I've been lurking on this group for several years on and off, and have gathered quite a bit of great advice from you guys. Thanks to all who have helped me learn, and probably didn't even know it! :) I retired a bit over a year ago, and have been upgrading my tooling and tinkering about in the shop. One of the tools I got was a major dream machine that I thought I'd never have the opportunity to own . . . A LASER ENGRAVER! I took the plunge, and bought an Epilog Mini Helix laser engraver with all the bells and whistles. The thing is amazing in how it helps my woodworking projects. I can do all types of personalizing from ornamental inlays and scrimshaw to photo engraving into the wood, name engraving or even engraving into glass windows for boxes and cabinets. It allows me to make extremely precise templates for routing, sawing or carving using plexiglass. I've even seen these lasers used to produce plastic and metal plates plaques and signs, or even rubber stamps and rubber masks for sand blasting or painting. Nice way to mark your work. At any rate, the thing can do pretty much anything your imagination can produce. I am first and foremost . . . RETIRED, and plan to stay that way. I'm not looking to produce huge runs of items for commercial applications. Epilog will be glad to refer you to someone who is in business for that type of thing. I'm just looking to do a good turn to some other woodworkers who need some laser time. If you have a project that could benefit by using a laser (such as a custom template or personalization of a project) let me know. I am in the Maryland area, and even though I have a very busy schedule, I can probably fit you in . . . between naps and coffee breaks . . . and playtimes!
Retirement is a wonderful way of life! Kevin snipped-for-privacy@aol.com