Laser Cut Wii Base

We've had a Wii for many years now, and the stand got lost a long time ago. We've had to lay the Wii sideways and it taks up a lot more table space. I thought I would measure the Wii and laser cut a replacement stand. The stand is my own design, but I do not own the rights to the Wii or to the idea for a stand (since nintendo makes its own Wii stand that comes with the Wii).

Required tools:

Clamps

CNC laser cutter

Required materials:

.125" x 8" x 12" plywood

Wood glue

Files:

This tutorial assumes you have access to and operator's knowledge of a CNC lasercutter. As each machine's software and interface are drastically different, I'll have to assume that you know how to operate the laser cutter you will be using. The laser I used accepts illustrator files, which is why I uploaded the design as an .ai file. However, I also uploaded the .pdf for people who use a different software. Open the .pdf file in your laser's software, as pdf's are very standard file types and should be accepted by your laser's software.

Side note: On the other hand, if you are really good with a scroll saw, you can potentially print out the pdf file, make sure its to scale, and glue it to a sheet of .125" plywood. Then, you would cut out the shapes of the pieces using your scroll saw. This method is much more difficult and less precise though, and I will not be covering it in this tutorial.

Back on track, go ahead and cut out the provided file using your laser cutter. After the pieces are cut out, collect them and bring them over to a work table along with some wood glue and clamps.

Grab the center piece and a side piece to start off. Apply some wood glue in between each hole on the side piece (see photo 2). Next, line up all the fingers on the center piece and slide them into the holes on the side piece, gluing them together. Next, do that very same procedure with the slanted piece on the back. Follow this with the front and rear pieces, also gluing them.

After this is done, all that is left is to glue on the last side piece. It can be a little tricky since you have a lot of pieces to line up. Just be patient and line each piece up, and then slide on the last side piece. Don't forget to apply wood glue to the last side piece too so that everything is glued together.

After all the pieces are glued together, put some clamps on to hold it in place while it dries. This may cause some excess wood glue to squeeze out. If this happens, grab a napkin or paper towel and wipe off the extra wood glue to prevent beads of dried glue from marring your final model. After that, set the stand aside for about 24 hours for the wood glue to fully cure. After the glue dries, put in your Wii and enjoy. You can also add images or text in your graphics editting program to raster onto the sides of the stand if you wish to personalize it.

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial! If you have any questions or ideas for similar projects you would like to see, feel free to comment.