Wooden lens disc frame

So for this installation I'm making I wanted a way to suspend some large glass lenses of mine. I consulted a tutor I've mentioned quite a few times on this blog, Young. We sat down with a pencil and a scrap of tracing paper and discussed and sketched how we could create a frame to sandwich the glass and could be suspended.

I love technical drawings.

We agreed that this would probably be the quickest and easiest way to construct a frame. By laser cutting, we could make the whole process precise, easily reproduced and even quicker. So I whipped out a ruler and started measuring the lenses then drew up some scale plans:

I then replicated this on Adobe Illustrator plus the 4mm bolt holes.

I use illustrator quite a lot. I enjoy the capabilities of vector graphics.

About ten minutes later and I had my first prototype! Let's try it on the lens!
Oh.. it just doesn't fit.
Damn.
Ten minutes and a few remeasurements and adjustments later and BAM:

Mmmm..  that crisp, burnt edge of laser cut wood. If there was one piece of machinery I could take home, it would have to be the laser cutter.

Wow! From conception to creation in under three hours! (Including breaks) This is what I love about computers and laser cutters. Time to try and construct it round the bolts using wing nuts.

Holy moly! I think this looks really sweet. The circular frame and wing nuts make the lens look like a port hole to another world.. like Alice theough the looking glass. The lens fits very snugly between the bolts and wood, the frame is perfect! I then threaded it up and hung it by my window. I think the frame has been a success, it has fulfilled my requitements and I think it actually adds to the lens by framing the view.