Dave,
Your hobby use is right up my alley. I imagine building one-off clocks in 1/4" ply or mdf. Cutting parts for the daughters comicon costumes out of foam, cloth and thin wood. I am involved with the local community theater and build sets and props. Making board games, puzzles and kids toys. I would like to play with Escher-like tesselated tiles for counters or maybe the bathroom floor. Youtube shows a guy building Escher-like chessboards that are inspiring. Kinetic sculptures with wooden gears and marble runs look like fun. I imagine using the laser cutter and thin hardboard or MDF to make router templates. My youngest daughter will eventually want a spectacular dollhouse. Did I mention I have SEVEN wonderful children to please? We are a crafty family and already focus on handmade gifts when Christmas and birthdays come around, not to mention all the handmade decorations. I forsee building custom shaped chalkboards, linoleum block printing, stencils, felt boards and so on.
I realize and acknowledge that most of this could be done on a smaller, low power laser, and quite frankly, if I purchased one of the $500 POS tiny machines, I would still have lots of fun. But when you couple ADD and a creative bent, I want to have the versatility. Who knows what my twisted little mind will come up with. I like to have the "can do" attitude coupled with the "I don't know, let's try it" philosophy. I also want to inspire these traits in my children. This is reflected in my hoard of tools and toys. I saw some neat projects with vacuum forming, so I built a small vacuum table, some frames, ordered some sheet plastics and gave it a try. Moderate success. Lots of fun. And I still have that homemade vacuum table available for use. - Glass blowing looked like fun, so I got some glass rods, grabbed my plumbers torch, made up some mandrels and started making glass beads. Just for fun. Still have all that stuff and I pull it out once in a while. The last play I worked on needed to have a telephone that had a scream for a ringtone, and that scream needed to stop when the phone was picked up: Grab the box with the soldering stuff, the box of electronic gizmos and away I went (worked great). Same play: built a lamp out of an old railway switching relay that weighed about 30lbs which I salvaged from the local dump. Just tonight a guy told me that he really wanted that lamp. When the store bought baby gate was not effective keeping the great dane puppy and the toddler out of the kitchen I decided to build a Dutch door instead. Craftsman style to match the house. What an opportunity to purchase a biscuit joiner. Worked great. CNC router? Picked one up a couple of years ago, made some custom cribbage boards which were given to the local pub, custom power distribution pack built into an old briefcase and other little projects. Black and white photography; done that. Juggling; check. Kites? Made hundreds, sold none. I could go on and on. The point being: I like to make stuff. I like to create. I like to inspire. I enjoy the process as much if not more than the finished product. The right tool makes this even more fun, although I do appreciate making do with what you have. I appreciate a sharp chisel or a spoke shave as much as my cnc router.
The accuracy, repeatability and versatility of CNC is what excites me. A laser cutter/engraver will not be "the new tool", it will be another tool. And for me this will also be my new toy and I WILL use it for my own entertainment, just as I entertain myself with chisels and routers. I never imagined my oscillating spindle sander would get so much use. Did I need a spindle sander? No. Do I enjoy using it? Absolutely. I use it all the time for all sorts of things I never imagined. I am hoping the laser machine will be just as fun and just as versatile.
Do I need a big work table? Probably not. Like I said, a smaller machine would be lots of fun. But I would hate to spend the cash and the wait and later come up with a project that doesn't fit on the smaller table. As mentioned by others, the price point between sizes is similar, and I am lucky enough to have the space (meaning that my basement workshop will be no more cluttered than it is now). As for power: I would like to be able to cut thicker materials whilst still being able to cut paper or cardstock. This is likely the sticky balance point. 80W seems to be a popular sweet spot, and this also seems to be readily available on standard models available. But, would it hurt to get a 100w machine? 130w? Too much?
I am aiming to spend less than 5K, and so far the wife is supportive. I am totally willing and excited to tinker with it to get it up to good working condition.
Couldn't this machine be my little mid-life crisis? Couldn't this be my little red sports car?
Scott