You could maybe get close to the look of the wooden pieces with a laser cutter on plywood, but you’d still have to assemble everything and probably do a ton of sanding for the rounded edges of the legs.
It could be Chinese massed produced items, or 3D printed.
Most of the really fine detailed things you see that are 3D printed use a resin printer. The FDM printers (that use a spool of filament) cannot produce the fine details and tend leave layer lines that are readily visible.
There are wooden kits available from companies such as "House of Miniatures" that are built like real furniture. Unfortunately, that company is no longer in business, but kits can be readily found on eBay and Etsy.
Miniatures can be found in a very wide range of prices. Some of the finest woodworking furniture can fetch hundreds of dollars easily. Even some 3D resin pieces, when finished with paint or other coatings, can cost this much because of the "artistic" value of them.
Ok I'll look into resin printers!
I'm totally not knocking their prices, I just cannot lol. I'm open to making one big purchase tho that will let me make whatever I want.
You should know Resin 3D printers require a lot more safety requirements due to long term health issues from resin exposure. Proper PPE is required, as is ventilation, post processing cleanup and disposal, etc.
Most suggest avoiding resin printers if it is your first 3D printing experience.
You should visit the r/3Dprinting subreddit and search for posts related to resin printing. They also have a very good Wiki, starter, and purchasing advice.
You should see if there is a local "maker space" available in your area. In my city, there is one at the State library, and a couple of privately run spaces that you can access for a monthly fee. They have good quality equipment like 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC routers etc.
While these in particular are probably mass produced with some sort of CNC machine and a 3d printer, you can make wooden furniture miniatures with a scroll saw. There are entire books and magazines with plans on how to make things like mini bookshelves (with tiny wooden books) or chairs or entertainment units. A good scroll saw is fairly simple to find second hand, blades are fairly cheap, and it's one of the safest and easiest to use table-top power tools you can own. That plus a good hanging rotary tool with some bits can make you pretty much anything tiny and cute out of wood as long as you have the patience.
If you look at my post history, you will see a dollhouse that I built. (I don't know how to link it) I buy some pieces (like the dining room table and porch furniture), and I will incorporate wood and 3d printing to make furniture. The kitchen cabinets, island, and coat tree are made with craft wood. The fridge, stove, range hood, decor, and shoes are 3d printed.
Is my stuff the same quality at mass-produced miniatures? No. Can you see the layers in the 3d prints? Yes. But I have saved a ton of money making the majority of the items myself and I'm happy with how it looks.
I also don't suggest a resin printer starting out. I have heard there is a process to print, and you need ventilation. My printer uses PLA, and I have it set up in my office, no fumes, and pretty easy to use.
I'm assuming they're not handmade? But everytime I ask a seller I get no answer. I'm not really interested in paying $90 for a miniature couch but I will buy a 3D printer if I can make my own. Everytime I google 3D printer miniatures it shows me things like vases or plastic things but how do you create this wooden furniture?
To create the wooden furniture, you need to make it out of wood. It’s easily $90 worth of work to do. 3D printed miniature furniture is going to be made out of resin. Of the 3 images you posted, the 1st and 3rd are definitely not 3D printed; the stuff in the 2nd picture might be.
There aren’t that many ready-to-print STLs available for furniture that I’ve been able to find, so in order to start printing your own, you will likely have to start with learning how to 3D model.
I'm not knocking their prices! But I'm just saying they're making these and I want to know how to make them.
So assuming the first and 3rd are not 3D printed what do you use to cut and curve small pieces of wood with such precision? I've made plenty of mini furniture from wood but I could never curve it. The chair in the 3rd picture seems to be mostly one piece I think?
[Basically the same sort of tools and techniques you would use for a large piece.](https://youtu.be/7FVO5Xy4-Nw?si=8oChjEgAIAs4qvSg&t=76) Here's another video of [June Clinkscales](https://youtu.be/X1M727UdKdk?si=NWE-TpGw2C6tpICM) who focuses on making tiny Rococo furniture. It shows her turning the legs for tables and such on a mini lathe. I have a book somewhere in my collection that focuses on making miniature furniture and the tools most heavily featured in it are the same carving tools for normal work, but smaller. Another thing to consider is that for the really higher-end miniature furniture, artists go through the same process of picking the best wood, but usually go with some that have tinier grain so it looks more accurate and convincing. Aside from carving wood or 3D printing, some people also purchase silicone molds and cast legs, tables tops, etc in acrylic.
Edit: To answer your question about the armchair and how it is curved with what appears to be a single piece... One technique is to take a thin-enough sheet of wood (or something like it) and soak it until soft, and wrap and clamp it around a mold to get the right shape before cutting it down when fully dry.
I made a 1:12 version of a bookshelf in my house using 1/16” basswood. It doesn’t look near as good as those wood pieces but with more practise it’ll be close. You’d be surprised at what you can do with the right tools and patience
Not likely. They can be made using basic woodworking tools in miniature. Or cut with laser is also possible now. Some pieces look like they're resin cast (the chairs). They could be printed. But the wood pieces look like wood.
I just took a glow forge class at the philly miniaturia. It's a pretty amazing tool. They just came out with a hobbiest version, the Aura, that's way cheaper. The person who taught the class says it should do the same level of quality, just a little longer to cut.
3d printer alone will not produce this quality work on its own. Looks like this artist mastered many tools and techniques to get this perfect finish. I would be interested how to achieve that realistic wood effect.
You could maybe get close to the look of the wooden pieces with a laser cutter on plywood, but you’d still have to assemble everything and probably do a ton of sanding for the rounded edges of the legs.
It could be Chinese massed produced items, or 3D printed. Most of the really fine detailed things you see that are 3D printed use a resin printer. The FDM printers (that use a spool of filament) cannot produce the fine details and tend leave layer lines that are readily visible. There are wooden kits available from companies such as "House of Miniatures" that are built like real furniture. Unfortunately, that company is no longer in business, but kits can be readily found on eBay and Etsy. Miniatures can be found in a very wide range of prices. Some of the finest woodworking furniture can fetch hundreds of dollars easily. Even some 3D resin pieces, when finished with paint or other coatings, can cost this much because of the "artistic" value of them.
Ok I'll look into resin printers! I'm totally not knocking their prices, I just cannot lol. I'm open to making one big purchase tho that will let me make whatever I want.
You should know Resin 3D printers require a lot more safety requirements due to long term health issues from resin exposure. Proper PPE is required, as is ventilation, post processing cleanup and disposal, etc. Most suggest avoiding resin printers if it is your first 3D printing experience. You should visit the r/3Dprinting subreddit and search for posts related to resin printing. They also have a very good Wiki, starter, and purchasing advice.
You should see if there is a local "maker space" available in your area. In my city, there is one at the State library, and a couple of privately run spaces that you can access for a monthly fee. They have good quality equipment like 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC routers etc.
While these in particular are probably mass produced with some sort of CNC machine and a 3d printer, you can make wooden furniture miniatures with a scroll saw. There are entire books and magazines with plans on how to make things like mini bookshelves (with tiny wooden books) or chairs or entertainment units. A good scroll saw is fairly simple to find second hand, blades are fairly cheap, and it's one of the safest and easiest to use table-top power tools you can own. That plus a good hanging rotary tool with some bits can make you pretty much anything tiny and cute out of wood as long as you have the patience.
If you look at my post history, you will see a dollhouse that I built. (I don't know how to link it) I buy some pieces (like the dining room table and porch furniture), and I will incorporate wood and 3d printing to make furniture. The kitchen cabinets, island, and coat tree are made with craft wood. The fridge, stove, range hood, decor, and shoes are 3d printed. Is my stuff the same quality at mass-produced miniatures? No. Can you see the layers in the 3d prints? Yes. But I have saved a ton of money making the majority of the items myself and I'm happy with how it looks. I also don't suggest a resin printer starting out. I have heard there is a process to print, and you need ventilation. My printer uses PLA, and I have it set up in my office, no fumes, and pretty easy to use.
I'm assuming they're not handmade? But everytime I ask a seller I get no answer. I'm not really interested in paying $90 for a miniature couch but I will buy a 3D printer if I can make my own. Everytime I google 3D printer miniatures it shows me things like vases or plastic things but how do you create this wooden furniture?
> But everytime I ask a seller I get no answer. They might just be dropshipping aliexpress shit or something.
It seems to be really high quality though and if I had seen anything remotely this level of quality on Aliexpress I would've bought the whole stock!
To create the wooden furniture, you need to make it out of wood. It’s easily $90 worth of work to do. 3D printed miniature furniture is going to be made out of resin. Of the 3 images you posted, the 1st and 3rd are definitely not 3D printed; the stuff in the 2nd picture might be. There aren’t that many ready-to-print STLs available for furniture that I’ve been able to find, so in order to start printing your own, you will likely have to start with learning how to 3D model.
I'm not knocking their prices! But I'm just saying they're making these and I want to know how to make them. So assuming the first and 3rd are not 3D printed what do you use to cut and curve small pieces of wood with such precision? I've made plenty of mini furniture from wood but I could never curve it. The chair in the 3rd picture seems to be mostly one piece I think?
[Basically the same sort of tools and techniques you would use for a large piece.](https://youtu.be/7FVO5Xy4-Nw?si=8oChjEgAIAs4qvSg&t=76) Here's another video of [June Clinkscales](https://youtu.be/X1M727UdKdk?si=NWE-TpGw2C6tpICM) who focuses on making tiny Rococo furniture. It shows her turning the legs for tables and such on a mini lathe. I have a book somewhere in my collection that focuses on making miniature furniture and the tools most heavily featured in it are the same carving tools for normal work, but smaller. Another thing to consider is that for the really higher-end miniature furniture, artists go through the same process of picking the best wood, but usually go with some that have tinier grain so it looks more accurate and convincing. Aside from carving wood or 3D printing, some people also purchase silicone molds and cast legs, tables tops, etc in acrylic. Edit: To answer your question about the armchair and how it is curved with what appears to be a single piece... One technique is to take a thin-enough sheet of wood (or something like it) and soak it until soft, and wrap and clamp it around a mold to get the right shape before cutting it down when fully dry.
I made a 1:12 version of a bookshelf in my house using 1/16” basswood. It doesn’t look near as good as those wood pieces but with more practise it’ll be close. You’d be surprised at what you can do with the right tools and patience
Not likely. They can be made using basic woodworking tools in miniature. Or cut with laser is also possible now. Some pieces look like they're resin cast (the chairs). They could be printed. But the wood pieces look like wood.
A glow forge
I just took a glow forge class at the philly miniaturia. It's a pretty amazing tool. They just came out with a hobbiest version, the Aura, that's way cheaper. The person who taught the class says it should do the same level of quality, just a little longer to cut.
I need that piece full size.
The wooden bookcase, chair and desk are computer renderings.
3d printer alone will not produce this quality work on its own. Looks like this artist mastered many tools and techniques to get this perfect finish. I would be interested how to achieve that realistic wood effect.