WWA Info Exchange

I have a custom table top (14 x 36") that needs to be engraved. The video below illustrates the process I like to do.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65UbxB4jY3w

Does anyone know who can provide this service - preferable in the Washington D.C. Metro Area?

There is one near me in a renta shop. A question and some insight that I have seen

Are you going for the "burned edge" look or just looking for fine detail?

A CNC router might be easier to find.

With a laser you have to provide a testing scrap to tune in the speed and power with the wood you are using.

The level of detail will greatly impact the time/cost.



See "CNC engraving"

this is 5 x 8 inches. single pass. using a 0.025 router bit and took over 10 hours. Just to give you an idea of time and detail.

www.cnczone.com has laser and CNC router sections in their forum. You might find someone local there. They also have a request for quote section

Good luck

you also may want to head over to the carvewright forum to see if there are any takers in that area-- you can even do the designing yourself on the demo software and then someone local can do the carving.

Lawrence

ps- the carvewright forum is here
http://forum.carvewright.com/

I have an older VersaLASER at work.

14"x36" is going to be hard to do on most laser units.
IIRC mine will do 12"x16" at best.

I have done golf tournament plaques with fairly crisp details on Mahogany.
You could see a golf ball on a green next to a hole with a flag.

I'd love to use it more but I don't work out of that office much any more.

You might have to divide the top into sections.

Check local printing shops.They sometimes use the laser units.

---Nailer---

_________________
No regrets, just some interesting results.
email: nailed_nailer@yahoo.com

Thanks to all. The Carvewright looks like the way to go. Now to find someone locally to do it !!

http://100kgarages.com/fabbers/map

This is a link i had posted before it is for people who have ShopBot CNC routers and it displays a map with their locations. Nothing super close to DC though at first glance but it may help you get started.




Jeremy

one more thing to throw out there-- how heavy is the piece to be routed?

14 inches wide is no problem, and 36 inches long isn't either.... but too heavy could make an owner cringe a bit (it is, afterall, a hobbiest tool)

Officially you can use pieces up to 20 lbs, but I've heard tell of folks successfully doing much heavier (like me putting through a heavier piece of MDF for instance) with no problem

Lawrence

You may also try a local sign shop. If anyone would have one for that size, a sign shop would

_________________
"I didn't fail, I just discovered another way that doesn't work"
WWACDNAUX#2
http://www.signsanddesigns.ca