Where to get started??

[donald bugansky]

First my many thanks to all of you that have been so gracious and helpful with your experience and insight.

You helped me with my laser purchase decision and now I'm ready to experiment but not sure where to get started. Is there a video or tutorials that take you through the many things you can do with a laser? I'm not referring to operational issues of Corel or the laser manufacturer, I'm more interested in the things to do (projects) with the laser.

I see all the things that Dee, Mike, Rodne, Tim, David and the rest of you do and I'm completely blown away.

Maybe like a program that runs you through, name tags, plaques, glasses and mugs etc. I know there are so many things to do I just get all worked up because I don't know where to start. So far I'm made my wife a bunch of wooded name tags and desk tags and if I give her 1 more she's going to shoot me. I've already heard, you spent $$$ to make name tags! So I'm thinking what next????

I also have some questions that I'm sure are basic but I hear the terms tossed around on the forum and not sure what they are such as...

What is laser roll, stencil roll or foil roll? What is it used for?

Masking material, I assume it's for putting over the vector cut so you don't mark up the material when you cut it or for paint filling? Is it special tape or just the "blue painters" tape that doesn't leave any residue?

I saw the group buy for the flame polisher so I jumped in on it. I assume it's for cleaning the edge of fresh cut acrylic? What else do I do with it?

I'm really excited about my new laser as I think the technology is so cool. I just wish there was some sort of video DVD called "The Top 10 projects you will do with your new laser", kind of like a "New Yankee Workshop for lasers".

Any thoughts (besides calm down) would be helpful.

Thx

[Anthony Scira]

I think 3 months is like 99 bucks. I joined it when I got the laser and it was helpful in my opinion.

I mean this place you can get the same information if not more. But the LaserU was set up nice and was an easy read. Don't sign up for more than the 3 months though. That would not be worth it.

[John W. Love]

Hey Doug, I know that there are a few here that might disagree with me, but for the beginner there is an excellent online training program called Laser U , found at Laseru.com. Kathy Arnold and Mike Fruciano have put together an awesome training program that takes you step by step through a lot of different projects and techniques. The projects give you something to work on but the technique you learn will be used in a lot of different projects and of course your imagination will run rampant and you will think of thousands of things you can do with what you have learned from each project.

As far as I know, this is about the best beginner tutorial set out there with videos, and print outs that occupany the videos.

Laser U got me started and provided us with an excellent foundation to build upon. That foundation was built at Laser U for us, but it was the Professors at The Creek that keep us learning and thinking each and every day.

* BTW I am not associated in anyway with Laserbits, Laser U and I havent met Kathy or Mike YET, but I do hope to meet them one day.

another source for ideas and what is going on in the industry is the Awards and Engraving Magazine. they are located at nbm.com/ae . And nope, not affiliated with them either just saying they are a good source for ideas etc. Plus there is a monthly tutorial on coreldraw, colors etc. They arent just for engraving though, but kind of work through the whole awards industry, signmaking, embroidery, sandblasting, and sublimation among other things. Worth checking out.
If you keep up with The Creek you will find that the folks here will post an idea they had and someone will take it one step further and so on and so on and before long what was one idea has spawned into a plethora of things that are based on that one thought.

Hope this helps some,

John

[David Fairfield]

Just start with some really simple things and be prepared for some bonehead mistakes. The laser manufacturer website should have a few easy project tutorials.

The first thing I made with my laser was on scrap plywood, a small engraved sign for over my door bell that says NO SOLICITORS. Haven't had a visit from the Jehovas or NYPRG ever since. :)

Dave

[Mike Null]

Bugs

How about spending a couple hours a day on the internet just looking at engraver's web sites. There are more things you can do with your laser than can be listed but browsing the internet will certainly give you some ideas.

Doing a search on here using Google Sawmill will turn up "how to's" on many of the things you find. Also, check You Tube for examples.

The Synrad site will give you an idea of the many materials you can engrave, cut or mark. Look under "applications".

[David Fairfield]

PS when you hear the first "CRUNCH" :eek: please come and tell us your story :D We all have crunch stories!

[Dee Gallo]

Hi Bugs,

Congrats on your new laser, it looks like you've got a nice one!

Before you get totally overwhelmed with possibilities, I have 2 questions: do you have a manual and did they send you a bunch of free catalogs with your machine? I found that going down the line in the manual with their settings gave me a good idea of what my particular machine would do because as you know, no 2 machines are identical. Read the catalogs and see what materials are normally used for, then you can mix and match as needed.

Making a test file (I like to use text stating the settings, a shape plus a small photo image) you can use over and over will give you something to refer to and compare later. Depending on your machine, you can then fine tune your settings. THEN experiment like mad with everything you can find and fit into the bed! That's when the fun begins...

This forum will give you inspiration in hundreds of directions. There is no "one right way" to do anything, so reading the posts will get you started and once you understand the dynamics of lasering, you will find your own "right way".

Since you already started with wood, why not continue there and try different types of wood, cutting wood, combining raster and vector on wood, engraving a photo on wood, wood inlay, 3D on wood, wooden roses, wooden drumsticks, wooden puzzles, wooden pens and cases?

Don't be afraid of messing up a piece...accept that it will happen! But your test pieces will make your mistakes less often and less serious. By the way - don't be fooled into thinking this is a fast learning process, it takes time to master the computer skills, lasering skills and finishing skills needed to complete a job.

Good luck and keep posting your progress!

cheers, dee

ps - I use vinyl sign transfer tape to protect the substrate for rastering more than vectoring.

[Dan Hintz]

We all have crunch stories!
Only you Epilog guys with the bum focus wand :D

[David Fairfield]

Hey its spring loaded for a reason! ;)

[Martin Boekers]

Congrats on the laser! Say goodby to free time as you will now spend endless ours playing with your laser. Oppps working with it:p

Mike's right there is so much out there on the internet.

You might subscribe to some trade journals A&E, Engravers Journal, there are a few out there. Engravers Journal online has a great list of vendors for material. ARA is another good group Awards & Recognitions. They usually have a big show in Vegas in the spring.

Sawmill Creek is a goldmine, but do a search before posting questions as many answers have already been given. When I started working with a laser I started at the beginning threads and read my way through them.

The laser isn't as difficult or intimidating as it may seem. Corel will take much more time to master than the laser. If your not familiar with Corel
those are the tutorials you ought to search out.

One thing to be careful about the "hammer syndrom". If you have a hammer everything seems to be a nail! There are certain substrates that are darn right hazaradous to your health as well as your machine. PVC are any substrate that has Chloride in it. So you might want to research different materials before you turn the laser loose.


Good luck!


Marty

[Richard Rumancik]

Hi Donald

Welcome . . .

Actually, "calm down" is good advice . . . .

When you bought the laser, you must have had some rough ideas of what kind of things you wanted to do. It is great to explore a bit, but if you jump all over the place I'm afraid that you might spread yourself too thin.

What is makes the laser attractive to a lot of people is that you can do a variety of things with it. Compared to say, a pad printer, which can pretty much do one thing. But even if the laser can do a lot of different things, it is still limited to what the operator can learn to do well and efficiently, and what you can actually sell profitably in your local market.

While you are dabbling, I'd suggest you try to identify a niche or two that can hold your interest, things which you are good at, and can make you a dollar or two.

Some people are good at lasering photos and can find markets for that; it takes time to learn how to do it well and efficiently. If you do it once a month its hard to get expertise in it. (But don't forget you need paying customers, who will part with $50 or $100.) If you want to be an expert in making candy molds, learn what it takes, and figure out if there is a market. But if you buy a bunch of materials and make one mold a year, I don't think you will find it that profitable. You will forget what you did last time, and your materials will be past their shelf life. Just an example. Or maybe you could concentrate on signs. Find something that clicks.

You will find some things are not really profitable. I find that doing onsies and twosies is rarely profitable, given the time it takes dealing with the customer, making a fixture, testing materials, procuring materials, setting up the job etc. etc. Yes, I still do a few, but mostly to keep my foot in the door or as a favor.

For example, if you can get $50 for a chocolate mold, you have to figure out if you can make money at that price. How long to do the Corel drawings? Assemble the pattern? Cast the mold? Cost of materials? Cost of scrap? If it takes 2+ hours and $10 for materials then it might not be economically viable.

My suggestion is to do some research in the trade mags and on the Internet and try to narrow down the range a bit, so you can focus on one or two or three main areas, and concentrate on learning them and marketing them. Look for something that looks like it can sell for much more than the cost of materials and time (then let me know - send me a PM, don't post it here!)

As you get more experienced with the laser then you might consider adding products. (Or not.)

[Mike Null]

I agree with Richard up to a point relative to onesie -twosie jobs. If you're looking for work then you have to weigh the elements Richard mentioned and make your decision. In my case I do turn down a good bit of that type of work as it just isn't worth the time and trouble. But if things get a little soft I may change my attitude.

My rule is to price a job so I'm happy with the price.

[donald bugansky]

Thanks for all of your suggestions. I have a solid handle on Corel as I have a strong background in software engineering so I just signed up at Laser U for a basic 3 month package to get a handle of what masking and foil and all the misc items are used for. I figure I'll get a good amount of "projects to try" during the 3 month period. That should get me through most of the winter here in NE Ohio.

I have a "process flow" & "analytical" way of doing things. Sorry I sounded so scattered brained but I just got out of the hospital with shoulder surgery the day I posted and was still feeling the "effects" of my "feeling good" medication.

I ordered some "samples" from a number of suppliers including JDS and Laserbits so I can try a bunch of different items to get some idea of what I have fun working with as this is only a hobby. It's supposed to be my "relax time" to get away from the business stress at AT&T.

Thanks again for your patience & understanding but most of all for the unselfish mentoring.

Enjoy the remainder of your weekend.

[Brian Robison]

Bugs, here's a suggestion or two that's a little off from the others. Get your file system figured out in the beginning ie. Customers, Products, Misc. etc.
On your Corel page, write your settings (power speed htz.)and your page size. I set my default page size to .040 x .040 because I used to mess up a lot of items by having the page size wrong. Now the laser won't lase anything at that small page size normally and I know to go back and fix it. Some people will use the laser size as the page size but then you loose some of the Corel features for centering to the page. Blue painters tape at low power will help with registration.
Use the preview feature in the printer driver if you have one.

[Ian Wilson (AUST)]

Hey Bugs,


Welcome to a fascinating new world.

About nine months ago I mentioned I'd like a change in my career. A mate of mine said "Check out Laser Engravers...they are awesome!!" I'd never heard of one before. The Sawmill Creek crew are the best, all the info is here if you search the threads, Ive never known an industry to share so much info and offer support to strangers.

I signed up with Laser U...I found them super helpful...especially as I have little experience........I built me confidence up using one Rowmark product...practiced making simple but effective Marine Safety and Operational signs and now I have a handful of Chandlers using my signs, then came Timber birthday plaques, dog tags, the old trophy and you are away.

Not making a million bucks but enough to keep my head above water & the only marketing to date is handing out business cards.

My website has just gone live, phone directory listing just released and about to do the local Saturday markets.........so I'm expecting things to step up a gear. The whole journey to date has been a GREAT experience.

Best of luck and enjoy the learning curve ( which in my case will go for ever)........suits me just fine.

Cheers Ian:)

[laura passek]

I've cut out the side from a shoe box and cut it to the size of plaque I was working on and lasered it to see how it would look. cheap test material.

[Brian Robison]

I also use some 90 lb paper for testing.

[Rob Bosworth]

Hey Bugs, why don't you check with the Trotec Rep. about ideas and such. :D

Sorry, I couldn't resist.:D

[donald bugansky]

Say it isn't so but I knew that response would finally hit the wires.

Rob, great stuff but in the end it was $1500 difference for a new machine with 3 year warranty.

[Rob Bosworth]

Don, sometimes it is really hard to see the ball all teed up, and not want to take a big swing at it.

Glad to hear you are up and running. Hope all goes well. And if you ever need something, don't hesitate in asking.

[donald bugansky]

Thanks for your reply. It goes both ways, if I can be of assistance "as a hobbiest", please let me know.

Continued Success in your business.

Did you ever sell that really clean machine (I think it was 2003) for $10,000?

[Rob Bosworth]

Yes Sir, it is ready to be skidded and should be picked up tomorrow. Wish I had three or four more of those.

Now that you mention it, could I use your shop for a few hours?