Bobby if you raised the laser to 10 inches and burn on a 2 inch high bowl would this laser be able to burn from 8 inches away?
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Signing your work
- Thread starter Joe Sheble
- Start date
This is one way to do it from Mark:
Another way to do it, is to hit the reply button, and delete what text in the quote you don't wish to address.
-----odie-----
Great! Thanks.
Returning to the original poster:
Use archival ink pen such as Figma MICRON and seal it with Grumbacher Final Fixative. Both available from your local art store. Finish goes over the fixative. Doesn’t bleed or fade. For a hobbyist or non production turner this makes perfect sense. I’ve been using this signature solution for years.
Use archival ink pen such as Figma MICRON and seal it with Grumbacher Final Fixative. Both available from your local art store. Finish goes over the fixative. Doesn’t bleed or fade. For a hobbyist or non production turner this makes perfect sense. I’ve been using this signature solution for years.
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Hey Arthur, I don't make the blades. I order those from a guy on ebay. I do make the Tangs and handles and the sheaths for them.
Yes - this works. I have a very similar laser engraver as Bobby, and have engraved the base of a few bowls now by raising the whole thing up by 3" - 4". It is surprisingly light, so doesn't take much to do it.
I have this one (20 watt version)
I built an enclosure for it for vision protection and exhaust system.
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I just use my initials as my signature. I used fine point sharpies for a while but they would sometimes bleed and smudge even several days later. I made a small branding iron myself and paid more than I should have online for a small one. The branding irons were just to finicky for me and risky. One slip or there's a gap in the burn and it's next to impossible to fix. I'll use it on large flatwork or other wood projects sometimes but not on bowls. I've settled on archival ink pens and just my initials and year made. After reading here I may stop putting the year on them. I've had very good luck with Pigma Micron PN pens. There's just something personal about signing by hand that I like and if each signature is a little different so what, that's part of the uniqueness. Easy to get a pack of them on Amazon. I've only put the species on a few pieces where I don't think I'll be able to remember what it is - heavily spalted or just hard to distinguish after finished. People will ask what kind of wood it is and I hate saying I don't know.
I'm using Sakura fine tips with Archival ink. A user here (whom my short memory has forgotten - sorry) provided the link: https://www.amazon.com/Sakura-Pigma-30062-Micron-Blister/dp/B0008G8G8Y
It's real.....there's that sense of "personal-ness" in signing by hand. It does influence some people. The laser engraved signatures do have that sense of professionalism.....but, also holds a certain feeling of "production" work. Each must make their own decisions as to what is best for their own works. There is no all-encompassing method of applying a signature, that best fits everyone......
-----odie-----
Yes - this works. I have a very similar laser engraver as Bobby, and have engraved the base of a few bowls now by raising the whole thing up by 3" - 4". It is surprisingly light, so doesn't take much to do it.
I have this one (20 watt version)
I built an enclosure for it for vision protection and exhaust system.
Can you give us more detain on this please. Make, Model, where you bought it. Also interested in your safety enclosure.
I have the Burnmaster and the Burnmaster pen for signing. It looked terrible. When I started doing basket weave and ordered some basket weave tips from PJL I also ordered a signing pen. It was a world of difference. My penmanship still suffers, but you can read it. This is opinion, but at first I just used initials until someone said if you are proud of your work you should sign your full name. No one will know by your initials in 6 months you made the piece. I have since signed my full name and I put the species. I don’t put the date, but like the Roman numerals idea. The idea of not personally signing doesn’t appeal to me for all the reasons Odie has expressed.
Do you sign your name in pencil first, and burn over it, or do you just go for it?
A woodburner of some kind is near the top of my wish list.
A woodburner of some kind is near the top of my wish list.
I just go for it.
Tom Gall
TOTW Team
I use Sharpie Ultra Fine or Extra Fine pens and sometimes the Pigma Micron (archival) pens. Depending on the wood - sometimes I will seal with shellac or whatever finish I plan to use on the piece. Sign and let the ink dry and cover again with more finish. I have some pieces 15-20 years old with no fading as some have said. Maybe because the signature is on the bottom and not exposed to sunlight.
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No. The laser has to be focused to do the engraving. The further you are away, you will not be able to focus the laser. You want the laser no more than an inch away from what is being engraved. The laser is kind of like one of those spot flashlights. You turn it one way and it expands but turn it the other way and it pinpoints. The laser needs to have a pin point to do a detailed engraving.
Bobby you just gave me an idea. Make sets of one and two inch tall blocks and raise the laser on them to match the height of the bottom of the bowl and this would keep the laser1-2 inches above the bowl.
Yea or some sort of small crank leveling jack under each end. Then you can just raise and lower that.
For my video camera system over my lathe I just drilled holes in a pipe and I raise or lower the camera by putting a bolt in it at the hight I want.
Maybe the laser could use a similar method to control the height.
Maybe the laser could use a similar method to control the height.
Thanks.
@odie, what did you wrap, or place around, your pyro pen, the one in the picture? I'm assuming it's to keep the heat down. I find my Sabre pen gets very hot and it's even warm through a glove.Just my opinion here:
View attachment 34718
What I've found works best for me, is this CSUSA "cub" wood burner. (They look a lot different now, but the internals haven't changed. This one is 30+ years old, and still works perfectly.) A logo is fine, and that's what I choose to use. Notice that my logo is designed with all straight lines.....That makes it very easy to get nice cleanly done results. Curved lines are difficult to burn cleanly. The real trick here, is to get the heat setting right, and go slow and deliberately. The heat setting will be hotter with more hard/dense woods, and less hot with softer woods.
View attachment 34716 View attachment 34717
-----odie-----
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Howdy Charles.......
The one on the left is pvc pipe with holes drilled. The one on the right has pipe insulation, and then wrapped with cloth hockey tape. They both reduce the heat quite a bit, but the pvc pipe seems to do a little better job of making the sabre more user friendly.
-----odie-----
Tom Gall
TOTW Team
Probably because the holes in the PVC allow more heat to escape. Does it feel too big in your hand for detailed work? I use the woodturner a lot for texturing for long periods and even though I have some foam covers and even silicone(?) fingertip covers it gets too hot. I have to put it down to cool and switch pens if I have them. I have the Detail Master (dual - Excalibre ?) burner .... I like your handle - I might have to steal that idea!Howdy Charles.......
The one on the left is pvc pipe with holes drilled. The one on the right has pipe insulation, and then wrapped with cloth hockey tape. They both reduce the heat quite a bit, but the pvc pipe seems to do a little better job of making the sabre more user friendly.
-----odie-----
Probably because the holes in the PVC allow more heat to escape. Does it feel too big in your hand for detailed work? I use the woodturner a lot for texturing for long periods and even though I have some foam covers and even silicone(?) fingertip covers it gets too hot. I have to put it down to cool and switch pens if I have them. I have the Detail Master (dual - Excalibre ?) burner .... I like your handle - I might have to steal that idea!
Yes, it does feel bulky to use, but adaptable to a user's style pretty easily. I guess it would depend on any individual's evaluation of how well they can adapt to it.
Also, the pvc pipe allows for a more solid feel that I like better. The pipe insulation isn't as good because of the "squishy" feel to it......this also may be subject to an individual's evaluation.
I don't use the woodburner as much as others do, but if it were really important to me, I did have an idea that a smaller diameter water cooled sleeve could be made that would keep it nice and cool for as long as you wanted. This could be done using a separate pump and reservoir connected with small inlet and outlet tubes to the sleeve.
-----odie-----
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Yes - this works. I have a very similar laser engraver as Bobby, and have engraved the base of a few bowls now by raising the whole thing up by 3" - 4". It is surprisingly light, so doesn't take much to do it.
I have this one (20 watt version)
I built an enclosure for it for vision protection and exhaust system.
Well you motivated be into it. Got it setup yesterday, now I've got to figure out how to use it.
Tried out the laser today, put my initials on 6 homemade cutting boards.
Very necessary. Not only do you not want to look directly at the laser light you do not want to look at the scattered laser light, which is quite bright. With the light intensities we're talking about wood reflects a surprising amount of light. Dust on the lenses, etc. accumulating during down times is also an issue.
To Mark's point, the wave length of the reflected laser light can damage your eyes very quickly.
The orange acrylic cover is actually a protective layer that filters the harmful light wave length.
But I still also wear a pair of laser safety glasses when it is running.
Also, for longer runs, being as the laser is burning the material it creates a lot of fine smoke, so that gets contained in the cabinet and exhausted straight outside.
The orange acrylic cover is actually a protective layer that filters the harmful light wave length.
But I still also wear a pair of laser safety glasses when it is running.
Also, for longer runs, being as the laser is burning the material it creates a lot of fine smoke, so that gets contained in the cabinet and exhausted straight outside.
My first bowl using my laser
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Tom Gall
TOTW Team
That's cool!!! (hot?) Why didn't you put it in the center? I know you probably have it all programmed in already, but in the year 2050 no one will know who CE is.
I know you probably have it all programmed in already, but in the year 2050 no one will know who CE is.
Maybe the average person won't know who CE is........but, the important people will!
From my own perspective, though......the laser loses that personal human connection. It becomes more "commercial".....and, this may, or may not be a good or bad thing. I feel it would be a negative influence for what I am trying to do with my own turnings.
-----odie-----
Just my take branding irons and lasers add a crisp professional look. But what is or is not professional other than ethics is in the eye and opinion of the beholder.Maybe the average person won't know who CE is........but, the important people will!
From my own perspective, though......the laser loses that personal human connection. It becomes more "commercial".....and, this may, or may not be a good or bad thing. I feel it would be a negative influence for what I am trying to do with my own turnings.
-----odie-----
I have three custom made branding irons that I have never got a good brand from, especially when you brand across different woods or the surface is not extremely flat, that's why, when I saw Matthew's post, earlier in this thread, I thought I'd give the laser a try. I think I've spent more on these branding irons than what this laser cost ($300) and I probably cold have spent about $100 less and still got the same results.
I haven't used a pyro pen, but my hand writing sucks, so I've kind of avoided going down that path.
I haven't used a pyro pen, but my hand writing sucks, so I've kind of avoided going down that path.
Tom Gall
TOTW Team
If you are referring to family members that may be true ..... MAYBE!Maybe the average person won't know who CE is........but, the important people will!
-----odie-----
If you sell your work, as you do, or just give it away as many others do (CE?), and 20-30 years from now your 'masterpiece' ends up in an estate sale/auction or someone inherits your piece - they might have an interest in knowing who made it ..... maybe! Their chances are slim if they just Google "CE".
If you are referring to family members that may be true ..... MAYBE!
Actually.....no......I was referring to notable art collectors and connoisseurs, but family members certainly are included.
Gerald has hit on the "universal truth" here......Please don't pay any attention to, or credit what I think, if what I believe is not inline with yours, or anyone else's beliefs. As Gerald notes, "other than ethics", our differences are what make for individuality, and create human interest. If we all believed the same things, we would be automatons!
-----odie-----
For Chits and Giggles, I Googled 'Chris Edwards', got 132 Million hits, 'CE' returns 4.7 Billion.
There's a good possibility that a couple of those are wood turners, some who might actually make stuff good enough to sell.
Now with that said, the laser will cut(burn) very fine, so actually doing a poem, note or saying, in a smallish space, would be easy to accomplish.
There's a good possibility that a couple of those are wood turners, some who might actually make stuff good enough to sell.
Now with that said, the laser will cut(burn) very fine, so actually doing a poem, note or saying, in a smallish space, would be easy to accomplish.
Just got a Laserpecker LP1 laser engraver. focus point is 8" from the device. I have burned in my signature with my terrible handwriting for years, but this device works great. I've only had it a couple of days and have already engraved my name on bowl bottoms, pens. Experimentation will continue for a while, but I'm like a kid with a new toy!
Not sure how'd you mount that above a large bowl. That platform looks good for only about 6-8" diameter.
I use either an archival pen describe as above or a Dremel engraver. I also took a broken 1/8 drill bit shank, sharpened it to a fine point with a drill at the grinder, and use it in place of the standard carbide point if I need a finer signature.