I created this project to test my new CNC Construction Set machine. It’s a simple advent calendar made from wood. It can also be used as a perpetual calendar, or even used as a training aid for teaching.

I will take you through my build process, but will supply all the drawing files so you can build it your way.

I started with two panels, both 12” wide by 17” tall. These were cut from solid pine panels that I purchased from Home Depot. These panels come in various widths and heights and are .0656” thick. Most locations will even cut these for you.

I glued the two panels together. I used some heavy scrap metal to weight them down while the glued dried.

I used Vcarve Pro to create all my CAM files. I have included the Vcarve CRV files.

The first thing I did was used a 1/4” end mill to cut the advent gift holes and the main hanging hole.

I then used a 1/2” end mill to make the small holes used to install the brass pegs.

I then used a 1/8”, 30 degree V bit to engrave the day of the week text.

Before painting, I gave the piece a good sanding with a 120 grit sanding sponge.

I painted the base with a flat hunter green acrylic paint. I gave it two coats with a sanding in-between.

I painted the text with some white acrylic paint.

I gave the base a final sanding to remove the excess white paint from the base.

Each tag was mad from a single 2” x 2-1/4” x 1/4” piece of plywood. You can use a larger piece and cut more than one, but I wanted to do some testing on the machine as I cut mine.

Using a 1/8” two flute end mill. I started out fairly slow. I then move the speed and and depth of cut up.

Started with a feed of about 25IPM and a DOC of about .032”. By the time I had cut all the tags, I was cutting at a feed rate of 100IPM and a DOC of .125”

Because the plywood I used was some cheap underlayment, I backed it back down to a feed rate of 50IPM and a DOC of .11”. This helped keep the chipping to a minimum.

I cut two sets of tags. On one set I just painted them with red acrylic paint. I would later use a permanent marker to add the day numbers.

On the second set, I painted them with the hunter green acrylic paint. I added some chalk paint so I could use some chalk to write the numbers.

Just remember to sand between coats.

On one side of the chalk tags, I used some colored chalk and hand wrote the numbers.

On the other side I used some Stencils and Chalk Markers to add the numbers.

Stencil Set

Chalk Markers

For the red tags, I used the same stencils and some permanent markers to add the numbers.

The chalk markers came with several labels that can be used with the markers. Here I add a couple to add the year and month.

I hope you have fun with this project. If you build this advent calendar, send me some pictures. I would love to see your variations.