Thought I would be the first

[James O'Mara]

Okay I was always a lurker at the pond as I know I don't know enough to contribute much. However I couldn't resist the urge to be the first to post in a new forum. What is laser woodworking, is it something like woodburning? Help a neophyte out and tell me what this is all about.

Jimmy

[Keith Outten]

James,

Lasers burn wood in a simular fashion as you would with an old woodburning tool. The difference is that todays lasers are computer controlled, don't require you to learn any programing and lasers can cut wood and plastics.

Think of all the scroll saw patterns that you will never have the time to create because they are too time consuming, you know the ones I mean...they have a thousand holes to drill and thread the saw blade. Less sofisticated patterns are what most of us woodworkers select because we just will never have the time to finish the really cool projects with lots of detail.

As an example, I purchased a Fish pattern that has over 600 holes to cut, scanned it and we worked the design in Corel Draw to convert all of the lines that needed to be cut to vector lines. It take only 45 minutes to cut the fish, and now I can give them to friends and family. I can make them while watching television.

I can also make custom router bases and very slick jigs and fixtures for my shop. Since I can cut to within +- 0.004" I can make many of the really nice fixtures you see in magazines but never buy. I can also create one of a kind patterns for projects and throw them away when finished. Zero clearence plates for table saws, drill guides, router patterns, etc.

You can also engrave all of the cool stuff like graphics and photos in your projects but it is the machining capability that will provide the most benefit to your shop.

[James O'Mara]

I assume that this is something that is way beyond the means of the average hobbyist. So does it leave burns like a wood burner wood or is there a clean line. If the line is clean I could see where many of the tools we use today would become obsolete in the near future. Are there any websites that I could see and learn more about this? It all sounds very futuristic yet exciting.

Thanks,
Jimmy

[Ken Salisbury]

Originally posted by James O'Mara
I assume that this is something that is way beyond the means of the average hobbyist. So does it leave burns like a wood burner wood or is there a clean line. If the line is clean I could see where many of the tools we use today would become obsolete in the near future. Are there any websites that I could see and learn more about this? It all sounds very futuristic yet exciting.

Thanks,
Jimmy

An example of some small wooden logo medallions I had laser engraved for imbedding in my work rather than wood burning or writing a name on projects like bowl bottoms etc.
<p align="center">
<IMG src="http://www.klsal.com/logosale.jpg">

[James O'Mara]

After seeing your example I now realize that this is not something that is going to replace the tablesaw to cut a straight line anytime in the near future. Thank you both.

Jimmy

[Ken Salisbury]

Another example
Here is a pine chest with design and name laser engraved on it.
<p align="center">
<IMG src="http://www.klsal.com/chest.jpg">

[Howard Rosenberg]

you order for your pens.
The script goes up the LENGTH of the pen, could script run ACROSS the cylinder?
Does it use regular computer typefaces and fonts?
Is one necessarily confined to English letters?
Can the negative space be done quite broadly and then a matching-sized letter be engraved and the pressed into the hole AND THEN be turned?
Lots of questions, I know but this really has me going.
Thank you.
Howard

[Ken Salisbury]

Originally posted by Howard Rosenberg
you order for your pens.
The script goes up the LENGTH of the pen, could script run ACROSS the cylinder?
Does it use regular computer typefaces and fonts?
Is one necessarily confined to English letters?
Can the negative space be done quite broadly and then a matching-sized letter be engraved and the pressed into the hole AND THEN be turned?
Lots of questions, I know but this really has me going.
Thank you.
Howard

Howard,
1. The text or object can be oriented in any direction even on an angle.
2. Any font you can generate on a computer can be programmed to the laser.
3. "Can the negative space be done quite broadly and then a matching-sized letter be engraved and the pressed into the hole AND THEN be turned?"I am not sure what you mean by that.
4. You can engrave just about anything you want -- logos, initials, graphics, etc. Primarily the laser input is from some Graphics program re: Corel Draw, Photo Draw, etc, etc. So what ever you can imagine can be lasered on an object - even photgraphs.

Now - what else do you want to know???

[Howard Rosenberg]

Thank you for your answer, Ken.
What I meant was: can you use the Laser to inlay? Sort of like a router and inlay templates.
Use the Laser to create a hollow (shapes, letters etc.) and then create a matching object to fit the recess?
The idea would be to then turn the inlaid wood, metal etc.
Thanks, Ken.
Howard

[Aaron Koehl]

Howard,

Inlay can be achieved with the laser with woods
up to 3/8" thick. Any shape can be cut out-- pretty
ornate. My favorite is cutting out typefaces. Also,
many many other materials can be cut out-- acrylic
can be slightly thicker than 3/8".

- Aaron

[Ken Salisbury]

Sure you could do that.

[Ian MacDonald]

How wide is the kerf cut by the laser? Does it depend on the material you're cutting? What kind of laser is used? How powerful is it? (i.e., Watts)

Just idly curious,

-- Ian

[Aaron Koehl]

The kerf is widely dependant on the material. Depending on
the speed and power settings (and some hand waving),
cut pieces will usually fit back together very snug.

Any error due to kerf can be tweaked out of a graphic, but
99% of the time, kerf isn't an issue.

Our laser is a 35-watt, CO2 laser.

_Aaron_

[Ian MacDonald]

For thicker materials, what is the quality of cut surface? Does it remain perpendicular to the material's top surface? Can your engraver cut at angle such as you see in some marquetry to allow for a more snug fit? Perhaps that's not an issue when you can cut two pieces to such a close tolerance.

Regards,

-- Ian

[Aaron Koehl]

When cutting maximum-thickness wood (> 3/8"), the cut may not
be perfectly perpendicular, depending on the wood. By using less
power, a very slight angling effect can be achieved, so that wood
on the angled side will not be burned, and the inlay will fit together better.

When inlaying two different color woods, it is a nice trick to
scale the 'male' drawing up proportional to the (almost non-existant) kerf,
thus getting a perfect fit. I plan on trying out this theory very soon--I'll post pictures when I do!

Otherwise, the laser is limited to a single plane of cut.
(Sorry, no dovetails on the laser--only box joints!)

_Aaron_