Making a Mini Baren from Scratch (Part 1)

Written By Diode Press
Tip: If you’re curious about the tools and materials I use in the studio, I keep a simple page with everything in one place. You can explore it here: Tools & Materials I Use.

Step 1: Creating the Vacuum Fixture Panel

Ever wondered how to make your own printmaking baren? In this post, I walk through a project where I build a baren from scratch using a salvaged stair handrail. A baren is the tool used to press your paper onto an inked block or linoleum panel to transfer your artwork.

This project also gave me a chance to create a vacuum fixture panel for making multiple barens efficiently. It is useful for anyone interested in small-scale printmaking tool production.

Salvaged Red Oak Stair Railing

 

Preparing the Fixture Panel

To start, I applied a self-adhesive cover gasket onto a blank AirWeights panel. The goal is a smooth, even surface to hold everything in place.

I use dowel pins to align the fixture panel onto the vacuum panel. This ensures repeatable placement every time I cut a new piece.

Tip: Apply the gasket only where you need it. I ended up using just one circle for each position. Next time, I will mark them off first to save material.

All-Star CNC cover gasket

 

Cutting the Panel

I’m using two tools to cut the panel: a 60° V-Groove bit and an O Single Flute End Mill.

I set the origin point at the corner of the fixture panel and Z-0 at the top of the panel. The V-groove cuts just one hundredth of an inch into the panel. It slices through the gasket and makes a small groove.

Tip: Adding reference lines on the panel helps center your stock accurately on the gasket.

Next, I switch to the O-flute bit to cut the dowel holes and the vacuum holes. I can’t cut all the way through the panel without losing vacuum hold, but by stacking an MDF panel with gasket and using longer dowels, I can cut completely through while maintaining suction.

Corner finder from Onefinity

Setting the X, Y, Z zero location on the jig corner

Cutting the Cover Gasket

Drilling dowel and vacuum holes

Adding Labels and Organization

To keep my fixture panels organized, I engraved the name and some reference info on a spray-painted corner of each panel. This makes it easy to grab the right piece quickly during production.

Engraving jig details

 

What’s Next

And that’s the fixture plate sorted. In the next video or post, we will start cutting the actual wood to make the barens themselves.

 

Want to see this project in action? Watch the full build of the Mini Baren fixture plate on my YouTube channel. In the video, I show every step of cutting the panel, applying the gasket, and setting up the vacuum jig — perfect if you want a closer look at the process or tips that are easier to see in motion.

 
Diode Press http://www.diodepress.com