WoodMarvels Blog

Mobile Crane Update: DXF and EPS now available!

Jon — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:58:30 +0000

Thanks to Stephane who gave two great testimonials, one about our free mobile crane build and the other update in which he added pincers to the mobile crane, the file he used to make it (with pincers) is now available on WoodMarvels.com in DXF format. You can now cut the exact same model as him, using your own router! I’ve also taken the liberty of re-adding the EPS file of the same model to the site which I took off because [...]

Project Update: Opportunity Mars Rover

Jon — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 08:16:17 +0000

It’s been a while since I posted an update on my WoodMarvels.com Opportunity Mars Rover project so now is a good time. After several days of computer problems over the past few days, here is an updated screen shot of this upcoming model. Why design a Wooden Mars Rover in the first place? I began this project to both challenge myself mentally as to what was truly possible using only 2D plywood pieces and, most importantly, to learn more about engineering. I [...]

Testimonial: Stephan’s Full Armor Gear Transporter (Switzerland)

Jon — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:26:48 +0000

About a week ago, I got a testimonial from Stephane who completed our free Mobile Crane and now he has sent me one for the Full Armor Gear Transporter! What’s even cooler is that he created a really attractive and neat pincer for the Mobile Crane which you can see in the pictures as well (more on that later). Here’s the testimonial! ————————— Hi Jon, The crane (another of the first) will be modified with a self made design of pincer (10 pieces [...]

Testimonial: Matthew’s Medieval Castle Walls B (USA)

Jon — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 06:14:52 +0000

I got a testimonial from Matthew who ordered both the WoodMarvels.com free Medieval Castle Walls and the EPS file for the Medieval Castle Walls B – using both he created a model that was made uniquely for his child. Below are the pictures and testimonial. This testimonial made me especially proud because a child had a very unique toy built by his father using designs I made… which meant a lot! ——————— (I blurred the kid’s faces in the pictures) Hi Jon, Well the [...]

WoodMarvels.com on Youku.com!

Jon — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:18:59 +0000

Just a short note that I’ve joined the Chinese video site Youku.com which is among the most popular video sites in China. If you aren’t familiar with it, think of it as YouTube but in Chinese. http://u.youku.com/i3ds I’ve also begun uploading videos to Zoopy.com, at first they chucked all my videos out because they considered it advertising but after an e-mail conversation, they have re-instated my account, welcoming me on board! http://www.zoopy.com/i3ds Neither of these sites count towards my monthly views but after another [...]

Home Gym Exerciser: Devolution

Jon — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 02:41:11 +0000

For as long as I can remember, I wanted to show how I designed the stuff you see on WoodMarvels.com. From taking screen shots to videos of the whole design process… nothing seemed to work for me. Although designing to me is fun, I’m sure to the outside observer, it’s a rather dull and illogical process – especially when you consider I do everything straight from my head without any sketches or plan (though I use to when I first [...]

Testimonial: Stephane from Switzerland

Jon — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 02:33:43 +0000

If you look a little on the WoodMarvels.com, you will find that there are a few PDF blueprints that are free – not just my first version of my Medieval Castle Walls. I got an order about a week ago from Stephane which included one such free model, the first version of my Mobile Crane and Stephane was kind enough to send me pictures of the completed model along with a great testimonial of how it went. —————— Sorry for my English… I [...]

WoodMarvels.com January 2010 Review

Jon — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 10:46:36 +0000

Well, it’s been yet another month already… time sure goes fast! The month of January is the month my company, WoodMarvels.com, hit yet another milestone… 20 000 3D assembly animation video views in one month. Considering I no longer have access to view the stats on a few other video services due to my current location within China the number is actually much higher! So, what happened this month? I got muzzled (and left) on a woodworking forum because I has the [...]

Amazing $44K wooden car!

Jon — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 03:38:13 +0000

I was reading a few blog posts when I came upon this amazing car, the outer shell is all made of wood and it looks amazing! Even better… you can actually buy one, though I’m unsure what the local sheriff in town would say regarding road worthiness. The car is designed and manufactured by Sada-Kenbi out of Japan and they call this the “Wooden SuperCar Maniwa” which to me sounds like a very apt name for this creation. Here are some amazing [...]

Home Gym Exerciser: New Product Release

Jon — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:25:44 +0000

I like trying new things out of the blue and this is a project that I just began on for fun once the Baliste Siege Weapon was completed and after a few days and a week of rendering… had very cool results! I have been exercising since I was a teenager… I love going to the gym and when I was in Canada, my own home gym. Something about eating well and lifting heavy weights just feels natural to me so [...]

Wooden Mars Rovers: Wooden Caster Wheels

Jon — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 07:01:23 +0000

While I’m waiting for my latest project to finish rendering, which will be sometime tomorrow – I began working on a very complicated model that I’m sure will be by far the most complex things I’ve designed so far. A wooden version of the Spirit / Opportunity Rovers currently residing on Mars. As my only material is wood (by choice) and all my parts must be cut out of 2D – I think this is a great opportunity to really challenge [...]

Baliste Siege Weapon: New Product Launch

Jon — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 05:58:54 +0000

I’m happy to announce the released of the WoodMarvels Baliste Siege Weapon, I think out of all the siege weapons I’ve designed, this is by far the most powerful as the elastic band is stretched out by a lot from the start and more can easily be added. This Baliste also borrows very heavily from the design I made for the Mangonel but I can better appreciate the design process now that I’ve made one myself as to what people though [...]

R. Wallace Straddle Carrier B Testimonial

Jon — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 12:29:46 +0000

Here’s is a testimonial regarding a physical laser cut kit ordered just before Christmas: I have finished making the straddle carrier – it was great fun and went very well. As your website says it assembles pretty easily and the finished product is amazing considering it comes out of one piece of plywood. I am very impressed with the concept. I will show it to a few people and see if I can come up with some more orders [...]

Optimizing EPS files to other board sizes

Jon — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 15:14:57 +0000

As you may have noticed, I’ve optimized the EPS files on this site to generally fit either 18.4cm square, 38.4cm square or 38.4cmx 79cm. The main reason for this is because our laser cutting supplier, Ponoko, uses these sizes. I do of course realize that other laser cutters have different board sizes, so if you wish to have something optimized at a different size, 50cm x 50cm for instance – the easiest thing to do is to ask me to do [...]

I made that? Wow!

Jon — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:49:20 +0000

I’m filling in an application form for a very special program I’m hoping to get myself into and part of the process is submitting some of my past work. In all honesty, I rarely go back and view the work I have done as no matter how much I did in the past, the queue in my mind looking forward is just as endless. I remember a comment on the forum that didn’t like me “advertising” a few days ago that [...]

New WoodMarvels Blog Design

Jon — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 08:31:02 +0000

I’ve decided to update the design of the WoodMarvels Blog, one because the old one would cut half an inch off the videos I posted here and more importantly… change is good I think I want to get away from “wood” looking designs and more into “light” (meaning prism/laser) multi-colored ones as my stuff is focused mostly on lasers to begin with and rainbows are more colorful than oak The main WoodMarvels.com site is due for a [...]

Naming mistake: Onager VS Mangonel

Jon — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 07:26:54 +0000

I just realized that I made a slight mistake in my naming conventions regarding my Onager series of siege weapons. I’ve research the topic in a little more detail and from what I can see, an Onager uses a sling approach with a hanging “sack” of stuff at the end of a long pole while the Mangonel uses a static rod that looks like a big spoon to project materials, so what I was really designing were Mangonels, not Onagers. What [...]

Onager B Siege Weapon: New Product Launch

Jon — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 05:34:47 +0000

I’m happy to announce the release of a far more powerful and stronger Onager Siege Weapon, version B! After I completed work on the first version of my Onager, I immediately wanted to make one that was more capable in every way, from customizing the power of the catapult for the material about to be thrown to the general look being far more rugged. Oddly enough, now that I’ve made two of these, I have even more ideas on how [...]

January 1st: Pissing-off the old guard and getting censored

Jon — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 15:49:15 +0000

I think I’m really starting to itch some people in the wood industry the wrong way… and I’m happy about it! Background A few days ago I got a Google Alert that somebody thought my designs here at WoodMarvels.com were cool so I clicked on the link and more than half of the comments after the forum post were negative! They where saying things that were not even true such as my site charging 15$ for digital downloads, my designs didn’t work [...]

WoodMarvels 2009 Year in Review

Jon — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 02:13:15 +0000

Believe it or not, I started WoodMarvels a little over two years ago but wow has it changed and grown! I’m very proud at what I’ve managed to do in such a short amount of time, I use to be happy when I’d get an order once a week but now, I get them daily. Traffic is up and even better… my ability to design has shot-up dramatically though with the associated rendering slowdown as things got more involved. So, what [...]