Mid-Century Modern Styled Laser Cut Pendant Light Fixture

Lighting is the jewelry of decor so why not make it all it can be, right? And, it doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg either, especially if you DIY it.

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Years ago I had installed a fixture in my office space out of necessity and while it worked, and still worked, it was time to up the ante on the design. Staring at the Mid-Century cabin papers I adhered to the wall, I decided to create something to complement them.

I generously received an Acmer P3 48w Diode Dual Laser Cutting and Engraving Machine which tremendously opened up my world to all sorts of new possibilities. Let's have some fun and custom design a new light fixture!

I will readily admit, as I've never used such a fancy machine before nor am I super technical, it was a learning curve but I very much like to learn. That's the whole point of life, right? But point ultimately being, you don't have to be technical to use this.

Extra details, tips, and tricks about this nifty project can be found in my blog post here.

My supply list for this project is surprisingly minimal, some of which I already had on hand:

1/4" birch plywood for the structure pieces

1/8" plywood for the body pieces

wood conditioner

Gunstock stain

embroidery floss

super glue

Krylon Matte Finish spray

pendant light kit

Acmer P3 48w Diode Dual Laser Machine

my laptop with: AutoCAD, Inkscape, LaserGRBL

All told, my expenses were about $46 for this project.

First step was designing the fixture which I did in AutoCAD as it's my go-to for things like this. Zero 3D skills under my belt but that's no problem. Substitutes for this? Draw it by hand to figure your parts then use software like Inkscape, Canva, PhotoShop, Illustrator, or any drawing software you feel comfortable with.

I exported from AutoCAD to PDF then imported the files into Inkscape and saved them as plain SVG. I imported those files into LaserGRBL and I was off to the races.

The Acmer laser machine was unbelievably easy to assemble. Just plug and play. Seriously, I couldn't believe how easy it was to assemble.

This is the exact machine I had wished for when I made my foyer light fixture.

I admit again, there was a learning curve here for me as I'm not a technical person but ultimately it's plug, press go, and watch it (with the included eye protection) quietly run. The machine is fast too, my parts only took a few minutes to cut.

With everything cut, it was time to stain and seal all the parts. If you go with the 1/8" plywood Home Depot carries, wood conditioner is your friend. Do that first then stain the parts. With everything dry, seal them up which I did with a light coat of the Krylon Matte Finish spray.

Here's where I added some extra design oopmf. I wanted to stretch the machine precision and wow, it's accurate. I designed these thin ovals with tiny tiny holes to go between the wings at the fixture's curves. I then stitched embroidery floss though for a bump of color and visual impact. A tiny drop of super glue secured the cut ends and knots.

Nice, right? Thinking of making earrings out of the extra ovals. Anyway.....back to the fixture.

I had designed this in such a way as to not need fasteners nor glue. The wings slotted into the notches snugly and securely. Be sure to leave a few wings off in order to install the fixture later.

Ok, I did forget to design a glue-free to attach the ovals on the ends so there I used super glue again. Fast and easy solution.

Time to install this beauty! Changing a light fixture is not complicated but if you've never wired a fixture before, it's best to have a pro to do that.

I sleeved the fixture onto the pendant kit which I specifically chose as it had a screw on piece over the socket that would connect my fixture tightly to it.

Once attached, I tightened in my Edison bulb and slid on the remaining wing pieces.

Last step? Enjoy your new fixture! Holy cow, this light turned out incredibly cool and I just love it. I hope you love it too! It's really a shockingly easy project that anyone can create.

If you now need an Acmer too, visit their website here or shop on Amazon. Come by the blog post for a 30% off code on Amazon.

The machine is fun, the fixture is fun, and my dreams of an amazing light fixture for my office have come true. Now onto all sorts of other cool projects!

Be sure to swing on by my site, Flipping the Flip for lots of great DIY projects! You can subscribe through this link to be first in the know.