn Inkscape For Glowforge has been a great success, so I wanted to offer my students fun projects they can download and cut on their Glowforge laser cutter.

My first offering is the Q-Tip Crossbow. Would you like to make a toy crossbow that shoots cotton swabs? Of course you do! All you need is access to a Glowforge laser cutter, 1/8″ thick Proof Grade Medium Plywood, sand paper, glue, 3 rubber bands, and lots of cotton swabs to blast around the room as ammo.

My course includes the crossbow.svg file designed in color to properly separate layers for cutting on a Glowforge. You’ll get detailed video instructions, a troubleshooting guide, and supplemental photos to help you along. It’s a slam dunk.

This project is intended for folk age 15+ because it’s a working mini crossbow made with lots of small parts. Anything this fun requires parental supervision. Kids love this project because it feels slightly dangerous. They love to build it, take it apart, replace the rubber bands. Be a hero – share this project with a kid… but remind them to not shoot it at people or pets.

If you are new to laser cutting, I suggest that you check out my first course, Learn Inkscape For Glowforge. Once you get through that and understand the process and lingo, move on to the JEMTOY laser projects I offer. You will learn tons, and have fun while doing it.

Glowforge Laser Cutter Project: Q-Tip Crossbow

Bread Tab Shooter

Here’s a fun way to turn common trash into a fun toy. We all know those little square plastic bread tabs that keep plastic bags closed. This is an easy project anyone can make at home. All you need is a hard wood stick from outside. A 3/4″ maple or oak branch off the ground will do. Other than that, all you need is a few bread tabs as ammo, and a saw to cut the branch. Sandpaper 100 grit is good to make it all finished and feel smooth.

You can use pretty much any type of saw, from electric jig saw to a hack saw. Just a couple swipes is all you need to make a shallow cut groove. You want the groove to be deep enough to catch the bread tab when under pressure, but not so deep it doesn’t shoot forward when released. If you cut your groove too deep, cut the branch off and cut another groove until it works. I angled my cut slightly forward to help it release and shoot.

This is a fun toy because it’s slightly dangerous. Please do not aim or shoot at people or pets. Don’t put an eye out, because that’s when the fun stops! If your bread tabs are the type with bumps on each edge, use scissors or tin snips and cut the little bumps away so each edge is straight and fits easily into the groove.

Wiggly Loaf House

Watch how I made the Wiggly Loaf House: from designing it on Inkscape to cutting it on Glowforge and gluing all the pieces together. You can win this house if you are hardcore enough to play the Wiggly Loaf game until you unlock at least one of the bonus characters. It’s a free download for iOS or Android phones. Check out WigglyLoaf.com and click on Contest. Good luck and enjoy the game!

Dice Variations

I love dice! Until someone throws them right off the tabletop and the dice get lost. This made me wonder if I could come up with variations to the way we traditionally depict dice. For that, I turned to Inkscape, the Glowforge Laser Cutter, and my imagination.

Interested in a Glowforge of your own? Save $500 when you purchase a Glowforge through this link: https://glowforge.us/m/TELJNVZZ