Lasering Footballs (American Football)

[Tim Bateson]

Seems there was little info on lasering leather footballs (American Football), so I’ll add this thread for future reference.

This groom to-be called and wanted to have a lot of footballs engraved – big wedding party. The Sporting Goods store had refused to do it. I read a few threads here & I had done a few baseball mitts, so I agreed to the job. I was thinking 2 or 3 footballs, he showed up with $900 worth of footballs. I gave him all of the usual pros & cons of lasering thin leather & he wanted to proceed.
This is the result. Note the elaborate jig I rigged up to hold the footballs. I do baseball mitts at 100/40/600. These footballs lasered nicely at 100/20/600. Note due to the small area being engraved I did not have to deflate the footballs.

[Dee Gallo]

Thanks for posting this, Tim. You never know when this type of thing will come up, but it sure helps to be prepared!

cheers, dee

[James Jaragosky]

Thanks for posting this, Tim. You never know when this type of thing will come up, but it sure helps to be prepared!

cheers, dee
I like the jig. Thanks for the information.

[Tim Bateson]

I should also note that to laser this while inflated, I had to remove the vector grid & place my fancy jig in the bottom of the laser bed.

[Chris DeGerolamo]

Great jig - I needed a good laugh...

It's funny how you look at things differently when there is a laser in your life.

[Larry Bratton]

I wonder if he gave her a football instead of a ring or something? She must be a real sport.

[Dan Hintz]

So Tim, what's the repeatability like with that expensive jig? ;)

[Gary Hair]

So Tim, what's the repeatability like with that expensive jig? ;)

I would guess a half-size would be reasonable...:cool:

[Chuck Stone]

I'm wondering if Laserbits carries the jig.. :p

[Bill Cunningham]

Had someone bring me some footballs a while back, turns out they were leather looking plastic.. The laser just 'smoothed' the surface into an engraving. The customer did deflate them, and taped them flat with the handy mans secret weapon..

Attached Thumbnails http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=73482&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1192248714 (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=73482&d=1192248714)

[Tim Bateson]

So Tim, what's the repeatability like with that expensive jig? ;)

I made pencil marks for the ends of the football, so each was aligned the same way every time. When the jig had finished its purpose, it found its way to the recycle bin. Who knows in a few weeks my jig may be your McDonalds coffee cup.

[Mike Null]

Tim

That looks like a $40 jig to me.

Nice work.

[Tim Bateson]

Tim

That looks like a $40 jig to me.

Nice work.


For $40, I'll dig it out of the recycle bin for you! :D I'll even ship it for Free! :D

[Dan Hintz]

$20 shipping... UPS/FedEx Ground has gone up lately :)

[Scott Shepherd]

I hope he left with $1,400 worth of footballs :D

[Tim Bateson]

I hope he left with $1,400 worth of footballs :D

I wish! Each ball: unbox + placement + laser time + rebox was < 1 minute. Note: I did not use the $1/minute rule here. The fee was just a little north of that. :cool:

[Terry Swift]

Never ceases to amaze me at what customers can "dream up" and think can be "created." I'm sure some of my networking buddies would like the football idea. :eek:

Tim - guess you can become the new "Sports Lasering King" with that. Maybe you should contact the sports store and offer your services - new leads out there when you least expect it. :rolleyes:

[Tim Bateson]

I'm sure that not all footballs will laser this nicely. These were expensive top of the line footballs, not the kind you buy for your kid playing in the back yard. I only had 1 that didn't have a nice dark burn.

[Steven Wallace]

The key to getting Tim's results are "leather" footballs. :) I am going to try some Wilson brand composite leather footballs this weekend and see what kind of results I get.:confused: Rubber or other simulated cover :eek: is out of the question in my experience.