Or you can do what Adam Savage does and have a fine patina of paint over everything. Looks great though, a very elegant solution.
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…and create a heirloom of Fordite for your descendants! (I learned about Fordite in this thread.)
[Edit: wrong link.]
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Laser “engraved” (really, just burned) beer mats for our annual Friendsgiving event. I made about 40 of these.
EDIT: New design added to the mix.
It’s a reference to this classic:
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Well, now I have. Works great, only took a few hours (most of which I spent cleaning the long term cat toy storage area behind and under the stove). Time will tell whether I have enough cooling in there.
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Yeti work-in-progress for this year’s Holiday Parade float with the scouts. We’re going to coat this one with fiberglass instead of paper mâché so it will be durable and weatherproof because it’s going on permanent display at the local mini-golf course after it’s done.
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Started a project about a month ago to help deal with the excess of firewood i gained after having a tree come down in the yard earlier this year. Its good firewood and i don’t want it to go to waste, so…
Now i just need to get the wood organized and get the rest split and in there…
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I like the design. What’s the purpose of the bottomless shelves on either end?
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Didn’t see those at first. Handles for maneuvering? But it would be very heavy full of wood
@oncebce Very tidy design. I like how the wood will be able to air out and be kept off the ground while staying covered.
I always wince when I see piles of wood against the house. Perfect to attract termites as well as other pests.
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Eventually I’ll put tops on the shelves. I think i have enough pressure treated 2xs left if i decide to just top the shelves with that. But i was thinking maybe expanded metal or something could be nice. So TBD. As for the purpose; no particular plans. I just thought, hey it would be pretty easy to add shelves to this, always good to have a shelf, right? Maybe they’ll be useful for potting or storing kindling…
ETA: it is about 8’ x 4’ x 6’ and levels on deck blocks, so definitely not moving it around 
EETA:
Looking much better.
Now i just hhave to get through all of this:
(Sorry, missing banana for scale)
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More laser engraving experiments.
Mandalas on old circular saw blades. I cleaned the blades off with acetone and sprayed them with chalkboard paint before etching
Testing painted plexiglass. Yes, it smelled bad. This kind of material definitely requires proper ventilation.
A coaster made of wood and some kind of artificial marble. I colored the stone part black with a Sharpie so it would absorb more laser power, then cleaned it off with acetone. The laser didn’t dig very deep into the stone. It’s still pretty neat
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I’m working on a new game controller. It’s an arcade stick (normally I prefer to play on buttons only), but with the rare feature of producing analogue output, meaning it’s appropriate for playing games that make use of subtle gradations of movement. Arcade joysticks are normally only capable of binary on/off output in 8 fixed directions, making them quite appropriate for fighting games and other arcade-y titles, but bad (or at least slightly worse) for games that take a more modern approach.
I’m using a Sanwa JLX joystick, along with an open source hardware mod called SASI that snaps on to the joystick and gives it the ability to do analogue sensing using magnets.
I originally started this project as a bit of a meme to play Vampire Survivors with, but now I’m looking towards the upcoming Hades 2 as well.
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More laser-cut fun. I don’t usually go in for this kind of kitsch, but 'tis the season, and I need simple projects as I learn how to use the machine.
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I really like the zigzag tree designs.
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I presume it is the insert from the bauble with the tree-shaped cutout?
Two decorations in one!
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I do not claim to be a master of the scroll saw, truthfully the thing intimates the hell out of me, but youngest wanted a pick guard for their bass. I exist but to serve!
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That Christmas stuff is exactly why we want a laser cutter.
My wife keeps asking me when I’m going to buy one.
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The hobbyist-level lasers are relatively inexpensive these days. If you’re interested, I can share details of my setup and (admittedly limited) experience.
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Can you describe that process more? Did you paint a layer of (…acrylic?) onto the plexiglass, and then laser it off?
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Has anyone silk screened at home?
We did it years ago using screens that had been pre-treated with light-sensitive emulsion from EZScreen. However, I now have access to a makerspace with all the lasers and cutters and stuff, and I don’t know if there’s an easier way. Or maybe the EZScreen is still the easiest way, I’m not sure.
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I’m very close to the xtool D1 with a 20w laser. I like it because I can swap out the laser with a 10w laser and they now have a 2w infrared module for small jewelry and fine engraving on plastic. They also come with a rotator for cups.
I figure if we’re going to invest we should go with something that has options.
But I’m still on the fence, I don’t want to end up with an expensive personal use gizmo.
Which one do you have and do you see yourself outgrowing it?
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