Template Issues
The expense of laser cutting the 10mm acrylic is phenomenal. There is just no way I can pay the $471 GST that Inspace are quoting for laser cutting the acrylic to a pattern presently, and my other laser cutting contact could not do the job. The acrylic is useful as the pieces created (positive and negative) can be reused to create different patterns.
My contingencies were to either simplify the pattern and cut the acrylic myself using my bandsaw or router, or make 10mm thick pieces of wax and cut those with the bandsaw.
I recreated a simple pattern for the acrylic and started cutting in on the bandsaw but broke the blade. I tried using my jigsaw but it was laborious and angles were awkward. I then tried the router. This was a bit quicker, but the router melted the acrylic as it cut, and it was very messy and wasteful. The process and plastic waste made me regret using the acrylic as it is somewhat opposed to what I want to be doing with eco-friendly materials. I need to revert back to using wax templates; however, I have not been able to pour a large, thick, flat sheet of it to carve out as the wax warps as it sets. This is something I want to figure out and resolve.
I persisted with the acrylic and got some random shapes cut. Using the router, I could not see the lines I had drawn so the pieces were just organic shapes that resulted from the process.
Below are images of creating the acrylic shapes, setting the shapes into the water reservoirs in the loom, a view of the reflection of the underside of the table, and the table with the mirror.