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Joe Baker
06-06-2009, 10:41 PM
I am doing a promo with a company we do business with. I am wanting to do keychains. Anyone have any suggestions on what kind of keychains to get? What would be best suited for laser engraving?

Dale Davies
06-07-2009, 1:00 AM
joe check out laserbits.com...

Frank Corker
06-07-2009, 6:10 AM
Joe I do keychains on a regular basis. I would recommend that you use 3mm acrylic, purchase the snake key fittings, which are attached with a couple of pairs of pliers.

In the beginning the job is fiddly as each one needs to be attached to the piece of acrylic, but after a short time, you can do them in about 15 seconds. Provided that you don't make the hole too near to the edge of the acrylic, the world is your oyster as to the shapes and colours you can use and the acrylic is durable for it's purpose.

Cast acrylic will allow you to engrave either from the front or the back dependent on opacity. This picture shows 400 of them waiting to be strung together for sending out.

Larry Bratton
06-07-2009, 1:41 PM
"purchase the snake key fittings"
Frank:
Please share your source for the fittings. Thanks

Anthony Welch
06-07-2009, 2:38 PM
Delvies plastic http://www.delviesplastics.com/. Bottom of page is PDF of catalog. Go to pg 15, $2.50/dz.

Anthony

Larry Bratton
06-07-2009, 3:19 PM
Thanks Anthony, I see them in the catalog.

Mike Chance in Iowa
06-07-2009, 3:56 PM
JDS also has snake key rings. Pg 106 in the 2009 catalog

Frank Corker
06-07-2009, 4:40 PM
No point in me sharing I'm in the UK

Larry Bratton
06-07-2009, 4:46 PM
Thanks Frank, looks like I have a source right up the road. JDS has a warehouse within 20 miles and I can pick up from them.

Mike Chance in Iowa
06-07-2009, 6:51 PM
Frank,

I see you have engraved & cut a whole slew of colors. Have you found some are more easily scratched or some that show scratches less then others?

Thad Nickoley
06-07-2009, 7:47 PM
Hey Frank, just curious, what do they say on them?

kevin leasure
06-07-2009, 8:29 PM
hey, just a thought, i just got married yesterday and made all my own wedding favors. we used leather keychains. very simple shape, nuetral look, super easy to engrave and cheap. anyone want info on the supplier send me a PM as i dont know if its allowed on here public.

Steve Clarkson
06-07-2009, 8:44 PM
i just got married yesterday

Seriously???????? And you're on HERE instead of your honeymoon???

Of course you can post them on here.

Frank Corker
06-07-2009, 9:01 PM
Frank,

I see you have engraved & cut a whole slew of colors. Have you found some are more easily scratched or some that show scratches less then others?

Mike, they are all pretty much the same. The pale colours are hardest to engrave because the engraving comes out white. I wasn't prepared to colour fill so I left them as they were. Most don't scratch unless you give them some really rough handling.

Thad NickoleyHey Frank, just curious, what do they say on them?

It's a brand name of a company (whom I am not affiliated with)

Mike Chance in Iowa
06-07-2009, 10:48 PM
Most don't scratch unless you give them some really rough handling.

Wow. I assumed they would easily scratch and therefore never even tried to make any key chains out of acrylic. Then again, I abuse my key chains and toss them around or drop them all the time instead of having to carry them.

I have everything in stock to make them. I'll have to experiment with some and see how long it is before I ruin it. :D

p.s. I actually like the natural colors you engraved. I think they look good without color fill.

Frank Corker
06-08-2009, 4:09 AM
Mike I would definitely recommend that you do. Your keys would be a perfect testing ground, you will see that they do take a great deal of abuse. Minor scratches do not even get noticed when they have been on the keys for a while.

Steve Clarkson
06-08-2009, 6:47 AM
Mike, they are all pretty much the same. The pale colours are hardest to engrave because the engraving comes out white. I wasn't prepared to colour fill so I left them as they were.

Waaaiiiit a minute........you didn't color fill those? When I engrave colored acrylic, it doesn't come out white! I wish it did!

So is there such a thing as "Blue Cast Acrylic" and "Blue Extruded Acrylic"? Because Frank's looks like cast and mine looks like extruded.

Scott Shepherd
06-08-2009, 8:35 AM
So is there such a thing as "Blue Cast Acrylic" and "Blue Extruded Acrylic"? Because Frank's looks like cast and mine looks like extruded.

Sure is. If you're looking at Cyro products, in the Acrylite line, GP is cast, FF is extruded. You can find Blue in Acrylite GP and Acrylite FF.

Steve Clarkson
06-08-2009, 8:51 AM
Sure is. If you're looking at Cyro products, in the Acrylite line, GP is cast, FF is extruded. You can find Blue in Acrylite GP and Acrylite FF.

Can't believe how much money I wasted on these colored extruded pieces!!!!!!!!!

Frank Corker
06-08-2009, 9:33 AM
Steve they have virtually every colour you can think of in cast acrylic. You pay more for coloured because the natural mix is clear, so they have to add ingredients and you pay for that. If you haven't been getting any markings then you most definitely have extruded, plus it has a pretty foul smell to it, cast is sweetish and engraves white like it's been sandblasted.

Steve Clarkson
06-08-2009, 4:16 PM
You have NO idea how upset I am about this......and I blame my plastics supplier. He gave me a key ring with 50 samples, all different colors and textures, and told me that the only kind they make is extruded. I test engraved them, and yup, they were all extruded. Last time I buy from him! (And no, I'm not NOT recommending any specific company or product!).

Margaret Turco
06-08-2009, 4:26 PM
Hey Steve, I get plastic from a place that sells off-cuts and drops. They told me that cast will have the plain paper backing, and extruded will have a printed paper backing with the extrusion direction indicated. Not sure if you're free to see that ahead of time like I am but thought it was worth mentioning.

Steve Clarkson
06-08-2009, 6:09 PM
That's true in the case of clear cast/extruded. But my colored acrylic has one plain side and one printed side and no extrusion direction. The name brand on it is "Plexiglas".

I'll just have to be more insistent on the type next time.

Roy Nicholson
06-09-2009, 6:22 AM
Franks

I'm not local but I'm trying to find out roughly how much I should be paying for the snake keyring fittings.

Next question has anyone got a supplier of the keyring fittings in Australia.

Regards


Roy N.

Joe Baker
06-09-2009, 6:43 PM
Thanks guys. Where is the best place to get acrylic??

Frank, if you ever need anything shipped to the UK from US, let me know. We do tons overseas and get preffered rates thru Fedex.