CAST BRASS MACHINIST HAMMERS- PART 2. LASER ETCHING NON FLAT THINGS

I wanted to be able to personalise some machinist hammers with laser etched handles. The only problem is that laser cutter/engravers can be a little tricky with objects that aren't flat. Positioning the work for repetitive processes can be difficult and laser engravers don't like curved surfaces. I also experimented with different techniques for filling the engraved surface with coloured wood filler. Enjoy!

[@stanwooddave9758]

movie line from The Karate Kid: wax on wax off. Great video Mark. If your son doesn't find that hammer useful, make him polish your car, wax on, wax off, wax on, wax off.

[@Steve_Just_Steve]

Thanks Preso! Always enjoy your vids!

[@andrewdolinskiatcarpathian]

Great to see the laser etching process. Sure gives a great result. 👌👏👏👍😀

[@Preso58]

It's nice to have a laser in the shop.

[@yvesdesrosiers2396]

Nice! Liking the look. Mr P and his toys at it again. Thanks for sharing.

[@TAWPTool]

You showed some interesting techniques! I am interested in getting a laser cutter and when I see videos like yours I become even more interested. Thanks for sharing!

[@AmateurRedneckWorkshop]

Great quality work as usual. These will be top notch presents for sure.

[@blfstk1]

Good Show Mate...as always. You are way smarter than me. When it comes to CAD and CAM my brain goes limp and sorta passes out. I love to see it though. Waiting for rest of the process.

[@Preso58]

I am the same way with arduino code. I have had a KZbin subscriber working on the code for my Lixie clock. I just got it working this morning. He lives in Canada and it blows me away that I live on the other side of the world and we send information back and forth like he is just in the other room. When I was still teaching we had to be very conscious of presenting information to cater for all kinds of learners. I am a visual kinesthetic which means I find it easy to understand graphical information but maths and logic and foreign languages are unintelligible to my brain. Other people find it hard to see patterns in diagrams and cannot understand maps but can easily process long strings of numerical data. Our brains are truly weird. Regards, Mark Presling

[@blfstk1]

@@Preso58 Pretty wonderful stuff this. People, all over the world communicating with one another. Swapping knowledge and experience. This is WAY Cool!

[@stephenwagar2663]

Nice ! I See You Are A Man Of Many Hats ! Most Enjoyable Thumbs Up

[@mrpete222]

Thanks Mark--I wondered how that was done

[@CraigLYoung]

Morning Mark! Very interesting technique.

[@lv_woodturner3899]

I have seen other videos where folks used the laser engraver on round objects. As you said it is tricky. I love Timber Mate wood filler. It may be slow to dry but it lasts a long time in the container and is easy to re-wet if it dries out in the container. I learned the hard way to allow it to completely dry before sanding. Shellac or lacquer (hair spray) should seal the pores before using the filler. Good video. Dave.

[@Kevin-gx8lc]

Great stuff Pressa...! Greetings from Southport UK

[@yambo59]

Very nice. Youve got a bonafide pro looking result there with that final process. Ive done simple stuff like using stamping punches and filling the letters with paint etc, but this looks much more professional, especially with that fancy gothic type font shown here.

[@Preso58]

Thanks for that. There is still a lot of room for experimenting with the techniques. My friend Macca was happy that I had included the little flourish under the "c" in McGrath. Evidently it's of Irish origin and not Scottish as I found out when I was in Edinburgh and tried to find his clan tartan!

[@pgs8597]

G’day Mark the laser etching came out nice, it would have been nice if you added the year because you know what it’s like when in years to come their grand kids will ask questions about it and you can’t remember how long you’ve had it. Cheers Peter

[@Preso58]

I always forget to do that! Maybe I can retroetch (is that a word?) on the other side. Regards, Mark

[@joandar1]

Nice one Mark, very interesting. I doubt I will be doing what you do. Having said that Never say Never. Cheers Mate from John EC Australia.

[@millie19301]

Thanks for a very instructive video. Makes me want to buy a laser engraver. Cheers!

[@Preso58]

Yes, they are great tools but they are big and bulky and being optical devices they don't like being in a dusty workshop. I have to keep mine covered when it isn't in use but even then the dust gets in. through the bottom of the casing. The little K40 lasers are small enough to sit on a desktop but you need to vent the smoke out through a window or a vent.

[@yeagerxp]

Awesome 👍👍👍Thanks for sharing

[@seanbaumer6039]

Great work Mark, dont know whether you though abouth this but you could mill a pocket in the handle and glue a flat piece of wood or metal to do the engraving on.

[@Preso58]

Yes, you can do that. You can also laser engrave the pocket and use the same profile to cut the flat piece of wood that goes into it. It looks great if you use a contrasting piece of wood or a material like Mother of Pearl. Regards, Mark

[@nikond90ful1]

Thanks for the video.

[@wrstew1272]

Analytic message…….if you continue the color over a wider area, I.e. the entire area of the grip primarily, lighting the strokes towards the ends, would it fill the grain to actually highlight it as in antiquing? Some use that technique to emphasize the porous nature of wood with similar colorization. That with a light sand would make the whole area “pop” and add a bit of accentuation to the project. Being a part time wood wrecker, the “timber “ that you down under have available makes me very jealous! So much variety and from what I have seen the colors and grain structure are tremendous. It is unrealistic to ship with the distance being what it is, but if I were rich I would have a shed full of some of your beautiful wood! With COVID-19 the price of junk lumber here is such that I am boycotting any purchase that I can until the price becomes more realistic, don’t know if it has become the same there but I am doing my part to stymie the greed of the industry for the time being.

[@Preso58]

I still use that little brass hammer a lot but the handle is not so pristine any more. We do have some lovely cabinet making timbers here but they are very hard to get in quantity due to protections placed on the rainforests. Even common or garden variety construction timber is ridiculously expensive for us. Regards, Mark

[@scotthaddad563]

“BIG SCARY LASER” Hahahahaha!

[@Dwarfracer88]

Mark, or as you call yourself Mahk, if you happen to do another test, thin the wood filler and let us know how it turns out. I was thinking with the fine details at the points of the letters and the embellishments under the "c" it might flow into those areas better. Thanks for the great videos!

[@Preso58]

I think there is a lot of scope for experimenting. I have had fantastic results with some really close grained woods. I used the same technique on some Huon Pine and the definition was perfect. Coarser grained woods are much more difficult. I think that sealing before and after etching with shellac would give a better result and I am keen to try some pigmented epoxy as a filler. Regards, Preso

[@Dwarfracer88]

@@Preso58 thank you for the reply.

[@sheph7ceo799]

very fascinating experiments with the etching, thanks. You should include the date on your marks so years from now owners can remember the "good old days"

[@Preso58]

Yes, I always forget to do that.... Regards, Preso

[@greaser5691]

I know you like terminology, Mr Preso... As opposed to the vector cut, the scanned bit of the graphic would be called a 'raster scan', I expect... (old-school TV tech here :) )

[@Preso58]

Yes, you are correct. That's exactly what the LaserCad software calls it too. Regards, Preso

[@garyskowbo3564]

Hey there Mark, just getting around to watching this mini series. And was wondering what would happen if you were to give the wood (timber) a quick lite sand blast to remove some of the charred wood. Thanks for the great videos.👍

[@Preso58]

That would look good if you could engrave it quite deeply. The shadow line would give good contrast so you can see the lettering and the detail. With shallow engraving you have to rely on the burnt wood to give adequate contrast. Some woods don't burn like others either. I engraved some silver ash and it went an anaemic yellow colour instead of black.

[@garyskowbo3564]

I guess that is the fun of experimenting, you get to keep learning things. Always enjoy watching your videos! Thanks

[@ianide2480]

You could also use the darkening effect of the filler to create a dark halo around the text. Everything is "artistic" from the right point of view heh

[@stanstevens3783]

Hi Mark, have you tried sanding before removing tape to help keep pigment out of the pores?

[@Preso58]

Stan, no, I didn't try it but I think that removing the bulk of the filler before removing the tape is a good idea. It would be possible to wipe it down with a damp cloth just before it dries would help. Lots of room for experimenting here. Regards, Preso

[@billbaggins]

Tas oak can be tricky, try finish sanding to 800 - 1200 and then seal and etch. Pity that was such a bland example, some of it can be amazing, seen some beautiful fiddleback and burly bits but they arent very common. It's used for some framing and door jams, lintels etc so any cranky grain stuff is rejected. Older house reno's or fence palings are a good source. They are huuuuuge trees, I've seen stumps as wide as 6metres at ground level and there are still lots of skeletons from the '67 fires that tower over the regrowth.

[@Preso58]

Bill, my entire house has Tassie Oak floors. It does have some beautiful grain but is surprisingly soft. The lighter boards will dent if you look too hard at them. Regards, Preso

[@billbaggins]

Nice 👍 It's a very underrated decorative timber and yeah some of it is very soft. I tend to avoid eucalypts now, seem to have developed an allergy. Myrtle is my fav Tassie species

[@davidfe47]

Bet you forgot DATE etc. Can't wait to watch in a few minutes.

[@Preso58]

Ok, you got me there.... I am making a note for myself right now to include this on the next project. Regards, Preso

[@RB-yq7qv]

The yank tanks think they have the tallest but truth been known Australia really has the highest.

[@kenharper5755]

Hey Mark… are you sure with the lid up… the laser won’t come through my screen and burn my retinas 😉

[@Preso58]

No, but don't stick your fingers inside the gantry when the laser is on. I did it once by accident. The laser shouldn't have been energised but the crappy Chinese firmware malfunctioned when I used the "test" button on the controller. The burn mark looked like a cigarette burn but it was very deep. The laser is unfocussed until it goes through the final lens element so it won't cut your skin but there is something about the particular wavelength that penetrates skin very effectively. It took weeks to heal and it hurt like hell. Regards, Mark

[@WARRANTW3]

Why wax and not boiled linseed oil?

[@Preso58]

Both would work fine. Regards, Mark

[@WARRANTW3]

I just find the linseed oil penetrates further. But yes I suppose it’s preference