8-Bit Heart Light

You’ll first want to measure the thickness of your chosen wood and make sure the project settings match what you are using. You can choose any 3/4" wood you like for this (walnut would look great!), but in this example we’re using some simple poplar.

Clamp down your work piece securely and then run through the guided carve prompts in easel, making sure all settings match your dimensions and chosen material. Once the carve is completed, set those parts aside (they should still be attached by the support tabs).

Measure your acrylic sheet and make sure it matches the project settings. Clamp down the acrylic carefully. You may wish to carve each heart individually with clamps close to the work area to avoid the sheet lifting up in areas more than a few inches away from the clamps. This can cause chattering which could result in poor edges or a failed carve. Another option is to use double-sided tape to secure the acrylic sheet. If using tape, ensure that you have sufficient unmarred surface area on your waste board for to allow for strong adhesion.

Saw off the tabs off of all work pieces and begin sanding down the edges. The acrylic pieces will not fit into the recessed channels for them without some sanding – check the fitment after every few passes to make sure you end up with a nice, tight fitment. If your fitment is tight enough, you should not need any adhesive. But it couldn’t hurt.

The most difficult part of the process is securing your LED strip. Start with the side of the strip that meets the cable. Remove the adhesive backing then place the cable inside the channel at the bottom of the heart. Move around the inside of the heart, pressing the LED strip against the edge, being careful to make as much surface contact as possible. You may need to add a small bit of glue underneath the strip if the strip is not sticking firmly. You don’t want the it to fall out of place, because we’re about to glue everything up.

Making sure that your cable is coming through the channel at the bottom of the heart, glue up the heart with wood glue and clamp. Once dried, make a 90 degree bend in the cable at the base of the heart, pointing it backwards out the back of the channel. Add a small bit of wood glue to the base of the heart and then press it firmly into the channel in the upper piece of the stand. Attach to the lower piece of the stand.

Done!