Laser Engraving TW faceplates-A Photo Guide!

[Lonely Raven]

I've had several people ask how this "laser" (Mr Evil quotes) thing works. Since I was making a faceplate for my first customer, I figured I'd take photos along the way so you all can see how this neat device works.

Honestly, this is more about the laser and less about the faceplates. The plates are just the cool end result!

A little background first (pull up a chair, I'm rather verbose). I'm a total newb when it comes to amp building. I was a woodworker for a custom hardwood stair shop in a previous life, but I'm an IT Manager now (fancy way of saying computer fixer with experience). I think I'm a pretty smart guy and I've done a lot of stuff in between the two "careers". Building amps, even if just following a layout like paint by numbers, just seemed like a cool, fun, and geeky thing to do. It might even save me some money in the long run (after I break even on tools, parts, shipping, time etc)

So after having built a few Champs, servicing a few dozen BF and SF Fenders, I figured I wanted to build myself an amp I otherwise couldn't afford as a birthday gift to myself. After some research, and having heard talk of Trainwrecks since the early 90's, I figured I'd give a Ceriatone kit a try. I scored some transformers used from these forums, got the chassis and bag of parts from Nik and Ceriatone (I asked for *completely* unassembled...I like the hands on work), but no faceplate or cab. I figured I'd get around to making a cab for myself...if I ever buy a new router, setup a shop somewhere, etc.

Well, as luck would have it, my work happened to get a 35 watt "laser" (Mr Evil Quotes again), and get this...they got it so they could make nametags! I knew this was such a waste of fantastic equipment, and a light bulb (or maybe "laser") went on in my head. I could learn to use this machine by making Trainwreck faceplate for my amp!!

And so it started! And I'll be honest with you all...I was so happy with the results (after 6 prototypes - I'm a picky bastard), that I figured I could make a few dollars on the side, provide a service to fellow amp builders that want more then blank faceplates or Nik's effective but simple dragon faceplate...and maybe be able to afford having a custom cab built for myself! So far it's not working out so well...I keep finding all these great pieces of wood that would make great faceplates...and I've only sold 1 so far.

Doesn't matter, it's still fun and I'm sure the few guys that buy faceplates will like them. If I break even, cool. If I make a little on the side, awesome!

So, after that long winded intro, here is how this works.

First I sourced some wood from a local lumber yard. They had the basics, Poplar, Maple, Cherry, Walnut, and I even scored a small piece of Purple Heart (I love odd colors!). They were nice enough to drum sand the pieces down to 1/8" for me (for a price of course). The "laser" itself can only hold 12" tall by 18" across pieces (small, but perfect for faceplates!), so the stock had to be chopped to length:



[img:565:850]http://lonelyraven.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p395099363-5.jpg[/img]



My Chop saw even has a "laser" (Mr Evil Quotes)


[img:565:850]http://lonelyraven.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p481853741-5.jpg[/img]


I cut the pieces down to just under 18". The laser etcher can cut up to 1/4" stock on it's own, so I've programmed it to do the final cut to size. More on that later. The faceplate blanks:

[img:800:531]http://lonelyraven.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p159970322-4.jpg[/img]


Mark asked for a nice white piece of Poplar, I picked what I felt was the best of the stock and set it aside. I like pieces with high contrast grain. (as much as possible with poplar at least):


[img:800:531]http://lonelyraven.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p355000179-4.jpg[/img]


I'll continue in the next post. Thank you for reading this far.

[Lonely Raven]

Here is the 35 watt "laser" setup at my work. You can see the name brand and web page on the front if you want to check out more details on the equipment. Basically, it's hooked up to the computer via USB port like a big printer (albeit with an X-Y-Z table and "laser" that could cut your fingers off!).

[img:800:531]http://lonelyraven.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p335018875-4.jpg[/img]


[img:800:531]http://lonelyraven.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p164840387-4.jpg[/img]


The lasers function is pretty simple. It's a tube with CO2 (and other gasses I'm told), and they excite the tube with electricity, much like you would a fluorescent light. The gases generate a powerful light that is ported out one end of the tube (which is in the back of the device shown above). The light is then bounced off a small precision mirror angled at 45 degrees (so it's heading towards the front of the machine), bounced off a second mirror angled at 45 degrees (so it's heading to the right into the work area), then finally hits this last 45 degree mirror and shot into a magnifying glass that travels on an X-Y carrier much like an old dot matrix or ink jet printer.

This photo shows the head with mirror and magnafying lens:

[img:800:531]http://lonelyraven.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p224174446-4.jpg[/img]


Literally this is a magnifying lens, and much like you could use a lens to focus the sun to burn a leaf or fry and ant, it focuses the "laser" at a distance of 2" onto the work piece. 35 watts of power, focused to a point the thickness of a human hair, it's pretty hot! So it burns or cuts through wood (depending on speed/power settings), melts or cuts through plastic, but can't cut or etch metal. In order to make marks on metal, the piece needs to be coated with a material that turns black when the "laser" hits it.

But for our use, we are working on wood. In this instance, poplar. Here we have the "laser" doing the etching part. The head moves at a slow speed to allow the "laser" to dig it. Remember, it's the thickness of a hair, so for it to hog out (or technically turn the wood to smoke instantly), it has to cover a lot of area...it takes forever!


[img:800:531]http://lonelyraven.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p70385967-4.jpg[/img]


After the "laser" takes one pass for engraving, then it switches to cutting mode. This is full power, and somehow pulses the frequency of the "laser" to help it get through the material. Here you can see it cutting out the holes for the tone pots. Mark requested a custom image engraved that he provided, and asked that I add a Master volume slot for his custom build. No problem says I.


[img:800:531]http://lonelyraven.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p109386672-4.jpg[/img]


Nearly finished with the cutting portion.

[img:800:531]http://lonelyraven.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p238406610-4.jpg[/img]

After cutting I have it go back and do a second pass with the etching setting to get a nice deep burn on the logo and lettering, as well as to countersink the slots for the nuts and washers a little deeper. Since only light is touching the piece, it doesn't get jarred or otherwise moved. Every pass should be *dead on* unless I open the box and mess with it myself. This shot is half way through the second etching.

[img:800:531]http://lonelyraven.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p65456143-4.jpg[/img]


This is the mess that's left on the Stainless plate after I remove the piece. As I've mentioned in another thread, the "laser" caramelizes the natural sugars in the wood, and I get this lovely syrup I have to clean up. It also stains the wood a little so this has to be sanded down when I get home to clean up the face. This will also improve the contrast between the clean white wood and the nice dark burn. You can see I made a second faceplate on this same board since I had just barely enough space left open.


[img:800:531]http://lonelyraven.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p35728930-4.jpg[/img]

[Lonely Raven]

A couple other pieces I burned on the "laser" since I was already setup with a template for "Master Volume". It was also suggested to me to use a more basic font that would be closer to the original hand burned Trainwreck faceplates. This was what I did in some nice clean maple. These faceplates will be cleaned up and put up for sale in the Classified section:

[img:800:531]http://lonelyraven.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p31351272-4.jpg[/img]


[img:800:531]http://lonelyraven.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p14879394-4.jpg[/img]


[img:800:531]http://lonelyraven.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p197082219-4.jpg[/img]


I'll continue into part 4 once I get time to sand the faces on Mark's faceplate and these nice maple faceplates, and I'll be applying some sealer or oil of some sort to these maple faces before they go up for sale in the classifies section.

If anyone is interested in faceplates for their Trainwreck amp, please read through my post in the Classifies section and PM me with your needs!

Thanks again for reading through all this, I hope it was somewhat entertaining.

~Eric~

[mumford]

Wow! That is cool!

[drgonzoguitar]

That is freakin' awesome! Thanks for posting Raven!

[drhulsey]

... I hope it was somewhat entertaining...

Beautiful work Thanks for sharing

Boss: "Eric, We've only made 25 name tags with this laser. Wonder why it needs servicing so soon?
Eric: "Gee, Boss. I don't have a clue. I'm just the IT guy!"

[John_P_WI]

Looks like you are getting good use out of the D300....

I still haven't tamed the beast yet....

Take care,

John

[Lonely Raven]

... I hope it was somewhat entertaining...

Beautiful work Thanks for sharing

Boss: "Eric, We've only made 25 name tags with this laser. Wonder why it needs servicing so soon?
Eric: "Gee, Boss. I don't have a clue. I'm just the IT guy!"

Actually that was one of my first questions was about wear and tear. I didn't want to get yelled at for that very reason you joked about. I was told the laser tube actually lasts longer when used regularly as it retains it's seal better. They've found that when companies bought machines and stored them because they were too lazy/scared to figure it out, their CO2 laser died within 18 months. Otherwise, it just need to be recharged every 3 years, used lightly or heavily, 3 years.

That said, the only wear and tear item is the motor that drives the "laser" head. They said if I used it 8 hours a day, 365 days a year, I'd get 3-5 years out of the motor.

So I think I'm OK.

Looks like you are getting good use out of the D300....

I still haven't tamed the beast yet....

Take care,

John

Someone's peaking at my EXIF! You peeping-John!

I started with the Nikon D70s and floundered around with it for a year. Upgraded to the D200 though I didn't feel my skills were worth the upgrade, I snagged it lightly used for about $400 below street price. The quality camera helped my skill level jump *way* beyond what I expected. I know...like guitars, it's the player not the gear...but the D200 was such a fantastic tool, that I truly *learned* photography 100X faster then I was with the clunky D70s. I'm hoping for a similiar, though not so drastic improvement with the Nikon D300, but it's vast array of new features is a bit perplexing...and honestly I've just not been able to dedicate the time I'd like to to learning the D300 and progressing my skills in photography.

Anyone can feel free to snoop through my gallery:

www.LonelyRaven.Zenfolio.com

Unfortunately, I didn't have all this fantastic camera gear over the years I've been dabbling in guitars...so I have *very* few photos of guitar gear.

[Lonely Raven]

Marks sanded and ready to ship faceplate next to my Griffin faceplate:

[img731]http://lonelyraven.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p631193777-5.jpg[/img]

[candh]

Lonely Raven,

Very Nice.

I 'm trying to figure out the kanji you used on that faceplate. I'm assuming it's Chinese (not Japanese) or a combination of characters that has a hidden unique meaning.
Literally it says....

Asa (linen) Ichi (one) Que (long time)

What that means is anyone's guess...lol?

My gears are turning....I may have a "burning desire" for your services. I'll PM you later.

ChrisL

[Lonely Raven]

The Kanji was provided by Mark, my first faceplate customer. He said the characters were Ma-Ku. Beyond that, I'm afraid I don't know what they mean really.

Side note about the faceplates shown here. I realized when I went to sand them that I was missing one of the maple ones shown in this thread. I couldn't find it anywhere...and I did have my arms full of wood and sander and other gear...so maybe I dropped it?

I went out to the parking lot and found one of the maple plates stuck in the snow...damnit! It looks like a salvador dali painting...it's all warped and bent, even the holes drilled for the pots are oblong...looks really cool, but completely useless.

[John_P_WI]

Eric,

[/quote]
Someone's peaking at my EXIF! You peeping-John!
[/quote]

Nope, no pixel peeping / exif looking, been a member over at dp review for years and recognized your handle. The internet is not a big as people think!

I don't spend much time over there anymore, too many trolls, flamers, self proclaimed experts and people asking why their $2000 dslr doesn't work like their digicam... The group of guys over here are more the "get 'er done type" that would drink a beer together.

I got burned out in photography working as a hired gun doing weddings etc. and got heavily back into music and amps after a 10 year hiatus.

BTW, both my wife and I grew up just west of you in the DeKalb area. I moved up here to WI in the mid 80's for my engineering career.

Take care,

John

[Lonely Raven]

Wow, small world, huh?

Well thanks for saying HI! It's nice having a handle like Lonely Raven. The only copy cats out there are little kiddie poet wanna-be that cop my name because it sounds so tragic.

[mdroberts1243]

Lonely Raven,

Very Nice.

I 'm trying to figure out the kanji you used on that faceplate. I'm assuming it's Chinese (not Japanese) or a combination of characters that has a hidden unique meaning.
Literally it says....

Asa (linen) Ichi (one) Que (long time)

What that means is anyone's guess...lol?

My gears are turning....I may have a "burning desire" for your services. I'll PM you later.

ChrisL

Hemp Forever. I like my C-Rex speaker with the hemp cone.

My 'hanko' in Japan was Ma-a-ku (for Mark) and the 'fortuitous' kanji they chose were: hemp/linen (Ma), Asia (ah), and forever (Ku). I shortened it to ma-ku and used an 'ichi' for the dash character.

[Structo]

Very nice work Raven.
I'm tempted to build an Express just to have one of those killer face plates.