Question on picking a laser for marking firearms.

[charles hastings]

Hi guys & gals, I have been lurking for awhile and am about to pull the trigger on a laser of some kind. I have a small firearm refinishing shop (part time & low volume) and want to be able to mark frames and such with a logo or name. I understand it will not etch the metal and will have to use some marking material or something.

I plan on using this machine maybe once or twice a week if that much.

No production type stuff.

I might do some wood on stocks too.

What do I need to buy. Import? Made in the USA?

What power wattage laser will do? Speed is not too important too me on this application.

I want to spend what i need to to get a product that will do what i want without paying for way more machine than i need.

I'm OK with used if someone has something to sell.

Thanks all. Charles

[Martin Boekers]

At your limited use it may not be a good idea to buy a laser, instead find someone local that you can work with.

Lasers should be run a bit more consistantly as issues may arise from sitting.

Many here have started out by working with a local engraver until they can justify acquiring a laser for themselves.

[Chris DeGerolamo]

Charles - PM me if you want....fellow FFL holder and laser owner. I agree with what's been said, if you are going to let it sit, if may not be worthwhile. Depends on how much you want to define this purchase as hobby or work.

[Joe Hillmann]

If you plan to engrave on bare metal you will hive to use Cermark which according to there website it looks like you need a 35watt (more watts will work) co2 laser to get it to work. I have never done anything more than play with cermark so maybe some one else with experience can let you know if a less than 35 watt machine will work.

If engraving on a blued surface cermark probably wont work unless you remove the bluing first by engraving the area, laying down the cermark then engraving the area again. Again someone with more experience with cermark may give you their input.

If you engrave a power coated or painted finish the laser will leave a good mark without cermark.

If you plan to do the stocks you need to keep in mind that different lenses have different depths of field where the engraving is ok. On a two inch lens you have about 1/8 inch below and 1/8 inch above the focal point where it will still engrave well. Once you get outside of that range the beam loses a lot of power.

If you plan to do rifles you need a machine big enough to hold the the barrel when you remove the stock or the whole gun if you can't remove the stock. Or your machine needs to have some way of accommodating larger stock then the laser bed, usually through an opening front door or a pass through design.

I would suggest talking to a gunsmith who does laser engraving (such as chris DeGerolamo) and pick there brain. I am sure they/he could give you all sorts of information and answer questions that a non gun engraver couldn't even think to ask, Which may help you to avoid all sorts of problems.

As far as, American or import, that depends on how much you are willing to spend. The American lasers have a lot of nice features and support but they also cost 7-8 times as much as an import of comparable power and bed size.

I do tend to agree with the others though, for a couple items a week it is hard to justify the expense of a laser. You could take that same amount of money and invest in a lot of tooling or stock or other improvements. Of course it is your business and your decision. If you are really set on getting a laser for marking guns You may want to look at a fiber or yag laser both of those will actually mark the metal directly but won't touch wood, glass or many of the things a CO2 can do.

As a side note I have never wished I had a smaller or less powerful laser but I do often think that a bit larger bed or another 15 watts would sure be nice to have.

[Michael Kowalczyk]

You can also look at a Trotec Flex so you can do both Metal and wood, acrylics, and so many more.... So many people start off think they will only do this or that but if you have read the posts here you will see that there are tons of other things you can do with a laser. You may find that your services may grow exponentially also with the addition of a multi capable laser in house. Last time I checked they still have a 3 year bumper to Bumper warranty. Get 2 files that you want tested...1 metal marking logo and 1 engraving for wood or a spare stock and have them do a demo for you. Use the same files for all demos so you can see apples to apples. I favor the Trotec because it has and they have been good to me since I bought in 2003. Just ask any Trotec user. Not to say that Universal or Epilog may have one that may work but Trotec is on the top of the food chain in my book.

[matthew knott]

I had a demo of the flex and it seemed to be a very expensive and quite compromised machine, because of the lens it didn't work as well as a normal co2 and it was also very slow for a fiber laser, even the sales guy admitted you would be much better off with 2 independent lasers, nice idea if you have to use a fiber and co2 on the same job but that's going to be extremely rare, I can't think of a single example of this ! Trotec do make superb co2 plotter lasers mind you, and due to get even better with the new laser source they are fitting ! For detailed engraving direct onto the gun a galvo fibre would be the best choice and they don't mind being switched off for long periods, plus you get a guide laser that should show you the outline of exactly where the actual mark is going to be.

[charles hastings]

Thanks guys. I understand that the money side of the deal is a no win and accept that. I have looked for gun engravers in this area to speak with and found none. I refinish gun with a product called "Cerakote" and 95% of the engraving that i would do would be on that finish. I'm leaning toward a 30-40 watt Chineese cheap-o just to play with and learn. I understand it's not the best unit for my application, but it's just money.

[Mike Null]

I have test engraved many of the Cerakote colors and all can be engraved with a CO2 laser. Some colors do not offer as much contrast as others but it is definitely an engravable finish.

[charles hastings]

I have test engraved many of the Cerakote colors and all can be engraved with a CO2 laser. Some colors do not offer as much contrast as others but it is definitely an engravable finish.

Thanks Mike. Can you offer a wattage for this and did you use any Cermark or such?

[Mike Null]

I used the same wattage as I use for anodized aluminum. It was a shot in the dark but seemed to work just fine.

In my case that was 25 watts at 70 ips at 500dpi.