Valentine's heart boxes

This project works best with 1/2" stock material, otherwise the box ends up awkwardly thick. Soft maple would work terrific for this. Poplar also worked great.

The first part you will carve is the workpiece noted as "stage 1 carve V-bit" on the Easel file. If you do not need that many hearts simple delete or cover them. This carve utilizes a 60 degree V-bit and will carve the inner part of the bottom section of the box. 

Each heart takes approximately 12 minutes to carve.

Estimated time: 20 minutes

Switch to the Stage 2 cut on your Easel screen and replace the bit with a 1/8" straight bit. It is essential that you do not move the machine out of its home position. It will need to start in the same spot in order to cut the hearts out. The hearts will be held in place with two tabs which you will have to cut later. 

The top of the heart boxes is cut using a single bit. Switch to the Stage 3 workpiece in Easel. You will need a new board, also 1/2" thick. The 1/8" bit stays the same. This heart is sized to fit the bottom half but not be so snug that kids cannot get them apart. Again, each heart takes approximately 12 minutes to cut.

The nice thing about this carve is that you can buff these with a hand sander and pretty well be done with the project straight off of the X-Carve. Alternately, you can finish these with dye, stain, or paint. For more information on how we finished these, as well as how we used them, check out https://thecreatedhome.com/valentines-heart…s-on-the-x-carve/

Estimated time: 5 minutes