Household uses for laser?

[Marc Myer]

Perfect! I'll do the install today!

[Belinda Barfield]

I am completely and totally embarassed to say that I have never used my laser to make anything for my house. I could sell a ton of dysfunctional valentines though! When I leave the office I try to put all work out of my mind, and that includes the laser. Oh, wait, I have thought of doing something for home. I just finished cutting 125 sheets of foam for toolboxes and I thought it would be neat to do that for my home toolbox.

[Frank Corker]

Wow there's using that imagination Belinda .....some foam for your home toolbox ...wow...

[Belinda Barfield]

Wow there's using that imagination Belinda .....some foam for your home toolbox ...wow...

What can I say, Frank? My imagination is virtually nonexistent, and I'm not allowed to use mind expanding drugs. Does it help that I was also thinking of cutting foam for my jewlery making tools? The foam has a cutout for each tool that follows the outline of the tool. . . it's fancier than it sounds.

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

I am completely and totally embarassed to say that I have never used my laser to make anything for my house.

Oh Brilliant Belinda, but you have made some fantastic items for other people's homes! I remember you posting a really nice cork board you engraved with a floral graphic and then of course your cutting board that had the Frogmore Stew recipe on it. (I still need to try make that one of these days! It sounded so good and looked fairly simple to make!)

[Rodne Gold]

Over the years I have had lasers, I have done a lot of stuff for my household , hifi and cars
Mirror acrylic cladding for my fridge
woodgrain formica to clad old rustic sidetables
replacement of various sandblasted window panes
cover for my pebble bed gas fire installed in a coffee table
choc moulds and other bits for my daughters school projects
lots of acrylic jewellery for my wife and daughter
instructions and sensor locations for my alarm system
configurable camera mounts for my surveliance system
various panels or fixes for countertops to cover holes
labels for many switches
keyboard and keytags for household keys
kitchen and bathroom items like soap dishes , cutlery rests , toilet and kitchen roller towel holders
baize and felt pads for ornaments and the like
custom message welcome mats
acrylic cutting boards
unbreakable shower mirrors

for my cars
badges and decals
wheelhub inserts
complete dash claddings in woodgrain and carbon fibre
new dial faces
various brackets and wire separators

for my hifi
vibration isolation tables for my valve amps and turntable
boxes and fascias for DIY hifi projects
diffraction rings for tweeters (foam and baize)
valve tube dampers (silicon rubber)
elevators to keep speaker cables off the floor
turntable platter mats (neoprene , rubber , felt , baize)
speaker tilting wedges
remote holders
isolation footers for other hifi components
interconnect and cable tidys
used the laser and my cnc machine for speaker enclosures

Been a sort of useful tool..

I do however have a project I have been stumped on for about a year or more , got an alcove , as seen in the pic (grey cupboard thing next to open plan kitchen) , that now has 2 centre opening doors to hide it (woodgrain) , I am looking to use the 12 colours of mirror acrylic , formica , veneer , engraving lams and acrylic sheeting to make a mural that sits on the doors that will compliment the african feel of the lounge it faces (other pic), I have yet to get inspiration on this one... it's a difficult one as the doors are about 9 ft high and about 20" wide each.

[Dan Hintz]

I've always been a fan of art mirrors made of multiple triangular segments stacked on top of each other in various directions... not sure multiple colors would be my thing, though.

[Rodne Gold]

My Wife likes overly ornate stuff - witness my master bathroom I'm not allowed to use - she wont go for abstract

[Dan Hintz]

Yeah, that's a bit too much motion on the walls for my taste... I'd shoot for marble a bit more subdued in texture. That'd be okay on the floor, though.

[Albert Nix]

AFB carb gasket. Needed the one gasket and did not want to buy a whole kit. Layed the pieces one scanner. Imported the image, cleaned it up a little and cut away.
Carb gasket.jpg

[Dave West]

I recently made a vibration isolated camera mount for my quad copter.

[Frank Corker]

That looks cool Dave, have you posted any YouTube video of it's results yet?

[Dave West]

http://youtu.be/0NKbwPM3dzE
The original footage from the camera is excellent except for a bit of vibration. YouTube plus me scaling before encoding ruined the vid.I'm now using the laser to cut a laser pen balancing rig to balance the motors. I don't make alot of money with my laser, but it's invaluable for my RC/Robotics hobbies.

DAve

[Bruce Dorworth]

Dave, that looks really cool. I have been really interested in the quadcopter lately. Did you build yours from scratch, or a kit? Rather than hijack this thread could you possibly (PM) send me some info on it?

Thanks,
Bruce

[Dee Gallo]

I had a need to make something today, so here's my gloat: I got a kick butt cotton candy machine for my birthday (early) so I made a holder for the cones out of plexi... not the most challenging job, but very useful!