I've been lurking for several years on and off, and finally have time to be
more active with my hobbies. Retired a year ago, and I've spent most of my
time building my shop up with tooling to build small boxes and such. The
last thing I bought was an Epilog Mini Helix laser engraver for
personalizing the stuff I make. My main purpose was to create inlays and
scrimshaw. Now I don't know how I ever got along without it! I have even
been able to create a complete box, using nothing but the laser, and a few
hand tools, like a screwdriver and clamps. These things are just plain fun
to work with, once you get the hang of using the software. It will do all
types of operations with a bit of practice and some careful thought. I can
even drill extremely accurate holes and irregular openings, or reproduce a
photo on my boxes, glass panes or cabinets if someone wanted such a thing.
The best part though, is it's ability to produce extremely accurate and
complex tempplates for routing, sawing or carving using wood or plexiglass.
This brings me to my reason for posting on the newsgroup.
Let me start by saying this . . . I AM RETIRED, AND FULLY INTEND TO STAY
THAT WAY! This offer is for helping other woodworkers that happen to live
close to me in the DelMarVa area. This is a fairly expensive piece of
equipment, so most hobbyists would never buy one, or have the opportunity to
use one for just a few items. If any of you have need to do a limited amount
of laser work, get in touch. I'd be happy to discuss your application, and
if I can be off help, I'd be glad to do so for you. For anyone who wants to
do more extensive work, I may be able to accomadate you to some extent,
provided you are willing to bring your stuff here and do the work yourself,
albeit with a bit of help in the setup and operational procedures. Like I
said, I'm not looking for a new job. This work is time intensive, as the
machine must be watched over while it operates.
If anyone is interested, feel free to email me at [email protected]
--
Offered in the spirit of friendship and respect :)
Kevin Aylward
On Jun 11, 11:19=A0am, [email protected] wrote:
>
> It is part of the "Mini" series, and the price is wildy variable, dependi=
ng
> on the options you choose. The Mini Helix has a 24"x18" cutting table, an=
d
> about 9" height capability. From there you have the options . . . Laser
> power (Mine is 40 watts).... Cylindrical device for glasses, vases etc...=
.
> Vector table.... Air assist compressor . . . Ventilation system . . . and=
so
> on. My total package was about $20k. But that is a well equiped system. M=
ost
> people start off with a "Zing" model, and grow from there. Unfortunately,
> they were not big enough for the type of work I plan to do.
> Spend a bit of time on the Epilog web site, and you will learn a LOT. I
> studied this unit for five years before I made the plunge.
I saw Epilog's laser demo at the Saratoga Springs, NY show in March.
The level of detail they can achieve is phenomenal.
R
On Sat, 11 Jun 2011 23:43:33 +0000 (UTC), Larry Blanchard
<[email protected]> wrote:
>On Sat, 11 Jun 2011 09:52:23 -0700, Kerry Montgomery wrote:
>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Offered in the spirit of friendship and respect :)
>>
>> rough, bastard, smooth, half round, flat, round, single cut, double cut,
>> square,...
>
>slim, slim taper, double taper ...
NAIL!
--
The ultimate result of shielding men from the
effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.
--Herbert Spencer
On Fri, 05 Aug 2011 00:32:16 -0700, charlie b <[email protected]>
wrote:
>The "low relief carving" is burn - and remove scortching - if you're
>working on a light wood where the scortching is distracting. On dark
>woods, like the black walnut in the first example done on a two
>intersecting arcs multi-centers piece, scortching isn't all that
>noticable.
>
>The sand blasting to remove scortching on a light colored piece does
>cause a loss of definition - but that can be minimized by using finer
>grits, lower air pressure and careful control of the where you're sand
>blasting. But you can also bleach away the scortching. That can raise
>the grain - but a little burnishing - say - with a dental tool - takes
>care of that problem.
>
>The link to laser low relief carving on a curved surface has been
>fixed. It now points to this page
>
>http://web.hypersurf.com/~charlie2/Turning/LaserEngraving/Lasering_RadiusToWidth.html
Good.
>As for the price of admission - The Saw Dust Shop here in Silly Cone
>Valley has an Epilog MiniHelix one can rent - for $20 and hour. If you
Wow, only $20/hr? That's not bad at all!
>go through the Primer I did, you need about an hour on the Epilog to
>apply what's described in the Primer. Then, another hour to find the
>best set up for a test sample. After that initial cost, you can do
>several low relief laser carvings in an hour.
>
>Now compare the time (3 hours) and the cost ($60) to the price of a half
>dozen carving tools and the 100+ hours of learning how to use them
>reasonably well, and then make the "cost" comparison.
So, $165:$5500:$15k. Yeah, the rental wins. ;)
>Now add up the price of your lathe, turning gouges and chisels,
>sharpening tool)s), chucks, drive centers, tail centers, etc. and
>thencmpare te prices of admission.
What for? Different animal!
--
Worry is a misuse of imagination.
-- Dan Zadra
The epilog's 3D mode will let you feed a "gray scale image" to the laser
and it will interpret WHITE as Don't Burn At All, BLACK as Burn Deepest
and shades of gray as percent of max power. So you can do "low relief
carving" - on both flat and curved surfaces.
The low relief carved surfaces get scortched. Harbor Freight sells an
"air eraser" - basically an airbrush that shoots aluminum oxide
abrassive instead of ink or paint. 200 or 400 grit al oxide is just
abrassive enough to remove the scortching with little change to the
"carving". At about $30 for it and another $6 for about a quart of
abrassive - if you have a compressor - the scortching thing is taken
care of.
The Epilog MiniHelix opens up a lot of possibilities with its Print, Cut
and Carve capabilities. BUT - the learning curve is moderately steep.
I put together a primer on laser engraving that I hopes flatten the
learning curve a bit.
http://web.hypersurf.com/~charlie2/Turning/LaserEngraving/LaserEngravingTOC.html
But - you don't have to BUY one. Laser engraving services are popping
up all over the place - similar to Copy Centers of 20 years ago. And
the price of laser engravings keeps coming down.
Yes, you have to learn a few basics of CorelDraw, which is Epilog's
preferred user interface for their laser printer driver, and learning to
use their printer driver takes some trial and error experimenting, but
in a couple of hours you can find what works best for what you want to
do.
(see my previous post in this thread for a link to the Laser Engraving
Primer)
Questions. comments and suggestions regarding the Primer welcomed.
The "low relief carving" is burn - and remove scortching - if you're
working on a light wood where the scortching is distracting. On dark
woods, like the black walnut in the first example done on a two
intersecting arcs multi-centers piece, scortching isn't all that
noticable.
The sand blasting to remove scortching on a light colored piece does
cause a loss of definition - but that can be minimized by using finer
grits, lower air pressure and careful control of the where you're sand
blasting. But you can also bleach away the scortching. That can raise
the grain - but a little burnishing - say - with a dental tool - takes
care of that problem.
The link to laser low relief carving on a curved surface has been
fixed. It now points to this page
http://web.hypersurf.com/~charlie2/Turning/LaserEngraving/Lasering_RadiusToWidth.html
As for the price of admission - The Saw Dust Shop here in Silly Cone
Valley has an Epilog MiniHelix one can rent - for $20 and hour. If you
go through the Primer I did, you need about an hour on the Epilog to
apply what's described in the Primer. Then, another hour to find the
best set up for a test sample. After that initial cost, you can do
several low relief laser carvings in an hour.
Now compare the time (3 hours) and the cost ($60) to the price of a half
dozen carving tools and the 100+ hours of learning how to use them
reasonably well, and then make the "cost" comparison.
Now add up the price of your lathe, turning gouges and chisels,
sharpening tool)s), chucks, drive centers, tail centers, etc. and
thencmpare te prices of admission.
On Mon, 13 Jun 2011 02:07:02 -0700, "Lobby Dosser"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>"Larry Jaques" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> On Sat, 11 Jun 2011 23:43:33 +0000 (UTC), Larry Blanchard
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>>On Sat, 11 Jun 2011 09:52:23 -0700, Kerry Montgomery wrote:
>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> Offered in the spirit of friendship and respect :)
>>>>
>>>> rough, bastard, smooth, half round, flat, round, single cut, double cut,
>>>> square,...
>>>
>>>slim, slim taper, double taper ...
>>
>> NAIL!
>
>Now all you need is a guy on warshboard ...
Are you saying that you'll play the handsaur? We gots us a band!
--
The ultimate result of shielding men from the
effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.
--Herbert Spencer
Hi, Sorry it took a while to get back on here. The laser works with both
Raster (pixel based) and Vector (object based). The program I use is Corel
X5, which will accomadate most common file extensions. The main thing is to
determine what type of work you want to do. Rastor is best for images,
lettering and the like, while Vector is used almost exclusively for cutting
operations. Hope this helps.
Kevin
--
Offered in the spirit of friendship and respect :)
It is part of the "Mini" series, and the price is wildy variable, depending
on the options you choose. The Mini Helix has a 24"x18" cutting table, and
about 9" height capability. From there you have the options . . . Laser
power (Mine is 40 watts).... Cylindrical device for glasses, vases etc....
Vector table.... Air assist compressor . . . Ventilation system . . . and so
on. My total package was about $20k. But that is a well equiped system. Most
people start off with a "Zing" model, and grow from there. Unfortunately,
they were not big enough for the type of work I plan to do.
Spend a bit of time on the Epilog web site, and you will learn a LOT. I
studied this unit for five years before I made the plunge.
--
Offered in the spirit of friendship and respect :)
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi, Sorry it took a while to get back on here. The laser works with both
> Raster (pixel based) and Vector (object based). The program I use is Corel
> X5, which will accomadate most common file extensions. The main thing is
> to
> determine what type of work you want to do. Rastor is best for images,
> lettering and the like, while Vector is used almost exclusively for
> cutting
> operations. Hope this helps.
> Kevin
>
> --
> Offered in the spirit of friendship and respect :)
rough, bastard, smooth, half round, flat, round, single cut, double cut,
square,...
[email protected] wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> I've been lurking for several years on and off, and finally have time
> to be more active with my hobbies. Retired a year ago, and I've spent
> most of my time building my shop up with tooling to build small boxes
> and such. The last thing I bought was an Epilog Mini Helix laser
> engraver for personalizing the stuff I make. My main purpose was to
> create inlays and scrimshaw. Now I don't know how I ever got along
> without it! I have even been able to create a complete box, using
> nothing but the laser, and a few hand tools, like a screwdriver and
> clamps. These things are just plain fun to work with, once you get the
> hang of using the software. It will do all types of operations with a
> bit of practice and some careful thought. I can even drill extremely
> accurate holes and irregular openings, or reproduce a photo on my
> boxes, glass panes or cabinets if someone wanted such a thing. The
> best part though, is it's ability to produce extremely accurate and
> complex tempplates for routing, sawing or carving using wood or
> plexiglass. This brings me to my reason for posting on the newsgroup.
> Let me start by saying this . . . I AM RETIRED, AND FULLY INTEND TO
> STAY THAT WAY! This offer is for helping other woodworkers that happen
> to live close to me in the DelMarVa area. This is a fairly expensive
> piece of equipment, so most hobbyists would never buy one, or have the
> opportunity to use one for just a few items. If any of you have need
> to do a limited amount of laser work, get in touch. I'd be happy to
> discuss your application, and if I can be off help, I'd be glad to do
> so for you. For anyone who wants to do more extensive work, I may be
> able to accomadate you to some extent, provided you are willing to
> bring your stuff here and do the work yourself, albeit with a bit of
> help in the setup and operational procedures. Like I said, I'm not
> looking for a new job. This work is time intensive, as the machine
> must be watched over while it operates. If anyone is interested, feel
> free to email me at [email protected]
I'm curious. I looked at their web site, and didn't see a model that
exactly fit the description "Epilog Mini Helix". Roughly how much did
this thing set you back?
Doug White
On Wed, 03 Aug 2011 21:09:56 -0700, charlie b <[email protected]>
wrote:
>The epilog's 3D mode will let you feed a "gray scale image" to the laser
>and it will interpret WHITE as Don't Burn At All, BLACK as Burn Deepest
>and shades of gray as percent of max power. So you can do "low relief
>carving" - on both flat and curved surfaces.
Great!
>The low relief carved surfaces get scortched. Harbor Freight sells an
>"air eraser" - basically an airbrush that shoots aluminum oxide
>abrassive instead of ink or paint. 200 or 400 grit al oxide is just
>abrassive enough to remove the scortching with little change to the
>"carving". At about $30 for it and another $6 for about a quart of
>abrassive - if you have a compressor - the scortching thing is taken
>care of.
So the process is burn and sandblast, huh? I guess you lose detail
and definition that way?
>The Epilog MiniHelix opens up a lot of possibilities with its Print, Cut
>and Carve capabilities. BUT - the learning curve is moderately steep.
>I put together a primer on laser engraving that I hopes flatten the
>learning curve a bit.
>
>http://web.hypersurf.com/~charlie2/Turning/LaserEngraving/LaserEngravingTOC.html
Missing link at bottom to curved carving. It goes through from the
flat carving page, though.
Price of admission? <cringe>
--
In the depth of winter, I finally learned
that within me there lay an invincible summer.
-- Albert Camus
[email protected] wrote:
> I've been lurking for several years on and off, and finally have time to
> be more active with my hobbies. Retired a year ago, and I've spent most of
> my time building my shop up with tooling to build small boxes and such.
> The last thing I bought was an Epilog Mini Helix laser engraver for
> personalizing the stuff I make. My main purpose was to create inlays and
> scrimshaw. Now I don't know how I ever got along without it! I have even
> been able to create a complete box, using nothing but the laser, and a few
> hand tools, like a screwdriver and clamps. These things are just plain fun
> to work with, once you get the hang of using the software. It will do all
> types of operations with a bit of practice and some careful thought. I can
> even drill extremely accurate holes and irregular openings, or reproduce a
> photo on my boxes, glass panes or cabinets if someone wanted such a thing.
> The best part though, is it's ability to produce extremely accurate and
> complex tempplates for routing, sawing or carving using wood or
> plexiglass. This brings me to my reason for posting on the newsgroup.
> Let me start by saying this . . . I AM RETIRED, AND FULLY INTEND TO STAY
> THAT WAY! This offer is for helping other woodworkers that happen to live
> close to me in the DelMarVa area. This is a fairly expensive piece of
> equipment, so most hobbyists would never buy one, or have the opportunity
> to use one for just a few items. If any of you have need to do a limited
> amount of laser work, get in touch. I'd be happy to discuss your
> application, and if I can be off help, I'd be glad to do so for you. For
> anyone who wants to do more extensive work, I may be able to accomadate
> you to some extent, provided you are willing to bring your stuff here and
> do the work yourself, albeit with a bit of help in the setup and
> operational procedures. Like I said, I'm not looking for a new job. This
> work is time intensive, as the machine must be watched over while it
> operates. If anyone is interested, feel free to email me at
> [email protected]
>
Great offer, wish you lived closer!
Rich
--
"You can lead them to LINUX
but you can't make them THINK"
Man. 2010.1 Spring
KDE4.4
2.6.33.5-desktop-2mnb
"Rich" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> [email protected] wrote:
>
>> I've been lurking for several years on and off, and finally have time to
>> be more active with my hobbies. Retired a year ago, and I've spent most
>> of
>> my time building my shop up with tooling to build small boxes and such.
>> The last thing I bought was an Epilog Mini Helix laser engraver for
>> personalizing the stuff I make. My main purpose was to create inlays and
>> scrimshaw. Now I don't know how I ever got along without it! I have even
>> been able to create a complete box, using nothing but the laser, and a
>> few
>> hand tools, like a screwdriver and clamps. These things are just plain
>> fun
>> to work with, once you get the hang of using the software. It will do all
>> types of operations with a bit of practice and some careful thought. I
>> can
>> even drill extremely accurate holes and irregular openings, or reproduce
>> a
>> photo on my boxes, glass panes or cabinets if someone wanted such a
>> thing.
>> The best part though, is it's ability to produce extremely accurate and
>> complex tempplates for routing, sawing or carving using wood or
>> plexiglass. This brings me to my reason for posting on the newsgroup.
>> Let me start by saying this . . . I AM RETIRED, AND FULLY INTEND TO STAY
>> THAT WAY! This offer is for helping other woodworkers that happen to live
>> close to me in the DelMarVa area. This is a fairly expensive piece of
>> equipment, so most hobbyists would never buy one, or have the opportunity
>> to use one for just a few items. If any of you have need to do a limited
>> amount of laser work, get in touch. I'd be happy to discuss your
>> application, and if I can be off help, I'd be glad to do so for you. For
>> anyone who wants to do more extensive work, I may be able to accomadate
>> you to some extent, provided you are willing to bring your stuff here and
>> do the work yourself, albeit with a bit of help in the setup and
>> operational procedures. Like I said, I'm not looking for a new job. This
>> work is time intensive, as the machine must be watched over while it
>> operates. If anyone is interested, feel free to email me at
>> [email protected]
>>
>
> Great offer, wish you lived closer!
Lots of nice properties in that area ... :)
"Larry Jaques" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Sat, 11 Jun 2011 23:43:33 +0000 (UTC), Larry Blanchard
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>On Sat, 11 Jun 2011 09:52:23 -0700, Kerry Montgomery wrote:
>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Offered in the spirit of friendship and respect :)
>>>
>>> rough, bastard, smooth, half round, flat, round, single cut, double cut,
>>> square,...
>>
>>slim, slim taper, double taper ...
>
> NAIL!
>
Now all you need is a guy on warshboard ...
--
"I'm the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo ..."
"Larry Jaques" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Mon, 13 Jun 2011 02:07:02 -0700, "Lobby Dosser"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>"Larry Jaques" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>news:[email protected]...
>>> On Sat, 11 Jun 2011 23:43:33 +0000 (UTC), Larry Blanchard
>>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>>>On Sat, 11 Jun 2011 09:52:23 -0700, Kerry Montgomery wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> --
>>>>>> Offered in the spirit of friendship and respect :)
>>>>>
>>>>> rough, bastard, smooth, half round, flat, round, single cut, double
>>>>> cut,
>>>>> square,...
>>>>
>>>>slim, slim taper, double taper ...
>>>
>>> NAIL!
>>
>>Now all you need is a guy on warshboard ...
>
> Are you saying that you'll play the handsaur? We gots us a band!
No, but taint bad with the spoons!
--
"I'm the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo ..."