How does curley maple look after laser engraving?

[jonathan snyder]

Hi folks,

I mostly hang out in Neanderthal Haven, we don't have lasers!! First time ever coming down here. I know nothing about laser engraving, so I have a couple question for you knowledgeable folks.

I have an old weather vane that belonged to my Great Great Grandfather. I plan to mount it on a piece of air dried black walnut, and would like to inlay a piece of curly maple with some text laser engraved on it. I called a local shop, but the guy did not know how well curly maple would look after engraving. I'm planning on 3 lines of text in a 28 pt Monotype Corsiva font on a 4"X8" piece of maple.

How does curly maple look after engraving? Would the text be visible? Would I need to darken it with India ink or something.

What is a reasonable price for this? I was quoted $25 for set up fee, if I supply the wood and a MS Word file.

Thanks
Jonathan

[Bruce Volden]

Looks just fine. I didn't quite understand if this was going to be used outdoors? If so, spar varnish. Also the engraving would have to be color-filled! I would love to come across a bunch of curly maple:D

Bruce

[jonathan snyder]

Bruce,

Sorry for the confusion, it will hang in the living room! You say the engraving will have to be color filled. Does that mean that the laser will not darken the letters? What do you suggest to use to color fill? I plan on shellac as a top coat.

Thanks
Jonathan

[Nancy Laird]

Jonathan, we have engraved curly maple before, and it turns out beautifully. No, the laser will not darken the wood enough to be read from any distance. We use Liquitex Basics acrylic artists paints to do color fill. The wood must be finished first so any smoke/flare doesn't stay on the wood - use at least one coat of lacquer or shellac. Laser, wax with a good wood-floor wax, then "scrub" the paint into the lasered portion, wipe off excess with a damp rag, let dry thoroughly, then wax again to remove any paint film or haze. Then you can spray a couple of coats of shellac or lacquer on top of the completed piece.

Your laser person should already know how to do this if s/he is making plaques or anything similar out of wood.

Nancy (103 days)

[jonathan snyder]

Nancy,

Thank you so much. I did not realize I would need to finish the wood first. The laser guy I spoke with, forgot to mention any of that!!! Maybe I will try to call someone else. I only found two places advertising laser engraving here in Anchorage.

You say scrub the paint in. Do you use a rag or what?

Thanks again
Jonathan

[Nancy Laird]

Nancy,

Thank you so much. I did not realize I would need to finish the wood first. The laser guy I spoke with, forgot to mention any of that!!! Maybe I will try to call someone else. I only found two places advertising laser engraving here in Anchorage.

You say scrub the paint in. Do you use a rag or what?

Thanks again
Jonathan

Believe it or not, we use a battery-powered toothbrush. Our mentor (the lady who owned one of our lasers before) found some toothbrushes that start and run when you put just a little pressure on the brush part, and that's what we use. Of course any stiff brush will do (toothbrushes are probably best), but these have a spinny brush on them which gets the paint into all of the little crevices and corners and it's less labor-intensive.

Nancy (103 days)