A dollhouse is a cherished plaything for numerous children, and one can never have too many accessories to accompany it. A picket fence panel serves as an enjoyable means to expand the play area of any dollhouse. With an xTool laser engraver, you can customize the size of this panel or produce as many as required.
The first step in the is project was to import a simple fence design. If you are using your own design file you can follow along with the steps I took to set up your own. After importing the design, use the image trace tool to create a vector around the shape.
Since we will be using 1/8 inch basswood as our material, I thought it would be good to create stands to hold the fence upright. These little stands will have a cutout that will slip in between two boards on the fence. To create the stand let's insert a simple rectangle and place it beside the fence.
We will first insert another small rectangle to subtract our cutout. Since we are using 1/8 inch material we will want this rectangle to be .125 inches wide. The height is not important since we will only use part of it to subtract from the rectangle.
In this step I also inserted another small rectangle to create a taper on each side of the stand. Start with one side and rotate the rectangle. We will subtract this shape from the larger rectangle to get taper, but first let's copy it.
Select the copy you just made and then select the Mirror tool. You want to mirror the rectangle across the x or horizontal axis. This will give us the exact reflection of the same angle. Now move the rectangle into position on the other side of the support..
Now we need to subtract the overlapping rectangles to get our final shape of the stand. Once complete, copy the stand since one panel will require two supports.
Since all parts are to be cut out, apply the cut setting to each part. I am using the d1 with a 5W laser, so you may need to adjust the settings for your laser.
No we can run the job on our laser machine. Be sure to follow al the safety guidelines that come with your laser. Always wear personal protective equipment such as glasses when the laser is in operation.
Since this is for a doll house, we thought it would be nice to be painted white. With small parts like this, spray paint is usually the best option for even coverage.