This was something new for me

[Frank Corker]

This was something new for me, I needed to make something unique for the grand poobars. First I had to redraw the whole logo, using the tools in Corel Draw, took a while but achieved a nice result. I was just going to engrave the wood and then I remembered I had bought laser foil. Now if you haven't used this stuff it definitely makes for an annoying challenge if nothing else.

It is wafer thin, self adhesive on one side. The front is (this case) reflective gold coloured, the reverse is reflective silver. Excellent if you are doing stuff on acrylic because from the back all you see is the silver and no signs of any glue. Working with it on wood is a little trickier because the wood surface is not completely flat so you do get a few indentations. Anyway, peeled the backing off, pressed it into place and applied heavy weight to make sure it stuck. Then it was just a case of lasering through. Believe me when I say it needs only a trickle of power to cut through this stuff. Anyway, see what you think, I liked it and the customer loved it.

[Dee Gallo]

As usual, Frank, you've used a common material and made it spectacular. So far, I've only seen this stuff used for large lettering, but this logo looks great!

cheers, dee

[Karen Thompson]

Hi Frank,

Wow - that's really really nice - I hope that one day I can do something as good :o (one day!!).

Just out of curiosity, do you use pre made plaques or do you make your own?

Karen

[Mike Christen]

Very nice work on that logo, when I grow up I hope I can do work with that kind quality. Oops, I'm already grown up :eek:

[Albert Nix]

Very nice Frank! Thanks for sharing. After looking at the logo it apears to have dark and light shades, how did you do that?

[Brian Robison]

Yeah, that's what I was wondering!

[Steve Clarkson]

Add me to the list of wonderers.......I've tried to engrave laserfoil and it never came out like THAT!

[Scott Challoner]

Very nice Frank. Did you raster through to the wood, or did you weed all of the detail?

Looks great.

[John Noell]

Is that like the laserlights from Rowmark?

[Frank Corker]

Thanks everyone. I'll try answer the questions:-

I use pre made plaques, unfortunately I don't have the room for much woodworking materials.

I made the outlines using the 3 point tool, it just takes a little practice. I make certain that the loop is closed (use autoclose when you practice with it if you aren't sure of it's purpose).

Once I had the areas marked and into their own little shapes to get the 3d effect it's just a matter of using the gradient tool. Dark/black makes the wood laser deeper, lighter and it can go to white where no engraving. Voila, 3D effect.

I applied the material and lasered straight through.

Now to clarify on what this stuff is. It's not the brass effect stuff that you get from Rowmark which is about 1.5mm thick. This stuff is thin thin thin, less than the width of a hair. Below is a photograph of the inside of the roll, it's not where I bought it from and I am not in any way linked with the company or any of it's products (just making that perfectly clear)

[Dee Gallo]

I like the "Franksville" address!

[Frank Corker]

I'm still not associated :D

[Tim Bateson]

Nice Frank. I've seen that stuff advertised, but never a finished application with it. Thanks

[Frank Corker]

Tim it is good stuff, provided you can avoid the bubbles, it sticks very well. As I mentioned on the clear stuff, the reverse side comes out a nice clear silver colour. I did a few tests with it for durability (I stuck it to the top of my coffee drinks coaster which gets a lot of abuse) and it holds up to heat and scratching. Highly recommend it.

[Mike Null]

It's foil available from Innotec and Johnson Plastics.

I use it for gold and silver highlights for military medals on plaques. I do not find it to be durable however.

[Frank Corker]

You suprise me. I applied a strip on the back of my mobile phone (cell) and that gets dragged through just about everything, heavily handled, sometimes with sweaty greasy hands. Buffs up a treat. Mike, are you using an angle grinder?

[Mike Null]

Frank

Almost all of my stuff is very delicate engraving and can't be touched. Sometimes just cleaning it causes problems. Too many edges, not enough adhesive.

[Frank Corker]

Nice work Mike. I understand what you mean, it's when you are working with wood, it does have a tendency to lift. On acrylic it's extremely good because the surface is super flat.