Teacher's Apple Pen and Pencil Cup
Instruction
Information
An apple shaped pen and pencil cup made with the teachers name on the front facing the class and a photo frame on the back to allow for a small photo to be added. This was made on a whim and turned out really great.
Included with this project:
XCS Plans
SVG Plans
Complete instructions
Included in the plans are guides to help assembly of the cup and keep it aligned.
Instruction
Step1: Before you begin
This is an easy project and it is made even easier by the inclusion of a four level guide that will help assemble the interior of the cup and keep all the pieces alligned properly.
I used 1/8" birch but this could very easily be made with a thicker wood to allow for a wider cup that would be more robust and heavier.
The settings included in this file are for the P2 using Birch Plywood at 1/8" thickness. If using a different machine and/or material, you will want to adjust your settings accordingly.
There are two colors in the plans. Red are cut lines and yellow are score lines.
Step2: Cut your parts out
Cut out your parts and lay them out to ensure you have all you need. There should be:
4x Square guides
1x Frame
1x Frame back
2x Apple Sides
1x Small Apple Side
1x Scored Small Apple Side
8x Center pieces
letters for the name that will be included on the front.
Step3: Assemble the Guide
The picture attached to this step shows you the edge of the guide. You want to stack all four pieces and ensure that each one is perfectly aligned on all sides and the middle. If you use the starbond or other thick adhesive like Starbond, you have a little work time and can adjust it as needed. I did this assembly by putting two pieces together and then the other two pieces and then when the glue had dried, I attached them together.
The good thing about having a guide like this is that if you make more than one of these, you only need to cut out the guide one time as it will be useable in future crafts of this project.
Step4: Assemble the Cup part
Take the interior pieces and, using the guide, glue up four at a time. Be careful as any bleed out of the glue could cause these pieces to adhere to the guide. Move quickly and once all four pieces are glued together, pop the guide off and use for another four pieces. Once you have two sets of 4 glued together, Use the guide again by putting something under all four corners to raise it off your table and drop in the first four and then add the other 4 on top with glue in between.
TIP: When glueing the pieces of the cup together, run a single strip of glue down just the sides as close to the center as possible. After all 8 pieces are glued together, run some glue along the edges and smooth it out to coat the entire outside. Use a silicone brush to help push it into the edges. When this is dried, you can sand it off before painting. This will help to ensure everything has a good amount of glue to hold it together. Further more, you could also liberally apply glue to the interior part. Since this part is not as prominently noticeable, you will not need to sand the glue away. Just make sure there are no large lumps of dried glue that could hinder the cups useage.
Step5: Add the sides
There are four sides, two large and two that are slightly smaller. One of the smaller ones will have a scored rectangle on it.
Take the two larger ones and carefully glue it to one side of the stack that you just made. In the pictures, I am demonstrating this on a stack of two pieces for informational purposes.
Once you have both large sides glued on, take one of the smaller sides and glue it so that it is as centered as possible to the larger side. Make sure that the scored rectangle is facing out. This will leave a slight lip all the way around on both sides.
Step6: Assemble the Frame
The frame is straight forward in assembly. Take the cut out rectangle and run a thin strip of glue along 3 sides right at the outer edge. Add the U shaped piece on top of that glue and let dry.
Step7: Prep and Paint
I took pictures of the painting process but cannot seem to find them now… except for the one attached.
Before painting your apple, be sure to sand any imperfections or overburns away. I actually sanded the entire edge all the way around to get rid of the burned edges.
Put a light coat of red spray paint on either side and allow to fully dry. Sand it and then apply a second coat. I recommend using 220 sand paper and sand lightly.
For the frame and letters, Take a strip of tape and lay it sticky side up. Put the letters to the tape and the frame on one end. This will help to keep the letters and frame from flying everywhere when spray painting them. To help even more, tape down either end of the tape to the table.
Put a light coat of spray paint on and allow to dry. Follow this with a second light coat.
Step8: Add the Frame and Letters
When glueing the frame down, make sure the U shaped side is facing in towards the apple. This will allow a gap where a photo can be inserted.
For the letters, since the are small, use just a single drop of glue at the thickest point of each letter to adhere it.
TIP 1: Before glueing the letters on, lay them out on the apple so that you can be sure of their placement and then glue down one letter at a time.
TIP 2: To make adding the letters easier, you may want to consider using a double sided adhesive on them like 3m or dualtite. If you go this route, you will want to add the adhesive prior to cutting out the letters.
Step9: What do you think?
I am genuinely interested in what you think of this. I hope you like it and it would help a lot if you support me by liking this plan and posting a comment if you have one. Post a picture as well to let me know how it looks for you.
If you have a teacher in your friends or family network, you may also like the Loaner Pencil Box plan I made. Check it out here:
https://www.atomm.com/template/61476?utm_source=Social_Share
If you like this plan, you can check out my other plans (some free and some premium) at:
