Hi,
A little background - I do a mix of aquatics CAD design, marquetry, rehab work and building furniture. Due to a recent accident (that I can't give any specifics on due to pending litigation) I can't do any actual work right now and CAD time is limited because my hand will ache for hours afterwards. Hopefully in time, the majority of it will resolve itself and I'll be back to being a productive member of society.
At some point in time there's going to be a settlement and I'd like to get something that will allow me to do the sort of marquetry patterns I've designed but couldn't cut out with a knife (I have yet to try packet cutting on the scroll saw) so I'm looking at either a CNC with a Donek drag knife or a laser.
If I go the laser route, can I just tape the veneer to the table, and let it go to town or do I need some sort of vacuum table to hold the veneer in place?
What am I looking at as far as getting into a laser? I don't want to build my own stuff - something that I unpack, hook up, translate my AutoCAD drawings and then start cutting. Nothing against Chinese stuff, but if I drop a wad of cash, I want to be sure that there's support and parts if/when needed.
Does anyone use their laser for cutting veneer and if so are you happy with the route you chose? If you have both CNC and laser, would you recommend one over the other? I have a ton of veneer - all cut and flitched, none paper backed.
Size wise, I don't see myself needing anything bigger than 18" x 24" or 36" (depending on what size the workable area is) Something bigger than a tabloid sheet of paper but smaller than a half sheet of plywood.
Thanks in advance for any guidance.