That's right! We've made the Wikipedia puzzle globe in 3D! No glasses required.
We started out with a 3D model, manipulating the globe in
Blender to be flattened so it could hang against a wall.
After creating a satisfactory version, we "sliced" the model in our
CAM software, and set up the job to be cut on our CNC machine,
Frank.
Using
Trupan, a certified sustainably harvested fiber board that is very soft and mills well, we first made a prototype. Always, always first make a prototype.
Here at BWC, we only use certified sustainably harvested woods, as we want to ensure there will be those far in the future making wonderfully ridiculous things, like this.
As you can see from the prototype, the globe was milled on the machine in horizontal slices, then built up into it's final shape.
We created the globe to have two removable puzzle pieces. You can see one here in the final large version...
At this point the globe has been glued up and sanded down. Next, many repetitions of primer, sealing and sanding occurred, which eventually gave us this:
A smooth surface, with the letters and the puzzle piece lines well formed.
A full day and a half of hand painting was next up. We wanted the globe to have a very rich, tactile look to it. Hand painting is the only way.
The letters and puzzle lines were painted in with meticulous care.
The final globe has two removable puzzle pieces, and is coated with a waterborne lacquer to protect it from greasy finger prints.
(We only use water based and water borne finishes here at Because We Can)
And now for a quick demonstration:
The Wikipedia Globe in 3D, brought to you by Because We Can, LLC!
A quote picked by the bride & groom welcomes the wedding guests and sets the tone.
Sometimes it's the little things...
A white board on one side, and a pin board and sound wall on the other. Covered in a fun decorative thatch, on red and white locking swivel wheels.
The base of the Rolling white board is at an angle such that one can arrange these in any number of configurations up to a 90 degree turn.
And the tray for markers and erasers is functional, and filled with cool wood joinery details.
The thatch on either side is sprayed with a on-toxic fire retardant, to help prevent the wrath of the Fire Marshall gods...
These can be used as partitions between desks, or just as rolling white boards within the office.
This is the first round of Tiki-themed elements, there is much more to come!
And a desk for the other side with post legs:
The edges made of layered, high end 
We had a few design challenges to solve with this particular stage design. The actual platform that everyone would be standing on was rented. So we did not want to attach our stage to it, not wanting to put any damaging holes in the rented part, and also not knowing exactly what this rented part was going to look like until we showed up on site, the day before the wedding.
The second challenge was location. The ceremony was out in the middle of a field in Northern California, so everything had to be brought out there in parts, and then assembled.
We wanted to make the assembly as fool proof and easy as possible.
Finally, the middle of a field in Northern California can get a bit windy. The stage assembly had to be set up the day before the wedding, staying out in the field over night.
We needed to make sure everything would still be standing the next morning, no matter the weather.
And so the construction began.
We basically made the stage out of big sturdy boxes that bolted together.
Two people easily assembled and lifted the stage backer into place.
And our sturdy back stage structure was created.
The sides of the stage were then staked into the ground, so it would stay standing through the windy night.
The decorative elements then clipped to the front. Hiding the back structure.
A few screws were put in to make sure nothing moved.
And the stage was up in no time.
A beautiful backdrop for a fairy tale wedding!
Now it is open for business again... and looks like this!
It is much brighter and more inviting now with the addition of some paint and mirrors.
Sections of the walls were given a fun wall paper, and in this back corner we added some long upholstered bench seats and cocktail tables.
The seats have a decorative pattern along the bottom...
And the tables have a multi colored resin float top, showing off designs and text...
We made a few other elements for the bar, such as table tops, drawer fronts and decorative molding.
It's a cute little bar, and was a fun project!
