Laser for Marquetry?

[Stephen Musial]

Hi,

A little background - I do a mix of aquatics CAD design, marquetry, rehab work and building furniture. Due to a recent accident (that I can't give any specifics on due to pending litigation) I can't do any actual work right now and CAD time is limited because my hand will ache for hours afterwards. Hopefully in time, the majority of it will resolve itself and I'll be back to being a productive member of society.

At some point in time there's going to be a settlement and I'd like to get something that will allow me to do the sort of marquetry patterns I've designed but couldn't cut out with a knife (I have yet to try packet cutting on the scroll saw) so I'm looking at either a CNC with a Donek drag knife or a laser.

If I go the laser route, can I just tape the veneer to the table, and let it go to town or do I need some sort of vacuum table to hold the veneer in place?
What am I looking at as far as getting into a laser? I don't want to build my own stuff - something that I unpack, hook up, translate my AutoCAD drawings and then start cutting. Nothing against Chinese stuff, but if I drop a wad of cash, I want to be sure that there's support and parts if/when needed.

Does anyone use their laser for cutting veneer and if so are you happy with the route you chose? If you have both CNC and laser, would you recommend one over the other? I have a ton of veneer - all cut and flitched, none paper backed.

Size wise, I don't see myself needing anything bigger than 18" x 24" or 36" (depending on what size the workable area is) Something bigger than a tabloid sheet of paper but smaller than a half sheet of plywood.

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

[Dan Hintz]

Considering the thinness of veneer, I would highly suggest a laser vs. a CNC. A vacuum table will solve problems that you didn't know you would have... such as veneer that doesn't lie perfectly flat.

[John Noell]

The Epilogs come with a tablet which has a lot of holes in it, and the exhaust gets pulled fro under the table - so while I would not call it a vacuum table, it does put flexible materials somewhat flat. Some(!) softer veneers will lay flat like that.

[Mike Null]

You'll probably need to buy CorelDraw to convert your autocad drawings. You probably won't need a vacuum table but the veneer will have to be flat and in focus for cutting. You may be able to use weights or tape though most of what I've cut has been flat enough without using any clamps or presses, etc.

I believe the laser will do a superior job to any other method of cutting. I do cut from the back. I call the attached inlay but I used 1/64" veneer.



wal inlay 2.jpg

[Dave Sheldrake]

Save as AutoCAD 2000 DXF format and you have cross platform ability for just about any laser on the planet from tiny Chinese K40's up to industrial multi million $$$ death rays

cheers

Dave

[Jeff Belany]

I agree that cutting veneer with the laser works great! My question to anyone doing Marquetry is this -- do you use your laser to route the recess also? My experience is that the bottom of the recess is not very smooth and if you are using very thin veneer it doesn't lay in the routed area too well. With thicker veneer you can afford to let it sit 'proud' and sand it level. Just curious what others experiences are with this.

Jeff in northern Wisconsin

[John Noell]

Hi Jeff, that's exactly my experience. But you can get some real detail with that method that those of us with 10 thumbs cannot do otherwise.
inlay2.jpg

[Mike Null]

I do use the laser to rout the recess. The glue tends to smooth the surface but i have smoothed a rough spot or two with a chisel. Generally, the glue is adequate.

[Dennis Perry]

Hi Stephen I think you will love doing marquetry. I use a ULS X2-660 100 watt laser. Most of my work is a 1/4" thick glued to 1/2" ply. Using thinner wood you could get buy with much less power. good luck and have fun. Here is a piece I did for the memory of 9-11.

ny0001.jpg

[Stephen Musial]

All of my marquetry is cut, taped together with veneer tape and then glued to a board (usually baltic birch) with a bottle jack press or vacuum press and then set into the piece or if it's a chess/cribbage/backgammon board, framed with solid wood.

So, the hopefully not $20,000 question - how much is it to get into a laser?

[Bert Kemp]

How much getting a laser, that all depends on what brand and size and power of laser I think you mentioned 18 x 24 for what you want to do I think 60 or 80 watts will suffice, if your going to do engraving as well as cutting I wouldn't go over 80 watts.
If you go with a Chinese brand laser from Rabbit, or import one direct from china your looking at 7 to 10 range. If your need support and parts rabbit USA is the better choice for the Chinese brand lasers, there are a couple other here also that sell them but research here and elsewhere will most likely lead you back to Rabbit for the best support of the Chinese brand lasers. If you want to go with a Epilog, Trotec or Universal laser your going to get good support a good machine and spend a lot of money for it.
I'm sure other will chim in on this also this is just MHO

[Myron Benware]

As always, you only get what you pay for.

[Lee DeRaud]

I agree that cutting veneer with the laser works great! My question to anyone doing Marquetry is this -- do you use your laser to route the recess also? My experience is that the bottom of the recess is not very smooth and if you are using very thin veneer it doesn't lay in the routed area too well. With thicker veneer you can afford to let it sit 'proud' and sand it level. Just curious what others experiences are with this.

Well, the easiest way is to cheat: use the laser to cut one or more "background" pieces of veneer and then glue the whole thing to a suitable substrate.

[Mike Audleman]

Well, the easiest way is to cheat: use the laser to cut one or more "background" pieces of veneer and then glue the whole thing to a suitable substrate.

I don't have a vacuum table. Sometimes I wish I did but I get around it using lead weights.

I melted scrap lead using a propane torch in a cast iron ladle. I then pour the lead into the bottom of soda cans turned upside down. The cans all have a neat domed recess in the bottom that makes a perfect mold. The lead pops out easily after it cools. I pour it in the bottom of the can up to about a 1/4" deep in the center. This makes a nice round disk thats domed and easily fits under the laser air assist tube so there is no risk in the laser head hitting the lead weights. I made about two dozen of these weights in an hour so the process is pretty fast and simple. All you need for tools is a cast iron ladle (garage sales or camping store), propane torch, leather gloves and some empty soda cans.

I use them all over the material I am cutting. It spreads out the weight evenly and they can be positioned around whats being cut fairly simply. Best of all, they were free (just asked my auto guy for some old wheel weights).

[Lee DeRaud]

I don't have a vacuum table. Sometimes I wish I did but I get around it using lead weights.
...
I use them all over the material I am cutting. It spreads out the weight evenly and they can be positioned around whats being cut fairly simply. Best of all, they were free (just asked my auto guy for some old wheel weights).

At some point I scored a box of twenty or so stone tile samples, 3"x3"x3/8", no idea where they came from.
They're heavy enough to hold down anything I'm comfortable calling "veneer".