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Brandon Mitchell
06-29-2006, 11:49 PM
Hello,

I am new to this website and already see myself asking questions about different woodworking advice etc. I really wish I would have found this site along time ago. :D Anyway, my question is that I am really interested in buying a laser engraver but I can not really afford to spend 10,000 + for a unit. I found one from the following website: http://www.iehk.net/ and the different models are IE 500 and IE 900/1200. These machines are more in my price range. My question is does anyone have a machine like this or ever used a machine like this? I look at the different machines on other websites and the machines seem to be very comparable if not the same yet they are tons less in price. So I would appreciate any help with this situation or advice on laser engravers. Again I appreciate your help/advice and look forward to many replys.

Thanks,
Brandon Mitchell

Lee DeRaud
06-30-2006, 12:00 AM
Check out this thread: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=29400

If you decide to buy one, let us know.:cool:

Brandon Mitchell
06-30-2006, 12:31 AM
I appreciate the thread Lee. I was really thinking the same problems would happen and I'm really worried about that. So, I guess I will just have to try and save more money for a US machine. If anyone knows of any US machines that are good but less than 10,000+ please let me know.

Thanks,
Brandon

Lee DeRaud
06-30-2006, 12:40 AM
I appreciate the thread Lee. I was really thinking the same problems would happen and I'm really worried about that. So, I guess I will just have to try and save more money for a US machine. If anyone knows of any US machines that are good but less than 10,000+ please let me know.

Thanks,
BrandonKinda depends on what you want to do with it. There are "name-brand" lasers available in the $7K range now: what you're giving up is either cutting area (e.g. the small Mercury) or power (e.g. the 15W Versalaser). There have been enough of the $10-15K machines sold over the last couple of years that I would expect some of them to start showing up on the used market...whether dealing with a used machine is worth the price delta, only you can say.

Tom Radachi
06-30-2006, 11:19 AM
Do some snooping Brandon...
Find the right situation and buy a used one. I use mine for hobby purposes (so far) and found an Epilog at a great price. Granted it's antiquated compared to the new models, but works great for me. I looked at those imports too. It's tempting but I'm glad I got what I did. Research is the key. There's some decent used on the market, just gotta look for 'em!
Tom

Joe Pelonio
06-30-2006, 11:35 AM
Epilog has a few "pre-owned" for sale on their website, including a 45 watt
TT that's half of what I paid for mine, 2 lasers under $10k and one just over. They have a 6 month warranty, which you won't get from a private party. You might check other makes websites for similar sales.

http://www.epiloglaser.com/preowned.htm

Hilton Lister
06-30-2006, 5:15 PM
www.usedlasers.com (http://www.usedlasers.com) is a good place to start. Owner "Boz" is an enthusiastic participant in the engraving forums

Dave Jones
06-30-2006, 8:00 PM
I bought a used 45 watt Epilog Mini-24 for $10k (normally around $17k). It works great and I love it. But be aware that you always take your chances with used machines. There's no warranty, and repairs (especially a new laser tube) can be very expensive.

If you have something in mind that will make a decent amount of money, it might be worth spending the extra to get a new one. Especially if you plan to give it heavy use. I'm planning on fairly light usage, so used was OK with me.

Brent Vander Weil
07-02-2006, 1:28 AM
Bought my Epilog from UsedLasers and got a 6mo warranty and when I had (what turned out to be) a minor issue they jumped right in and got the problem addressed and I was going that night. The machine I got looked and performed A1... Just MHO...