Ninja Vs. Zombie Shadow Cast

A few weeks ago I saw a laser cut zombie shadow cast in the Makers Market and thought to myself that it was okay, but it was missing a certain something. What could it be? Was it source files perhaps? Well... yes, but... no... that wasn't quite it. There was just something about it not sitting right.

This existential absence gnawed at my brrrrraiiinnnnsssss and left me cold. That is, until it finally hit me like a shuriken. The original shadow cast was missing totally awesome ninjas. I corrected this problem and then wailed on my guitar.

If you happen to have access to a laser cutter, a friend with access to a laser cutter or internet access and a credit card (ahem... ponoko.com), then you can make your own today!

You will need:

The attached source file
6" x 20" sheet of 1/4" plywood
A laser cutter
Wood Glue
Clamps
Wood stain
A paintbrush

Load the source file and cut out the pieces with your laser cutter.

I happened to be using an awesome 75W Epilog laser cutter with the following settings:

Power: 80
Speed: 7
Frequency: 1,000

Apply an even layer of glue on the back side of the U-shaped piece with the hole in it.

Evenly sandwich that piece together with the solid U-Shaped piece and clamp them until dry (roughly 30 minutes).

Remove the clamps and apply glue evenly along the short flat edge of the new composite U-shaped piece (this is the edge opposite the curve). Clamp this at a right angle with the "Ninja vs Zombie" cutout.

Apply a coat or two of stain and let dry. Although they claim the stain dries within 24 hours, it was a few days before the stain stopped being tacky. If you are concerned about protecting the wood from ware, you can apply a coat of urethane.

Turn off the lights, place a candle in the holder and light it up.