Day 1: Ready to Quit

[Steve Clarkson]

"Works just like a printer....." Hahahahaha!

OK, so anyone interested in reading about my first day with my new laser can read on.....

So it arrived off the truck in perfect condition. It upacked without a hitch. It set up just as easily.....until it came time to install the drivers. Little did I know that I had the 64 bit Vista (OK, why doesn't Epilog put the beta version on the disk that comes with the laser.....hasn't it been a beta version for like a YEAR?). By the time I figured out I had a problem, tech support had gone home to sleep for the night (disappointingly, I left them a voicemail and it hasn't been returned almost 20 hours later.....guess the tone of my voice wasn't desperate enough!). So I went to bed.....with visions of sugar plums and Dee's acrylic ornaments dancing in my head.

So my Epilog rep shows up promptly at 8am and gets my driver installed and laser up and running. He was only planning to be here for 4 hours, so after we went through basics (cleaning, assessories, techniques, etc) there was only an hour or so of engraving time left.

Well, EVERY single project we tried......FAILED! I had about 10 things I wanted to do and we had time for maybe 5. The first was a LaserBuzz car......it engraved beautifully and cut through the sheet of baltic birch like a hot knife through butter. But when I lifted it off the table.....only about half of the pieces fell out. Not sure why only half cut through, but it's obviously a Corel issue (I'm guessing a color mapping issue), not an Epilog or LaserBuzz issue. So on to the next project.....

So I had the cute acrylic box that I got off the Creek. I changed the name on the lid (how could I screw THAT up?) and figured it would be an easy job to send to the laser. Oh yea......the laser.....well, it got hung up processing in Corel (requiring TWO reboots) and never even made it to the "preview" screen, let alone, the LASER! So, on to the next project.....

And so it went.....one failed project after another. My photo engraved on a marble tile was SO BAD that I wouldn't even give it to my own mother (and I'm her "son that can do no wrong"!). The facial features were non-existent (and yes, I have PhotoGrav 3.0.....and NO, it didn't help one bit on this one!). So my question is......is there any way to salvage a piece of marble that has been engraved? Or do I just start stacking them in the corner of my basement and hope that I die of old age before the house sinks due to the weight of 50,000 12x12 marble tiles on my basement floor?

Well, I'm not REALLY ready to quit......and I KNOW things could have been worse (my laser COULD have arrived without the actual laser tube installed).....and I'm not really posting this seeking help on any specific issue (it's just theraputic so I don't go canvassing the neighborhood looking for a cat to engrave)......and I know that it WILL get easier as I get to learn Corel and rekindle my relationship with my laser.

So I'll go to bed tonight dreaming of laser engraved sugar plums knowing that tomorrow is a new day........with 41 Epilog Sample Club projects waiting for me to conquer!

[Phil Garcia]

and I thought I was having a bad day...Good night... tomorrow is another day... keep smiling

[matt heinzel]

Wow sorry to hear you had a such a bad first day! Where did you get your marble from I'm looking for some to work with.

[Tim Bateson]

Steve, When my laser arrived, I watched the UPS driver push it off the back of the truck, falling 4 feet to the ground. Other then a bent exhaust port it did run fine.
Keep at it. You will waste material, but when you get it right people will think your an artist.

[Belinda Barfield]

Keep your chin up Steve! As Scarlett would say, "Tomorrow is another day." You'll be turning out beautiful work in no time and today will be just a very small bad memory. Oh yeah, now might be a good time to ask your wife for a much need shoulder rub, neck/back massage. Follow that by a nice slug of Maker's Mark just for good measure. I know how tense one can be after a day like yours . . . I've been there.

[Scott Shepherd]

Welcome to the world of lasering. Get used to it

I remember running the Eifel Tower file for over 1 hour of vector cutting time, only to do the same as you- lift it up and have only a few pieces drop out. The honeycomb grid kept it from cutting all the way through, so to get the 100's and 100's of little pieces out, I'd have to cut and poke them all out.

It ended up in the dumpster and I've never tried it again

[Dave Coble]

Steve, that's some funny stuff brother!! I say that in a tone of laughing with you as I was there not too long ago myself. You will be amazed though, I'd rate it as a moderate learning curve (for each type of job) but then you will make notes and tweak the process and your workflow until you have it mastered. It won't be long until you are banging out some awesome work that will not only amaze everyone else...but it will amaze you as well.

Trust me.

[Martin Boekers]

Boy oh Boy!!!
You jump right in!
Starting with vector cut-outs then photos on marble!

Seriously though it's good to hear some excitement! with your sense of humor (oh you will lose that if you keep playing with photos on marble), you ought to contact Epilog and see if they'll have you do a blog page

I can see it now.....

The life and adventures of Steve Clarkson, Engraver!

It will get better, I tell that to myself so often I'm actually starting to believe it!


Good luck,

Marty

[Joe Pelonio]

Sorry to hear about your problems, which are unusual from what I have heard and seen with Epilog. It does make me happy with my decision to keep XP.

I might suggest that you start at the beginning, walk before you try to drive,
and stick to clipart and scrap materials until you get things sorted out. I hate to se you waste expensive material doing complicated jobs and photos which do have a learning curve.

[Nancy Laird]

Reading this makes me VERY happy that I don't have an Epilog machine. I also agree with Joe - stick to simple stuff and learn what the machine can do before you start wasting materials.

[Margaret Turco]

Hey Steve, I was lucky because I got to learn on somebody else's machine, but I still keep a notebook nearby so I can write down settings for different materials as I figure them out each time. I don't have photograv so I have not had success with tile yet (ceramic w/color fill) but got some sample lasertiles to try one of these days. I just cut a bunch of ornaments for a local museum out of birch plywood and not all of them cut out clean either. Plywood can be kind of inconsistent to cut. Don't be discouraged though, you will be learning how to do new things every day. Good luck tomorrow!

[Scott Challoner]

I had one of those days yesterday too, and I've been at this for two years now. Just remeber to see each failure as an opportunity to learn.
I've learned (failed) a lot and once in awhile I make something I can sell too.

[Dave Johnson29]

"Works just like a printer....." Hahahahaha!

Sorry to hear about the first-day blues, but hang in there. The problem is you are thinking ahead of the progress. Before one step is complete you are already thinking 3 or 5 steps forward and then when there is a glitch way back there, you are disappointed.

one!). So my question is......is there any way to salvage a piece of marble that has been engraved? Or do I just start stacking them in the corner of my basement and hope that I die of old age before the house sinks due to the weight of 50,000 12x12 marble tiles on my basement floor?

OK, the good news is "yes" Well, "yes" to reclaiming but it will require some elbow grease. You need to buy some stones, HF has some diamond ones...

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=36799

Requesition the laundry tub and drop the marble in the bottom and add water to about half way up the marble. Starting with the coarsest diamond splash water onto the stone and rub at it until the laser-mark has gone. Drop down to the fine diamond and rub at it until the scratch marks are all as fine as they can be. Plenty of water to keep the diamond from clogging.

Go to the hardware store and get some of this stuff in grades 400, 600 and 800

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=93106

Using water as the lubricant, a sanding block for a flat surface...

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=98167

...then have at it. When it is as smooth as it can get then use splashes of engine oil, any grade, and that will effectively double the fineness of the wet dry. Clean and let the surface dry to see how smooth it is as it will look great when wet.

Finally, dry and clean it all off and use fine-cut car buffing compound and an electric buff, or by hand if you are still feeling enthusiastic.

With practice you will find the minimum number of "grade" steps to get what you want. It sounds a lot more work than it is. Do not be tempted to use electric sanding or polishing with water. If you have a decent size air compressor then use something like this...

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=90115

OK, I know I am tossing in a lot of HF but I am using their pics for Steve to see what he needs to get. All of this stuff is available at Lowes or others as well. I figure it just helps to see what I am talking.

[Deane Shepard]

Sorry you had a tough day. I remember my first day involved some uncooperative software, which was eventually traced to another USB device on my system that was interfering. I could have run a hundred jobs and none of them would have worked right. Based on that, I would offer a suggestion: Instead of going "on to the next job," pick whichever job you want and fight that one through to the very end, as in it works and it's right. Chances are you will learn things in doing so that will make the NEXT job, when you get to it, go a lot smoother. There is a learning curve and you have to get a ways up it before things smooth out. However, I don't think I will ever stop learning new things about what the machine can do. I constantly see things here on the Creek that I realize I knew part of, but someone's example or advice made the rest of the project pop into focus. So pick one of those projects (and I would try to make it an easier one on cheap materials) and wrestle that one bear to the ground, THEN go on to the next job. Remember, you bought the laser, it isn't on a daily rental so you can take your time and enjoy the journey.

Deane
ULS M-360

[Stephen Beckham]

Hmmm... CAT?


Here Kitty, Kitty... Daddy's got a new trick to show you.... I promise it only hurt just a little bit...

(It's okay - his front claws were taken off already...)