fixing to pull the trigger

[Bert Kemp]

Speaking of not seeing someone for a while Is everything ok with Scott Shepard? haven't seen him in a long time either

Good to see you back Rodne, haven't seen you in awhile! 5 years flawless is incredibly impressive!

[Keith Winter]

Speaking of not seeing someone for a while Is everything ok with Scott Shepard? haven't seen him in a long time either

Spoke with him about a month ago all is going well. He's been busy I think.

[David Somers]

Thanks Keith! He is one of my favorites. Though I have to admit the list is lengthy now. Tooooooo many good people on this forum! <grin>

Thanks for asking Bert. I was wondering too!

[Kev Williams]

I must admit I'm a bit worried about Shep myself-

[Paul Phillips]

Yeah, I was thinking about him last week and sent him a PM but haven't heard from him yet, I hope he's ok. It's kind of amazing to me that you can get to know someone and consider them friends when you've never actually met them but just read their posts online, although I did talk to Steve on the phone back when I had many questions about purchasing my first laser, he and many others on here are some of the best people I've met! David Somers you're a kick, love your sense of humor and I'd love to hang out and learn woodworking from you if I lived near by! And if anyone is ever in the Palm Springs area be sure to stop by and say hi.

[Mike Null]

Steve is doing just fine. I'm sure he appreciates your thoughts. Business is very good for Steve right now so he must prioritize his time.

[Stephen White]

Congrats Stephen! Hope this works great for you.

Dave

Thanks Dave! I am downloading the VCarve and PhotoVcarve demos now. It comes with the desktop version but will likely upgrade to the VCarve Pro. (but not planning on Aspire). We already have Illustrator so hoping to use that to create my vectors.

Actually I posted my last post with my cart ready to checkout once I found my wallet and then that last exchange with Dave Stephens made stop and think this through a little more. I was getting the original Shark for 3k and I started to upgrade to the HD3 extended bed for 5k and adding the laser for $850 along with another grand of add-ons and tables etc. I was approaching a pretty big number and had a small project lined up for it.

The bill was getting huge and I was going way overboard and just feeding my interest, not buying a tool to get a project done. I tend to go large b4 I should with things like this and causes me to either over buy or even worse go in the wrong direction. I was reviewing my order realizing I was going to be carving relief stamps on a small 3"x4" piece of wood on a huge CNC machine that will take up half my shop and I have never even used one :-)

I decided to dial it back to the shark kid brother the Piranha FX (12"x14" travel bed) without either the wimpy laser and 3d add-ons. It uses the same software as the Shark line and I just added the touch plate and photoVcarve software add-on. The whole thing out the door was 2k shipped.

This way I can concentrate on making my 3"x4" pottery stamps and get an entry education in the CNC world. If I go large later then this smaller CNC will still have usefulness for smaller projects like my stamps. If my next project is better suited to a laser then I can come back around to that.

Lots of options just need to think with my head. Thanks again everyone for all the help. This is a great group here.

I will definitely take your advice and look around for a CNC group or maker shop. Then I can test drive (as many have suggested here) the bigger ones before I peel out some serious bucks.

My wife loves to see me cycle through this stuff, went from a 6 grand laser that I really just wanted but did not need to a 2 grand setup that pretty much perfectly matches my current needs and was of course her initial input.

[Bert Kemp]

Thanks Keith, I was out most of today so just got to checking in now. Glad he's busy and nothing else.

Spoke with him about a month ago all is going well. He's been busy I think.

[David Somers]

Great to hear Stephen!! Let us know how this goes and how you like the Piranha. When I bought my laser I bought the same sized "table top" CNC from the same place (900x600). Been very pleased with. Kind of mid sized table top unit (at 700lbs...had to make a heck of a table top for it! <Grin>) and have had a lot of fun with it. Havent made anything big with it yet, but have a number of things drawn up ready to go when I get some free time. They are a kick to play with. Holler if I can help you with anything. You will like Vcarve Pro. Nice package. And like I said, you might look at just learning it well and using it for your vector work for a laser eventually. It is very capable. Just export your vector out in a format you want rather than continuing on to rendering a Gcode toolpath. Might help reduce your learning curve, unless you are already really conversant with Illustrator of course.

Good luck!

Dave

[Rodne Gold]

Im still around , still moderating and "lurking" .. have concentrated on my business
I have been hands off the lasers for many years.. I leave em to my staff to run and program , thus am a bit out of touch.
A lot of questions here are repeated over a time cycle , lots of others keen to contribute.

We have moved into a 10 000 sq ft showroom/factory , in a secure business park , the move last year took a ton of my time.
New website and new processes taking me away from lasering , set up a framing department , turned the CLLT dept from small to big , established a party/wedding/function hiring and advisory service , got big into 21st key wholesaling , partnered with a rigging/signage co , gave 25% of my business to my long time employee


However our 20w fibre came recently (exceptional priced . speak to Yarde Feng) , So im "back" into lasering getting to grips with what it can do.


Im 56 , not in the greatest health (diabetes) so come into work at 7.30 am and go home at 2.

I am massively into hifi and audiophillia so spend a ton of time listening to music at home .. I actually built a dedicated room for 2 channel stereo. Sold my yank muscle and turned the proceeds into speakers

[Don Corbeil]

Thanks Keith! He is one of my favorites. Though I have to admit the list is lengthy now. Tooooooo many good people on this forum! <grin>

+1 I second that comment

[Paul Phillips]

Im still around , still moderating and "lurking" .. have concentrated on my business
I have been hands off the lasers for many years.. I leave em to my staff to run and program , thus am a bit out of touch.
A lot of questions here are repeated over a time cycle , lots of others keen to contribute.

We have moved into a 10 000 sq ft showroom/factory , in a secure business park , the move last year took a ton of my time.
New website and new processes taking me away from lasering , set up a framing department , turned the CLLT dept from small to big , established a party/wedding/function hiring and advisory service , got big into 21st key wholesaling , partnered with a rigging/signage co , gave 25% of my business to my long time employee


However our 20w fibre came recently (exceptional priced . speak to Yarde Feng) , So im "back" into lasering getting to grips with what it can do.


Im 56 , not in the greatest health (diabetes) so come into work at 7.30 am and go home at 2.

I am massively into hifi and audiophillia so spend a ton of time listening to music at home .. I actually built a dedicated room for 2 channel stereo. Sold my yank muscle and turned the proceeds into speakers

Glad to see you're still around Rodney, thanks to you and Steve especially I learned much from you guys when I first joined the site. FWIW, I'm 54 and was borderline type 2 a few years ago but was able to get back to normal by changing my horrible diet, not the answer for everyone but amazing what you can achieve by eating right!

[David Somers]

Also glad to see your avatar back on the forum Rodney!! Missed you! Exciting news about the move and increased business!

Dave

[Chris Edens]

Those first two pictures look suspiciously like Delrin, we use Delrin to engrave dies for stamping leather. To get that kind of depth on my 100 watt machine, 2 inch lens, it would take many passes, 4 to 6 passes I suppose. And another 6 passes to cut. For leather stamps we don't go that deep, but the detail you can get is astonishing. Then we stamp using 25 tons of pressure. Those Delrin dies are indestructible.

Bob

I was told that Delrin is the best material to use for these stamps. The delrin will last a real long time. The die will not round off over time.

[leland huang]

Hi Dave, you know each step about import job from China. I advice to buy extra laser tube, no other parts. It is dangerous to ship laser tube alone no matter how you pack it. Small laser tube, short laser tube, say 40-60w is safer. The damage is caused by rough handling. For other parts, easy to be shipped.

I think EFR laser tube is better now. Reci laser tube is famous because its warranty time was 10 months while other brand warranty was just 3 months. But now EFR warranty is 12 months, while Reci warranty is still 10 months.