Yes, possible but it isn't clear to me why you need to glue up a panel if you are gluing the pieces together later but then I'm pretty sure I don't have enough info to visualize the project. If it is to minimize waste, I'd suggest you not bother and cut the parts out of the unglued boards. Make multiple runs to cut them all out.1. Do you think it’s feasible to cut out these thin shapes out of a panel made of glued 1” pine boards? What is the chance of them snapping? If not good, which kind of wood boards would be better, or am I stuck with plywood or mdf?
As long as you can hold down your work piece, 1/2" wide pieces should not be a problem. Pine, ply or mdf won't have a lot of flex so tabs every 6 to 9 inches should be fine. Personally, I'd use a down cut spiral. It may even pack the sawdust in enough to allow you to avoid tabs. Be careful when taking the cut piece out. Use a knife or small saw rather than snapping them.2. To prevent snapping on items this thin, how far apart should I place the tabs?
Probably OK.3. If these tall and narrow pieces are 0.5” wide, is that too thin? Do I need to make them 0.75” or 1”?
It would be ok. But, your depth of cut depends a lot on the size of your bit and how rigid your CNC machine is. If it's a typical hobbyist machine, I'd probably use 1/2 the bit diameter for your cut depth and make multiple passes. If it's more of an industrial machine, you could probably use the full diameter for your cut depth - probably will still need to make multiple passes.4. Would a 1/4” compression bit be appropriate for this?
Definitely an issue, especially for narrow pieces. Maybe you should use MDF.5. Are the normal small knots in pine going to be an issue?
See my above answers. You can probably space them 1" apart or even less. Think of your resulting cut panel in terms of it's structure. Make sure nothing is "flapping in the breeze".6. I’m trying to fit as many pieces as possible on the panel. I currently have my pieces spaced 2” apart from each other. If the 1/4” bit is appropriate, is that enough material to leave in-between?
Depending on you CAD/CAM software, you can usually create a tool path to cut to the outside of the vector (perimeter) of an object. You can also direct it to cut inside the vector or on the vector. For a laser, you are usually cutting on your vector. You do need to worry about kerf when spacing multiple parts on a piece of material - they need to be at least your tool (ie bit) diameter apart. A good CAD/CAM will tell/show you when there is overlap.7. This isn’t specific for this project, but I’ve been wanting to know this for a different project idea and I cannot for the life of me find the answer on Google. I’m used to taking kerf into consideration with the laser cutter. There is always lost material from the laser that has to be accounted if you want to snugly fit together items. Is the same with CNC? I wouldn’t think so, as the bit cuts around the outside of the shape/vector, instead of on the middle center of the line like the laser. But, I couldn’t verify that anywhere online.
