Source for Lighted Base

[Bill George]

Just spent some quality time with my small milling machine, now doing wood instead of metal. Made a nice slotted wood base with a couple holes for LED's and then routed the bottom side out for the wiring. Looks very nice, but also very time consuming.
Looked on eBay and Google search came up with not much.

So does anyone have a Source for lighted bases with a slot for say .235 thick Acrylic ?

[Bill George]

I've been looking on here and searching the Internet for 2 days.... nothing. Looks like I should be making bases instead of laser art ..??

[Mike Null]

Bill

Send a pm to Jim Good.

[Bert Kemp]

I sent messages to Jim on July 1st he said he'd get right back to me with info and paypal addy so i could buy from him and never heard another word from him.
hope he's OK

[Bill George]

I sent messages to Jim on July 1st he said he'd get right back to me with info and paypal addy so i could buy from him and never heard another word from him.
hope he's OK
That has been the story all along, I can find sites but they are either dead links or totally not related to what I am looking for... thanks Google.

[Jerome Stanek]

What type of bases do you need and how many.

[Dan Kozakewycz]

I need some of these too.

Surely it must be possible to manufacture one with the laser?

Off to fire up the CAD program...

[Tammy Arnott]

Have you tried http://www.harborsales.net/tabid/130/Default.aspx?ProductTypeId=80? I was looking for a source a while back and this was the best thing I could come up with. They're not too beautiful, but if you're looking for something unobtrusive, they might work. I've actually made my own on the laser from black acrylic. Making the prototype was annoying and time consuming, but the customer loved it. 294039 Please let us know if you find a source for wood. I keep threatening to make the hubs show me how to use the router so I can make my own, but I'd much rather find someone.

[Bill George]

I did not feel like creating an account just to shop and get prices right now, But I will, thanks for the tip.

[Chuck Stone]

I did not feel like creating an account just to shop and get prices

^^^^^^^^ This. I HATE that!

[Michele Welch]

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Fortunately for me, I have a wonderful hubby that's a woodworker and he creates these wonderful wood bases for our LED signs. It also gives me an additional area to engrave information on for the customer. We do sell just the bases if you'd like to message me and we can work out some pricing. We have access to some wonderful woods that make for great bases.

[Bert Kemp]

Those look pretty nice, but my led strips are .25 wide and the acrylic sheets are .125.
kinda needs to be a groove thats wider at the bottom and narrower at the top like a dove tail wood joint. Can you do that type of grove?

[Michele Welch]

Those look pretty nice, but my led strips are .25 wide and the acrylic sheets are .125.
kinda needs to be a groove thats wider at the bottom and narrower at the top like a dove tail wood joint. Can you do that type of grove?

Hi Bert,

Yes, that's something that he can do. The ones that I posted are what he's made for me because I use just over 1/4" wide LED stripes and my acrylic sheets are just shy of 1/4".

He'll try to get a sample of one like this in the next few days and I'll post it. It will just be a matter of finding a router bit that will accommodate those sizes.

Is there a specific reason why you use such thin stock? I'm just curious, I've never used that this before for a sign.

Thanks,
Michele

[Bill George]

Well I am in the middle of making a batch, it is not the making.... its the time involved. I am using the same acrylic as you and where are you getting LED strips that small or narrow I should say? I am drilling holes in the bottom of the slot and wiring up T3 clear extra bright LED's. The wiring will be tucked underneath in routed slots and soldered to the 3 volt power supply cord. I figure with the LED's and power supplies plus the labor they need to sell for $20 - $30 each. I think that is too high priced even before you add the laser engraved glass or acrylic.

Ok I just went to a link I had Bookmarked a while back and found LED strips 8 and 10 mm wide and the spacing for the LED's is about what I have now. I also think I have a milling cutter to cut the groove at the bottom of my slot....

[Michele Welch]

Bill,

I've had GREAT luck with the LED reels in multiple colors & RGB from Amazon. I typically get a 5M or 16.4 Ft reel for somewhere around $8 - $10. I have Amazon Prime, so no shipping charge. We've used these for over a year now and haven't had any come back or problems with any. We have one ourselves and it's still as bright today as it was a year ago and no dead bulbs. You can cut them every 3 bulbs. We do have a company out of Northern California that we purchase our power supplies and leads from. On the leads we have a thumb switch installed so there's an on/off switch and then hubs just solders it all together and the power comes off one end of the base. There isn't a whole lot of wiring that needs to be hidden so no need for a slot underneath. He heat shrinks a cover over the wiring for protection and it looks nice and polished and finished.

Also, you mentioned your power supply, is it 3 volt or 3 amp? I researched alot before beginning to make the LED Edge Lit Signs and unless your doing a sign longer than 6 ft you only need a 1 amp power supply.

Let me know if I can help! That's what we're here for! I love this forum!


Well I am in the middle of making a batch, it is not the making.... its the time involved. I am using the same acrylic as you and where are you getting LED strips that small or narrow I should say? I am drilling holes in the bottom of the slot and wiring up T3 clear extra bright LED's. The wiring will be tucked underneath in routed slots and soldered to the 3 volt power supply cord. I figure with the LED's and power supplies plus the labor they need to sell for $20 - $30 each. I think that is too high priced even before you add the laser engraved glass or acrylic.

Ok I just went to a link I had Bookmarked a while back and found LED strips 8 and 10 mm wide and the spacing for the LED's is about what I have now. I also think I have a milling cutter to cut the groove at the bottom of my slot....

[Bill George]

The concept with the 3 Volt power supply was it was regulated and did not need a dropping resistor to run standard LED's. With the strips, yes I know they are standard 12 VDC and the ones I found have factory available termination and power supplies. All from a US supplier and UL approved.

Ordering the T slot cutter tonight, as I already have a nice milling machine and table vise, now for wood instead of metal!

[Michele Welch]

Where did you find a T slot cutter that will do a 1/4" bottom slot and smaller slot for the acrylic? My husband was working in the shop a little bit ago and he was able to do a base like Bert was needing, it just was a larger than the .125 acrylic that he's using.

[Bert Kemp]

1/8th inch is what I find at HD for stock also most glass stock I use is 1/8th also, never tried 1/4" stock.

[Michele Welch]

When I'm in a crunch I go to HD and that's where I get my almost 1/4" stock. The price is minimal between the two. On my machine it takes a little bit longer to cut out, but I really like the sturdiness of it. Here's a pic of the base my hubby worked on a little bit ago with a smaller slot for the acrylic and the 1/4" for the LED strip.

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1/8th inch is what I find at HD for stock also most glass stock I use is 1/8th also, never tried 1/4" stock.

[Bill George]

The slot cutter has a .250 shank so it won't work for the 1/8 inch .125 inch. I got my acrylic from Amazon, cast not .250 more like .235, 8 pcs 12x12 inches to my door for $48.

[Michele Welch]

That's a great price. I usually pay about $20 for an 18" x 24" sheet and then my hubby cuts it down to size for me. Can you post or PM me the link for what you buy please?

[Bill George]

Amazon do a search for acrylic, its cast and engraves beautifully.

[Michele Welch]

Great, thanks. I think I found it. Glad to know it engraves well. Out of curiosity, what settings do you use to engrave (raster) and vector engrave on your machine? I'm still having issues getting a smooth engraving when rastering.

[Bill George]

Great, thanks. I think I found it. Glad to know it engraves well. Out of curiosity, what settings do you use to engrave (raster) and vector engrave on your machine? I'm still having issues getting a smooth engraving when rastering.
30 - 40 percent 35 Watt machine 400 mm sec

[Michele Welch]

Not to sound ignorant, but my machine (FSL 45W), to my knowledge, only uses Power & Speed settings. How do I translate what you gave below of 40 percent and 400 mm sec, into power and speed settings?


30 - 40 percent 35 Watt machine 400 mm sec

[Bill George]

Not to sound ignorant, but my machine (FSL 45W), to my knowledge, only uses Power & Speed settings. How do I translate what you gave below of 40 percent and 400 mm sec, into power and speed settings?
40% of 35 = 14 watts and 400 mm/Sec should be in your software settings for each file that you can adjust as needed.. 25.4 mm per inch so round numbers 16 inches per sec. Which happens to be top speed for my machine.
Amazon Link for Acrylic > http://www.amazon.com/Cast-Acrylic-Sheet-Clear-0-118/dp/B00JB7FEEU/ref=sr_1_1?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1407153129&sr=1-1&keywords=clear+cast+acrylic

[Michele Welch]

This is software for the FSL machines are very basic and I'm not aware of anywhere to change those settings. The software is Retina Engrave and it only has spots to change the percentage amount of power and speed, at least to my knowledge. Thanks for the info though. I will see what I can find!


40% of 35 = 14 watts and 400 mm/Sec should be in your software settings for each file that you can adjust as needed.. 25.4 mm per inch so round numbers 16 inches per sec. Which happens to be top speed for my machine.
Amazon Link for Acrylic > http://www.amazon.com/Cast-Acrylic-Sheet-Clear-0-118/dp/B00JB7FEEU/ref=sr_1_1?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1407153129&sr=1-1&keywords=clear+cast+acrylic

[Bill George]

This is using the new 5 LED base with the 3 volt power supply. Better upload, no the image is not shades of white and blue.... my camera phone does that. When I take pictures for uploading to our website they will be with my Canon digital...., the $1200 one.
Notice the detail in Joy's eyes it looks stunning in person.
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40% and 400 mm's Sec

[Chuck Stone]

The slot cutter has a .250 shank so it won't work for the 1/8 inch .125 inch.

I just picked up a Freud 'keyhole router bit' that has a 1/4" shank, bit it thins to 1/8" above the shaft area.
The cutter head is 1/4", but the body is also a cutter and that's 1/8".
Don't know if you can use those in your milling machine or not.. but for $16 it isn't too expensive to find out..

[Bill George]

I just picked up a Freud 'keyhole router bit' that has a 1/4" shank, bit it thins to 1/8" above the shaft area.
The cutter head is 1/4", but the body is also a cutter and that's 1/8".
Don't know if you can use those in your milling machine or not.. but for $16 it isn't too expensive to find out..

I don't need anything smaller than .250 but maybe someone else does. Thanks anyway.

[Michele Welch]

Thanks Chuck, that was me that was looking for it. Where did you find it?


I just picked up a Freud 'keyhole router bit' that has a 1/4" shank, bit it thins to 1/8" above the shaft area.
The cutter head is 1/4", but the body is also a cutter and that's 1/8".
Don't know if you can use those in your milling machine or not.. but for $16 it isn't too expensive to find out..

[Chuck Stone]

Thanks Chuck, that was me that was looking for it. Where did you find it?

It was the local hardware store. I only mentioned it because you said you were using
the 1/8" acrylic, so you'd want a thin channel to give it some support.
I wish I had kept the package, I could have given you a part number.
But most places that sell a lot of router bits will have a catalog and you
can look it up easily enough

[Dan Kozakewycz]

Post moved because of this forums incredibly annoying thread structure!

[Martin Boekers]

Can you just cut a couple strips, one for each side of the acrylic out of 1/16" plastic?

[Dan Kozakewycz]

He's my attempt, made out of 4mm thick plywood. Simple box with a slot in the top for a 3mm sign, and a hole at one end with a battery cable.

No pictures before it was painted, but you all know what they look like.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v314/Quicksilver4000/Black%20Art%20Graphics/7451E2EF-2749-49D6-9CDF-F60815D066AA_zpspwrnnqia.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v314/Quicksilver4000/Black%20Art%20Graphics/764E2611-3270-4A92-82B2-58CEF7B4C878_zpsp1vofmqb.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v314/Quicksilver4000/Black%20Art%20Graphics/DE21C7B5-2E2C-490F-8EC9-98C248350196_zpse4hay1fq.jpg

Needs some tweaking to add some internal support for the acyrlic so it sits straight, at the moment it just drops through and sits on the LED strip which isn't ideal. I've got my first trade stall event tomorrow though so this should grab some attention!