Laser engraving

doc henderson · March 02, 2019, 07:41:25 PM

Thought about a thread with this, so here it is. the latest person to ask for my help is making turkey call and wants this on them as a fundraiser.

the left is walnut and the right is maple. these are just to show him what the engraving looks like in wood. he will bring me the turkey calls next week..

doc henderson · March 02, 2019, 07:48:02 PM

here is a pic of what he sent me. he is Amish and his dad I know as my Stihl mechanic.

purple heart, oak, and padauk

low_48 · March 03, 2019, 12:43:23 AM

You have to engrave that on the part with the holes?

doc henderson · March 03, 2019, 08:16:20 AM

It is his deal, and when I asked him, he said what ever looks best. so we we'll see.

doc henderson · March 03, 2019, 08:29:54 AM

more military emblems on walnut

doc henderson · March 03, 2019, 10:38:38 AM

some pics of my marine buddy's trip to France. You can actually read names on the markers in the wood engraving.

doc henderson · March 03, 2019, 10:41:53 AM

coasters made for my great niece and nephew. Now you cannot go to their house and not use a coaster

doc henderson · March 03, 2019, 10:43:33 AM

coasters for the grown ups!

samandothers · March 03, 2019, 10:51:45 AM

Wonderful! Geat job.

ronwood · March 03, 2019, 11:37:35 AM

Doc,

What kind of laser engraver do you have?

Ron

DDW_OR · March 03, 2019, 12:52:58 PM

very nice.
what software do you use for the engraving?

have been thinking of starting up a side business doing engraving and CNC 3D wood carving

JV · March 03, 2019, 01:25:02 PM

Very nice. I too am curious about the engraver and the software.

doc henderson · March 03, 2019, 03:30:19 PM

Knife scabbard cutting out maple center with laser, from pattern of blade.

doc henderson · March 03, 2019, 03:32:07 PM

sorry, swamped at work, thx to OG. lol. Epilog helix. they have soft ware for their stuff, of course made by someone else. will check when home.

thecfarm · March 03, 2019, 06:16:40 PM

Very nice work!!!!

Old Greenhorn · March 03, 2019, 07:11:32 PM

Quote from: doc henderson on March 03, 2019, 03:32:07 PM
sorry, swamped at work, thx to OG. lol. Epilog helix.

Now just back up the truck few feet Doc, as I recall it was you who tempted fate by wishing out loud for a no so busy shift. I merely marveled at the whimsy of that statement. You had to know it was the kiss of death. ;D
Sorry you are having heavy shift. I too like the engraving and used to program and run an Epilog CO2 laser for similar work making dies to impress chocolate coins and such. Easy programming, quick work. Yours looks great!

TKehl · March 03, 2019, 08:15:11 PM

Doc, I like your work and ideas!

Will the engrave be smaller on the final product? It looks like this one started as a low resolution image. (Pixalation on the A, O, and front of the kneeling leg.) Do they have a higher resolution image?

If not, are you familiar with using Inkscape to convert raster image to vector? I'm just learning, but have had success doing this to increase scale without pixalation. Once scale is increased, it can then be sent to laser as either raster or vector. Nice thing is Inkscape is free. ;D

doc henderson · March 03, 2019, 09:59:18 PM

TK. I have read abut it. my daughter has increased res. on some lower res. images in photo shop. It is best to start with the largest file you can get. I am still learning and appreciate the input. I did find a higher res. image. the first was emailed to me, and the second I found on the internet at a bout 300 dpi vs 79.

doc henderson · March 04, 2019, 05:03:33 PM

spidy on a stainless steel growler using ceramic coating

doc henderson · March 04, 2019, 05:24:03 PM

You can get different laser configs. I have a CO2 laser, I got the 60 watt, but range from 30 to 120 watt. My size can fit a 18 x 24 inch surface up to 12 inches tall. It came with a rotary attachment for round stuff. you can stick stuff that is long out the front door by bypassing the safe switch with a magnet. Mine was 21k. They are made in Colorado, but my dealer was in KC, Ks. they came out within 2 weeks of our request for a demo. No pressure, but then my wife thought it was very cool and so we have one. only live once. A smaller one is a bout 7k and I bet you spend as much as u want. If I had gone with a 30 watt, it would take longer to engrave images and the thickness I could cut would be limited. there are Chinese lasers that are cheaper, but you may find the support lacking. I have cell numbers to 2 of the dealer employees, and tech support is helpful for the laser as well as the software folks. many people use corell draw including the demo folks. but you can figure out the program with the rig, as it is fairly self explanatory and intuitive. you can print from CAD programs as well. you can also alter images on any other software such as photo shop before you import it. You can get images off the internet by right clicking and save as image. We do not sell so do not worry as much re copyright ect. A photo can be texted or emailed to me and in less than 4 minutes I can import, size, convert to grayscale and make you a coaster.

doc henderson · March 04, 2019, 05:29:27 PM

here is the disc that was offered with the package. also the laser. This size comes with a rolling cart with shelved to hold all the accessories. also a pic of the screen I work from. If you call or e-mail the main co.they will send you a brochure with prices. a dealer will come to your home or guide you to a demo so you can spend time watching in person and ask questions. there are lots of you tube stuff as well. it is mesmerizing to watch. just like a new truck, don't drive one if you do not want to buy one.

TKehl · March 04, 2019, 10:33:11 PM

I have two. Mine were much less, but like Doc said, you get what you pay for.

1. Epilog Summit (antique): A backburner project, but despite offering almost no parts for this machine and having bought it used, Epilog support was first rate! Great company! (Dare I say the Woodmizer of laser engravers? ;D)
2. ******(not going to name drop publicly): US "supported" laser. My current user. Good to learn on as it was cheap ($2200 used). 12x20" work area with a drop out floorplate for larger surfaces. Terrible to learn on as customer support is only available by billable hour. Youtube and forums have been my friends to learn to run this thing. They also wanted a $300 ownership transfer after 80 hours runtime since I did not buy it from them. >:( >:( >:( Got that taken care of without paying, though I had a week of downtime, and now have good results most of the time.

This is my first paid project. 30 Christmas ornaments. Printed straight from MS Word. Did them on Baltic Birch disks from Hobby Lobby before I figured out vector cutting. ;) Deadlines you know. ;D

doc henderson · March 05, 2019, 09:00:40 PM

here is the engraved turkey call. they have glass inside and slate on the back. he gave me one made from Osage orange and it sounds great.

doc henderson · March 13, 2019, 10:08:10 PM

made a couple of squirrel feeders for some friends with a house in town, and one referred to as a cabin out at "the farm/shooting range" along the river.