Among the trees at O Tannenbaum

Among the trees at O TannenbaumThe rustic style ornaments decorating this tree on display at O Tannenbaum were made using tree branches from Owego that were cut into slices and carved using a CNC router. 
Among the trees at O Tannenbaum

The rustic style ornaments decorating this tree on display at O Tannenbaum were made using tree branches from Owego that were cut into slices and carved using a CNC router.

This year the O Tannenbaum silent auction at the Tioga County Historical Society Museum includes this tree decorated by Bob Testa, who graduated from Owego Free Academy in 2004. The rustic style ornaments decorating the tree were made using tree branches from Owego that were cut into slices and carved using a CNC router.

The 3D stars, tree topper, and Owego ornament were made using a laser cutter. Together with Matt Kurtz, they have worked for over one year on building, testing, and exploring the capabilities of their machine.

Bob and Matt are in the early stages of forming a small business based outside of Baltimore, Md. called ‘Grind to Fit’, with the goal of machining customer designs in wood, and in the future, aluminum and steel.

The ornaments on this tree are the first project they worked on, which shows the ability of their machine to accurately carve very fine details in wood. They have also worked on larger scale projects, which include wood signs, an oval shaped Lazy Susan, and metal plates used to build a hitch mounted spare tire carrier.

They are currently working on a website that will be updated as they make new products. Feel free to send an email with your ideas or to let them know what you think (support@grindtofit.com).

The O Tannenbaum display at the Tioga History Museum, located at 110 Front St. in Owego continues through Saturday, Dec. 12. For more information, call (607) 687-2460, visit the Tioga County Historical Society Facebook page, or view their website at tiogahistory.org.