Charlie Kirkham

This was an extremely fun experiment in how to achieve a caramel finish on CNC cut wood.

You will need:

• sheet of wood (think ash, oak, ply, anything that does not contain composite plastic)
• CNC cutter
• SVG ready design
• small blowtorch
• washing up liquid
• access to water
• flame proof mat/ floor

How to:

• Choose a wood that can be CNC cut and will scorch well, for this I used ash plywood (5mm thick)
• Position your SVG design, set up the CNC machine and cut. I chose a depth of 1.5mm for this piece
• Wash off (if needed) and allow to dry thoroughly
• Prepare a heat & flame proof area to scorch in. I use a heat proof mat in concrete floor

• Get a blow torch ready, my go to is a small culinary blowtorch I purchased to get bubbles out of epoxy resin
• Make sure the blowtorch has gas. Turn it on to the side of the piece to avoid the intense circle (or go for it if you like it!)
• Evenly wave the blow torch over the wood until it turns dark.
• Allow to cool off then wash off carbon using gentle detergent.
• Dry and admire

Let me know how you get on with the process! I love to hear from you.

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REFERENCE LINKS

STEAMhouse CNC Production Space STEAMhouse – Welcome to our innovation centre in Birmingham!

I purchased my wood from here Plywood – Laser Grade – Kitronik Ltd

Beam Studio for SVG files Beam Studio – FLUX | Bring Your Designs to Life (flux3dp.com)

Taylor & Brown culinary blow torch (I used this but there are many options out there) https://www.amazon.co.uk/

Heat Proof Mat – mine I got from the Range many years back so there’s no longer a link to it. When I work with the blowtorch or heat I use a heat mat on top of a bare concrete floor to be extra careful.

Images from Canva.com