To begin this CNC project, I chose a cute squirrel file on thenounproject.com.

At first, I wanted to make a circle around the squirrel like a coaster but the squirrel would’ve been really small so I just decided to do the squirrel by itself. I needed to make the squirrel 2.8×3.1 because part of the tail would cut off.

I began by clamping my wood, then calibrating the machine, then loading the file and running. I used the Nomad3 and had no issues.

The squirrels looked like this immediately out of the CNC. So cute already! They came our very nice, just needed some sanding.

I took these babies outside and sanded them real good. I used 120, then 220, then 400 grits. It was hard to get in the small nooks on the sides and on the belly.

After sanding I decided why not stain them? I started with painting “golden oak” all over one of the squirrels and let that sit for 5 minutes before wiping off. For the 2nd squirrel I used the darker wood stain (on the left) but I only put it on the outside of the squirrel, not in the belly or tail. I lovedddd this look so much more than the previous version… so I got the white stain and covered the 1st squirrels belly and tail in it. Then I wiped it off and put the darker stain on the outside of the 1st squirrel.

This is what they looked like after. So cute!

I love squirrels <3

I wish I wouldn’t have messed up the first squirrel but it still looks cute. I like that they’re different.

Last used workspace:

Cost Estimate:

• (x2) 5″x3″x1″ slabs of wood: ~$1.37 (home depot. 1x5x6ft @ $8.24)
• tried and true golden oak stain $35 (amazon)
• varathane english chestnut stain $13
• sponge brush $0.97
• labor 10hrs @ $15/hr = $150

total: $200.34