Well I did it-Thank you for all the input.

[Kit Dumph]

Put a order in for a new 50watt helix from epilog. Much more then I was planning to spend, but think it was the right choice for me. Can't wait to see what I can do with this thing. Between them being local to me and the great factory tour, seeing the care they put into these machines the choice was a no brainer. I will keep you guys updated as I progress and how the machine is running!

Thank you everyone for all the input! Now for the hard part of trying to make money with this machine!

[Paul Phillips]

Congratulations Kit, I'm sure you won't be disappointed with that nice machine! I'm sure you will be like most of us here, once you get the machine there will seem to be an endless list of ideas and possibilities, from now on, everything you see will be through the lens of "can I laser that?" :D!!! If you need a place to start I would recommend spending the $10 (I think) on the disc of file attachments from this forum that Kieth offers, worth it's weight in gold IMO. If you would like to try some boxes PM me and I'll send you some files to try. Looking forward to seeing some of your work.

[Kit Dumph]

I already did!

[Martin Boekers]

Kit, Welcome to SMC. There is tons of info in this forum. Use the "search" when looking for something.
So much has been address and you'll find other things you never thought of. One bit on safety though.....
not everything is safe to engrave.... anything with Chloride (like PVC for example) puts off a hazardous
gas for you and your machine. We look forward to seeing your projects!

[Robert Tepper]

Congratulations on your investment.

Much luck to you.

Robert