** I apologize for the length of this post ahead of time ** I ordered a small “desktop” hobby laser with four weeks of production time to rig up a space for it in my small shop. Unfortunately my brother wound up in ICU these past three weeks and we have been needed to assist through the crisis. (After having been given a 5% chance of living through it all and collecting ourselves at the hospital twice because he wasn’t expected to make it through the night, he was sent home Tuesday night and we’ve finally reached a recovery phase that we could hardly dare to even to hope for. SUCH a miracle!)
I just checked the status on my laser this morning to find that not only has it already shipped but is “out for delivery.” Out for delivery? I just ordered the thing yesterday didn’t I? Needless to say, my space looks exactly as it did the day I purchased my laser. Compounded by the fact that I closed my shop for the whole of these past weeks , I’m now in a fix for having not generated the extra income we usually depend on much less able to divert any surplus for the project.
I’ve thrown the old plan out entirely and am now considering the set up options below in an effort to be time efficient and cost effective. Please have a look and let me know if anything is ill advised given the nature running a laser in general. I’ve given myself all manner of brain damage these past weeks and am afraid I’m overlooking something in the aftermath of the whole ordeal. The advice of the experienced folks here would be greatly appreciated.
Space: Former closet space with no doors against an exterior wall at garden level. I intend to tile the floor and vent outside approximately 5-7ft of hose. (We’ve converted what would be a guest bedroom into my shop with a plotter and some other smallish equipment to play with.)
Table: I had intended to get a great bench table, mostly stainless steel, with elevated (off the floor) cabinet areas below for chiller units etc… Now I’m looking at a small Rubbermaid folding table and intend to put my chiller bucket and such right on the tile. Do I need a protective something on the table?
Venting: Harbor Freight, 1HP, Mini Dust Collector, 914 CFM. I intend to keep the unit outside and had big plan on how to house it. Now I’m just thinking about turning a big Rubbermaid box upside-down over the top… maybe insulating the box to some degree for noise. (Pardon me if I’m missing anything that seems glaringly obvious… remember… brain damage.) Do I remember someone venting into water instead of the dust collection bag to help with the stinky stuff? This I hadn’t planned, but if there is a system to manage that aspect of things, I would appreciate comments on this too.
Electrical: Since the ventilation will be outdoors and this is an exterior wall anyhow, I had intended on adding and exterior outlet and connecting a regular light switch to it from the inside. I will likely do this in the future, but if anyone has suggestions as to how to go about rigging something temporary that doesn’t involve my having to walk around the back of the house to turn the think on/off, I’m all ears. (Thinking about using my Christmas tree remote thingy until I have time to re-do the electrical, though I’m not sure if the little gizmo is meant to draw the voltage/wattage/amperage… can’t remember what word fits here.)
Safety: Obviously a fire extinguisher on hand, but I remember seeing some little canisters that remind me of the little “dust off” air in a can type containers that had a cleaner extinguishing medium inside for small flare-ups. I don’t remember where I read it or what it is called, but if anyone knows what this product is, I’d like to include it.
Our shop is small, and mainly a creative outlet that happily generates a modest supplemental income for us. I don’t want to burn our house down over it though, so I’m grateful for any input.
Thanks,
Chris
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