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balance_board [2016/12/15 11:23] (current)
66.190.155.97 created
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 +I built this balance board for my 6 year old son after he saw one at LEAF (for $140...).  ​
  
 +{{:​balance_board.jpg?​300|}}{{:​balance_board_2.jpg?​300|}}
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 +The board is about 40" long, so too big to cut with the CNC.  Instead, I used the laser cutter to cut a template of half the board in cardboard, and then traced this onto the board twice to get a full profile. ​ I cut just outside of the trace with a jigsaw, and then sanded away the excess material down to the line using a hand held belt sander with the board in a vise.  This allowed me to get the shape very accurate with smooth edges. ​ Finally, I used a small router table to round over the corners on the sides.
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 +I taped over the center of the board and used the laser cutter to cut a small oval in the tape and engrave the cheetah. ​ I then peeled away the tape around the outside of the oval and remasked the area where the cheetah had been engraved and spray painted the board black. ​ On the reverse side, I used the same approach for the oval, but I also cut out the letters of his name and peeled them away do when I spray painted that side black, his name was painted at the same time..
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 +Finally, I painted the lightning bolts using a template I cut in cardboard on the laser cutter. ​ They didn't come out as clean as I would have liked, and if I were doing it again, I would use the same approach that I used for the cheetah and his name (i.e. mask the area, cut out the shape with the laser cutter, peel the tape from the inside, and then spray paint it).
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 +The roller is just 4" PVC. I spray painted it black as well and glued two strips of vinyl around it to improve traction. ​ The pipe has a circular support in the middle as well as support on each end from wooden pieces cut out on the CNC mill.  The caps were also spray painted black and a laser cut template was used for the spirals.
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 +The pictures don't do it justice - it really looks good!
balance_board.txt ยท Last modified: 2016/12/15 11:23 by 66.190.155.97