Tool Selection

[Tim Boger]

I think this engraving is pretty cool, I assume it's done with a laser ....

What about engraving on a turned (rounded) surface?

What would be a recommended starter system?How much would I expect to pay?

Thanks,
Tim
309760

[Mike Troncalli]

I ask (If you haven't already).. Please spend some time and search some of the posts... This question has been asked and answered many, many times here...

Find out as much as you can so that you can determine a better direction that you would like to go in. The more informed you are the more informed questions you'll be able to ask and get better answers...

[Tim Boger]

Thanks for the reply Mike.

Tim

[Matt McCoy]

Tim: Definitely engraved with a laser.

There are different machines to accommodate needs and budget.

You will need a rotary attachment to engrave turned pieces.

Hope that gets you started.

[Tim Boger]

Tim: Definitely engraved with a laser.

There are different machines to accommodate needs and budget.

You will need a rotary attachment to engrave turned pieces.

Hope that gets you started.


Hey Matt ... appreciate the help.

I'll do some research on what manufacturer is recommended, source to do business with, what model, what power, particular attachments, and applications that appeal to me.

Thanks again,
Tim

Tim

[Bill George]

Tim when I first found this site I was so overwhelmed with A. The amount of information available and B. The number of very talented, skilled people that are on here. I spent weeks searching, reading, and learning. You must be a woodworker, a laser would fit in very well in your area of expertise.

BTW I have the machine listed in my Signature and it was and is fine. But going to purchase another, larger machine with more power (50 watts) and larger work area, and its faster also.

[Tim Boger]

Tim when I first found this site I was so overwhelmed with A. The amount of information available and B. The number of very talented, skilled people that are on here. I spent weeks searching, reading, and learning. You must be a woodworker, a laser would fit in very well in your area of expertise.

Hi George,

My shop time is almost exclusively spent building segmented pieces, now and then I'll do up a few cutting boards.

I'm thinking a laser could be used to decorate the feature rings on turned bowls or vases with themed patterns or verbiage specific to a life moment ...

Typically I try to get pointed in the "smart" direction and then I become obsessed with research. I'll continue to look around until I'm able to learn enough about where and what to look at.

Thank you for your help.
Tim

[Mike Troncalli]

Tim,

Now that we are starting to get an idea of what you want to do re. segmented bowls and platters... You'll most likely want a machine that can handle tall objects.. (removable floor helps). If your wanting to engrave your turned bowls then I would recommend a machine that you can use a rotary device with a Chuck style head instead of a friction wheel...

You won't be able to engrave your pieces and then put them onto your lathe as most laser engravings do not go very deep.. You'll turn them right out when you start forming your pieces... Thus the rotary...

If you are looking more for engraving then cutting, I would recommend something in the 40 - 60 watt range.. Also If your doing a lot of platters then make sure you find something with a larger bed size..

Price???? What is your budget... That will determine a whole lot as far as narrowing down your results..

Continue to look through the threads here and you'll soon start getting a good picture of what is out there and what is best for you..

Good Luck

[Tim Boger]

Tim,

Now that we are starting to get an idea of what you want to do re. segmented bowls and platters... You'll most likely want a machine that can handle tall objects.. (removable floor helps). If your wanting to engrave your turned bowls then I would recommend a machine that you can use a rotary device with a Chuck style head instead of a friction wheel...

You won't be able to engrave your pieces and then put them onto your lathe as most laser engravings do not go very deep.. You'll turn them right out when you start forming your pieces... Thus the rotary...

If you are looking more for engraving then cutting, I would recommend something in the 40 - 60 watt range.. Also If your doing a lot of platters then make sure you find something with a larger bed size..

Price???? What is your budget... That will determine a whole lot as far as narrowing down your results..

Continue to look through the threads here and you'll soon start getting a good picture of what is out there and what is best for you..

Good Luck

Hey Mike,

My thoughts are to finish my work on the lathe to the point where I'm at perhaps 180 or 220 grit, then do what ever engraving I had decided on and then fill it with an appropriate colored filler and finish sand.

Is 1/16 a reasonable depth to expect prior to filling?

Regarding budget .... hadn't given it much thought as yet, let's say $3000.00 / will that get me anywhere near a decent used machine?

Thanks again,
Tim

[Dan Hintz]

You'll run into several issues with bowls. The get the engraving to go around the entire bowl (rather than just a small patch), you'll need to do one of two things: 1) put the bowl in a rotary, or 2) lay the bowl on the table rim down. There are disadvantages to both methods.

1) You're limited to the size of the bowl as rotaries don't often accept items much bigger in diameter than 8" or so.

(This one applies to both cases)
2) You're also limited to "height" of the bowl (i.e., diameter difference from edge of rim to edge of base when using a rotary, and difference in height from flat of rim to flat of base when laying directly on the table). Lenses only focus so far (about 1/4" for a 2"FL lens, which you can extend to maybe 1" for a 5"FL lens), so you'll have to refocus during the process. This can leave obvious rings in the pattern if you're not precise. Ad if the "height" is too great, you won't be able to get past the focal distance at all as the carriage will eventually hit the bowl itself.

A sharply angled bowl would work better flat on the table, whereas a more cylindrical piece will work better on the rotary (but in that case, you'll have to do a lot of refocusing again if the piece has a wide variance in diameter as you rise through the piece). It's a complete cluster...

[Bill George]

As far a bowl rims the really important measurement would be what diameter would the laser be able to do? As a work around for bowls to big for a rotary, maybe you could divide the bowl into 4 segments, mark with masking tape and have a jig or fixture set up so you clamp each of the 4 segments and laser. True it would not work for a continuous pattern but maybe for what your doing it Might work.

[Tim Boger]

Hey Bill,

I hadn't considered a continuous pattern, just as the specific number of segments each unique bowl or piece has the feature ring will likely have the same number, a repeating pattern on every segment (typically 12 or 24) or alternating every second, third or fourth.... what ever number is advisable equally.

Trying to find a picture showing my thoughts ...

Thanks for your help.

Tim

[Tim Boger]

Hi Dan,

That's going to take some time to digest, thank you very much for the very specific info.

Tim

[Tim Boger]

As a very general idea, this what my first thought was.309784

[Dan Hintz]

As a very general idea, this what my first thought was.309784

You could get away with a fixture to hold it upright, but you will still be limited height-wise (well, diameter-wise, in a manner of speaking). Bowls larger than about 8" won't fit in most machine due to Z-height limits, and many of the cheaper machines won't even have that.

[Mike Troncalli]

You would most likely need a machine with a removable floor.. Problem is going to be your budget... I can only speak for the machine that I use which is the Full Spectrum Laser 5th Generation. It does have a removable floor and you can purchase a rotary to go with it.. Problem is your looking at around $4000 - $5000 for a full setup... and the rotary is a friction wheel type which honestly I think wouldn't work well for you..

But as Dan mentioned, if you stand your bowl upright you can engrave individual sections, but your area will be limited as to any curvature.

[Tony Lenkic]

It maybe doable to engrave sections prior to assembly?
If so than you can stack up sections side by side and engrave images in one go.

[Mike Troncalli]

It maybe doable to engrave sections prior to assembly?
If so than you can stack up sections side by side and engrave images in one go.

Tony, As a woodturner myself I am going to have to disagree with you on this.. The laser will only be able to engrave 1/16" to 1/8" deep and he would have to remove a whole lot more than that after assembling and turning a segmented bowl..

[Tony Lenkic]

Tim, I stand corrected.

[Bill George]

As a very general idea, this what my first thought was.309784
In my machine shop I have a Rotary indexer. It takes collets and you would need to come up with some sort of holder to attach to your bowl. It can be set up to do a number of stops in the 360 degree rotation. Once again as Dan has pointed out, Z travel is limited, unless you can use one of the Models that have a removable floor.

The indexer cost was under $200 US.

[Bert Kemp]

I think for doing the things you want to do a $3000 budget is not realistic. You need at least 8" of up down table. You most likely will need a rotary. Up your budget to 5 to 7 K and you might find something.

[Mike Dempsey]

One way to do the edge of items such as this, that are to big to fit on a rotary device is to use a galvo laser. I have done the edge of 12" wide chopping boards for a mate that were waney edged sycamore. It was a bit of a faff and if the edges had been square and all the same size it would have taken about a tenth of the time. It was a freebie for him as he is my logging buddy but he did appreciate the effort.
In order to do a large round item a jig would need to be made like a big steering wheel which would fit inside the rim and turn on an axis and would have to be indexed.
Having had my galvo for seven years before I got my rayjet , I am used to thinking up ways to engrave unusual object such as this!