Create a magnificent piece to praise your shining lord! Be the envy at parties (or of your party)! Shine whenever you turn undead and smite the unholy with a vengeance. If you get this laser-cut from fluorescent acrylic, it will go that extra mile to catch the light in extraordinary ways. Get the free pattern for the Sun God Holy Symbol now!
Just to avoid misunderstandings: this is a prop for cosplay and tabletop-roleplaying. Paladins and clerics rely on holy symbold to cast divine spells. And this one is a perfect match for the sun god.
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The Sun God Holy Symbol is designed to be cut out from 3mm acrylic. I used yellow fluorescent for the front and back and opaque orange for the middle. If you want to use a different thickness you need to adjust the pegs used for assembly.
Some Assembly required
Let’s assume you have the pieces in front of you. Whether you had them laser-cut or not (see “How not to Laser-Cut” below), you need to put them together before you can put them to divine use.
If you have pieces cut on a laser, putting it all together should be easy enough. Align the square holes in all three pieces and insert the pegs. They should have some play, and that is intentional. A few drops of (carefully handled) CA glue (affiliate link) does the trick to hold the piece together.
Further Design Thoughts
There are ways to design this for a friction fit – hammer the pegs in and be done. But that would also introduce problems with accuracy which I wanted to avoid. Especially since I want this pattern to work on most lasers out there.
If you feel up for it, you are welcome to modify the cut files to achieve that. The easiest way would be to move the holes on the middle ring slightly inward or outward. But that would require a few test cuts, I imagine.
Or simply make a larger peg and file it down to the point where it gives you the holding power that you desire for your sun god holy symbol.
How not to Laser-Cut
Do you think using concentrated light to make this piece is not in the sun god’s best interest? Or do you simply not have access to a laser cutter or do not want to have this cut out by a laser cutting service? Worry not, for you yet have options to please your beaming deity.
If you print out the pattern (on plain paper) you can use spray glue or a glue stick to attach it to whatever material you want to use. Aside from cool-looking acrylics, there is always thin plywood. And paint. Also, your pieces do not even need to be 3mm thick if you chose to forego the square pegs.
As for connecting the pieces, I recommend not bothering with the square holes unless you really want to get fancy. You’d need to pre-drill them anyway, and they are mainly an artistic choice in a piece intended to be laser-cut. Glue works just as well and saves you some hassle.
Edge-Treatment
One of the major benefits of laser-cutting is the crisp and clear edge. Chances are that if you are using another tool to make the cuts, you will not be so lucky.
Sanding works on pretty much any material if you work your way up through the grits (roughness of sandpaper). For plastics, heat might do the trick, but be very careful when using this technique. Test it on a cutoff first and be aware of fire hazards.
The idea is to use a lighter to warm and soften the cut edge. If your material is up for it, it will melt away some if not all of the imperfection from the saw blade. If not, it might still look interesting. And if it cannot even do that, you are back to sanding.
The backstory of the Sun God Holy Symbol
When my wife started playing a paladin of Pelor, D&Ds Sun God, I needed to make a holy symbol for her to wear and use. The laser-cut version is not actually the first iteration of this idea, though.
Before I realized that there is no better way than to use (basically) sunlight to make a holy symbol for the sun god, I cut one from closed-cell foam and painted it in latex. Both were things I happened to dabble in at the time and thus had on hand.
The advantage of the foam implement – as with any prop made out of foam – is that it is safe in a fight. Which is something very important for LARP weaponry, but probably not so much when sitting around a table literally pushing paper. But it is an option.
What do you think?
Thank you for checking out this little thing I made and letting me share the joy of smiting the undead with the might of the sun with you. Let me know what you think about it, and if you make one yourself please share a picture with me!
If you enjoyed this you might also find something interesting in the papercraft section. Or maybe catch some inspiration with the How-Tos.
Either way, thank you for stopping by and remember to Be Inspired!
