The Laser Thread

nice!! I want to cut out belt loops and leather sheath patterns once I get it in the enclosure.
 
Was sweating bullets waiting for this one, was waiting for the other shoe to drop with fees but all was good, no extra $$.

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All of these test marks were done with the 10w diode.
The two in the upper right were done with the ir.
I can “feel” the ir with my fingernail better, but the diode so far seems to mark darker (even on carbon steel). It takes a decent number of passes on the belt to remove the diode mark, will have to try the ir for removability tomorrow.

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I am using 500mm/min, .03mm interval and 100 power on my IR2 Infrared. I get deep and dark on 1 pass. Even going to 1000 or 1500mm/min, I still get nice dark and tactile marks. The 500 makes it a good bit deeper and darker.

Last time I tried the diode, it was on 10% power due to the machine settings...Gotta try the 11w and 20w diodes at 100% on some razor blades to see how they do!
 
^ I converted my speed and power to match yours (my program reads in mm/sec). A three mm/second difference made a difference.
 
Yeah, it doesn't seem like much, but it's a huge difference! 500-750mm/min makes a nice, deep black mark, the 1000-1500 range isn't as deep, but is still nicely black. I decided to spend a couple extra minutes and do dark and deep. When I used it on my cnc, I couldn't really do faster speeds the way the cnc was set up, but with the laser gantry, it makes it so much easier! I can push the laser head around to position it and stuff instead of using the control panel.
 
Taz said:
Wife got me a small little vise for our Anniversary that has magnets in the base so I sticks to my honeycomb laser bed and I use the rubber columns instead of jaw to hold the handle. I can angle it so the blade is flat to the laser instead of at the bevel angle, too!
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Can you share a little more about this? Sounds useful.
 
Arrowmax precision double ended mini bench vise
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It works great so far for me! The magnets allow it to stick to the HoneyComb, and most of the blades don't need any extra help balancing. I usually have the blade sticking out past the vise so the laser or mount don't hit the handle scales.
 
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is this the Amazon $50 item #B0D97X7WCJ of your vise? That's a nice looking vise. I've been using this one with success B085VSFQ7K but it doesn't have the magnets in the bottom, but still works pretty good for me. It's not near so nice as your vise, but is only $25. I think I like your vise better.
 
I think so? AM Arrowmax precision double ended mini bench vise
 
I'm getting to the point where I need more etching stencils and I'm considering a fiber laser instead. I see some machines appear to be one piece and others appear to be two piece. Is there an advantage/disadvantage to either? Assuming both are 60 Watt.
 
J. Hoffman said:
I'm getting to the point where I need more etching stencils and I'm considering a fiber laser instead. I see some machines appear to be one piece and others appear to be two piece. Is there an advantage/disadvantage to either? Assuming both are 60 Watt.
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It looks to me like the enclosed variations are nice in the sense that you don't have to worry about wearing glasses and air filtration can hook up to the enclosure. But the downfall is that you are limited size wise. Like if you have a longer blade it bigger object you can't fit it in.
 
REK Knives said:
It looks to me like the enclosed variations are nice in the sense that you don't have to worry about wearing glasses and air filtration can hook up to the enclosure. But the downfall is that you are limited size wise. Like if you have a longer blade it bigger object you can't fit it in.
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But some of them have movable enclosures that can be adjusted for long knives. For example, my F1 has an enclosure, but for knives I raise it, put the knife in, then lower the enclosure until it hits the knife. This gives some (but not 100%) eye protection. For knives, I've never worried about air filtration, since the logos are small and on steel; for media like wood and larger items, air filtration is important. If I am engraving a blade with no handle, I often do it on my kitchen counter, and nobody notices an air problem, and it is easy to make sure there is no eye danger.
 




Neither of the ones I'm looking at are enclosed. Both have the same work area and power, just set up differently. I'm not sure if there are advantages I'm not seeing.
 
J. Hoffman said:




Neither of the ones I'm looking at are enclosed. Both have the same work area and power, just set up differently. I'm not sure if there are advantages I'm not seeing.
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They both should do the same thing... one is just an all in one unit which could be nice for certain space requirements.

Also, I highly recommend Haotian laser, they are recommended on a lot of FB groups, have a 3 yr warranty, and good customer service - and great prices. dm me if you want and I'll forward contact details. I got them to throw in a motorized z axis upgrade for mine which was nice.
 
REK Knives said:
They both should do the same thing... one is just an all in one unit which could be nice for certain space requirements.

Also, I highly recommend Haotian laser, they are recommended on a lot of FB groups, have a 3 yr warranty, and good customer service - and great prices. dm me if you want and I'll forward contact details. I got them to throw in a motorized z axis upgrade for mine which was nice.
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That's actually the brand I was looking at. Heard nothing but good things about them. It was just easier finding pictures of the other brands.😁
 
J. Hoffman said:
That's actually the brand I was looking at. Heard nothing but good things about them. It was just easier finding pictures of the other brands.😁
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I've been stoked with mine... and Pascal has been great. I got the 60W MOPA EM7 from him. Lmk if any questions
 
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