Nifty Crafting

Recently I got my Laser Engraver and although it isn't the biggest or most top of the line hardware it still is very useful.

Obviously the first thought then is: How can do I make money from this?

In Progress...

Next it is all about playing, testing it on everything.

What can and can't I cut or burn?

For cutting I have had mainly wood up to 5mm which seems fine, although they say it could do up to 10mm or a bit more with multiple passes.

It also did a good job engraving glass with a few tweaks I still need to apply to get consistent results, but for the most part it did a pretty solid engrave without too much chipping away.

Other things I tested was an old cookie tin I got from the corner shop, a rock from the garden, a piece of plywood with veneer on and my stainless-steel nail clipper.

The tin could not be engraved at all and it is indicative of similar materials: Tin, Aluminium, Brass, Copper. These can only be "engraved" if they have a coating on like this tin having paint, or anodised aluminium.

The stone surprisingly was quite simple and counter to thinking it requires that you don't hit it with too much power or it will "melt" which is fine by me. To get the nice light colour you can use a fast speed and mid power which makes stone one of the fastest things to engrave out of all.

All in all I am building out a catalogue of tests which will help me quickly know exactly the settings I need for every material and a catalogue for artwork and or ideas to sell.