12 Blade Mechanical Iris

I put all the pieces into one easel project, so the first thing is to remove the components and make them into their own project.

Cutting the Birch plywood is pretty straight forward. I let the X-carve mark the drill hole locations to be drilled on my drill press later. The 12 shutter blade holes need to be counter-sunk so that a flat head screw can sit flush and not interfere with the movement of the iris blades. I used an 1/8" 2-flute straight bit.

Cutting the blades out of aluminum roof flashing, you can find this at lowes or any big box hardware store. I used spray adhesive on a piece of MDF and let it dry till tacky, then stuck the sheet of flashing on it. After cutting the shutter blades, you just peel it off the MDF backer. I used an 1/8" 2 flute upcut aluminum bit.

I used a 3/8" Nylon rod for Amazon, cut into 12 – 1/2" pieces. Those little 1/2" pieces need to be counter-sunk and drilled. These pins need to be attached to the aluminum shutter blades with a flat head screw. It is very important that the screw head is flush with the shutter blade, if the screw head protrudes it will interfere with the operation of the iris.

Attach the left side of each shutter to the circular wood frame with the 12 counter-sunk holes. Then place the slotted wood frame over the shutter blades so that each pin lines up into a slot. Then place the last frame on top. You will need 3 – 3/8" spacers approximately 5/8" long with a screw to adjoin the front and rear frame.