Menorah

This project was completed entirely in XCS. As such, the file is set in an XCS format and if you want to use another (Lightburn) you will have to go into XCS and save as SVG and port it over. 

There are two colors in the file. Red is cut and Yellow is Score.

The settings provided are for ¼" Birch wood from Smokey Hill Designs cut using the P2. Should you use a different wood, supplier, and/or machine, you may need to adjust your settings. Run test cuts on a piece of scrap to find out your settings. 

There is plenty of blank space on the stand and each branch should you decide to decorate it with engravings. If you do, please share as a remix so we can check out what you have done.

I used Starbond Thick Adhesive and 2P10 Activator spray for this but any standard glue/superglue would work. If using standard wood glue, be prepared for the assembly to take longer as you wait for it to set and dry.

If using acrylic for this project, be aware that standard glues/superglues will not work and you will want to use Weldon 4 adhesive. 

There are two settings. Cut and Score. This file was created on one canvas with the intention of using a single board. You may need to adjust to accomodate your material. 

When your cuts are completed, lay them out to ensure you have all your pieces. You should have a total of 22 pieces - main part with 7 arms, the cross piece, 7 small cross pieces, 7 bases with scored line and cross cutout, and 7 circles.

Dry fit everything to ensure a good fit.

Run a bead of glue along one side of a circle cutout. Line this up with the score line on the circle base. Press down firmly. If you have any squeeze out along the edges, you can opt to clean it away. Use activator to set the glue in place and speed along the drying. (If using superglue/2p10 glue/starbond adhesive). You should have 7 bases with a cutout circle attached once completed.

Lay the largest piece flat and run a bead of glue up the center from the top of the bottom cutout to the bottom of the top cutout (See pic) So the same to the cross piece. Just put glue on one side, not both.
Slide the two pieces together and once they are fit, spray activator to set the glue. This will give you a temporary hold while you run glue along the joint where the two pieces meet. Do this on all four sides, spraying activator to set it before proceeding to the next joint.

Take one of the small cross pieces and run glue along its arms as shown in the picture. Gently slide it in the top cutout of the base. This will seat into the cutout of the cross piece. Be sure it is straight.

Place a cross piece on each of the other cutouts at the end of each branch. Do not glue these in at this time. That will be done at the end of the next step.

Run a bead of glue along each arm of the cross pieces at the end of each branch (See photo). Slide a base ontop, locking the tabs into the cutout holes in the bottom of each base. Use activator spray to set the glue. Do this for each of the branches.

Once you have them all set, lean the menorah to one side and run a bead of glue along the joint where the smaller cross pieces meet the base. Use activator spray to set the glue before proceeding to the next.

This is very important to note and thus bears repeating. While you can use real tea lights for this, you will want to be sure to stay in attendance with it. For safety reasons, use battery operated tea lights if you are not going to be standing with the menorah after lighting.
This project was designed on request for a friend. He wanted something that he could glue small items too such as a Star of David. You could engrave such items directly on the base and/or branches if you so desired. Thus the thicker arms and wide base.