Howdy folks,
I’ve been building some presentation/retirement plaques for some AF personel.
These plaques are no bigger then 12″x17″, many times smaller, however, I’m
only allowed to finish them to a point because they laser engrave the wording, and I
don’t own a laser engraver. Does anyone out there have any experience with a
laser engraver on a hobby/home business scale? I ask because I’d like to have
control from start to finish on at least these plaques….I guess they engrave the
wording OK, but are having trouble finishing the plaques (because they told me
only to cut/rout to specs.), so I guess no one out at the base involved in these
knows how to finish wood properly.
Replies
I have a laser engraver.
What can I help you with?
I'd like to know if there are one or more at reasonable prices that can be used on
wood-in this case, maple. My thought is to be able to start to finish these plaques
myself, thus insuring great quality. This is for a home workshop/business. There
just seem to be many claims on the net, and no real info.
Laser engravers typically start around 9-11K. Those at that price don't typically do larger than 8.5 x 11 or so. If you go larger, like a bed size of 12x24, pricing on those are around 15K and up.This of course depends on wattages and such.If you need some stuff engraved while you are considering what to do, e-mail me off list at emana @ technologyondemand.com (remove the spaces) and I will be happy to help.Let me know if you have any other questions.Ed
How much text is going on the plaques and how fine is it? You might be able to use a CNC router rather than a laser which would be much cheaper. Heck, Craftsman sells one now for under $2k.
There are laser engravers that have an "autofocus" mechanism, but I don't know if they have enough focus range for something with as much curvature as a seat back. I would think that such a thing probably does exist.
-Steve
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