Laser Engraving Wood Hacks: Which One Wins?

[@tonypistilli7111]

Wow! that Borax looks great!

[@MileyonDisney]

20 Mule Tean Borax used to be the sponsor for a TV show called "Death Valley Days", which was at one time hosted by Ronald Reagan. Can you tell I'm old?

[@nickynorton]

Thanks Jim My experiences with accelerants especially BORAX is that it gives you a lot of black soot ....that is very messy So What I do is mix some of the solution in White Latex primer untill it has consistency of Milk I then apply and rub into wood with just an old rag ..(Like staining wood) Wipe off excess ...use hairdryer to Dry Amazing results with no soot to deal with

[@TheEdgeofTech]

Awesome! I am going to have to try that!! Thanks for the tip!

[@musicdad]

According to the US CDC website - The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), and the EPA have not classified boron as to its human carcinogenicity. One animal study found no evidence of cancer after lifetime exposure to boric acid in food. No human studies are available.

[@This1LifeWeLive]

It's actually ben studied and very much suggested as a cure for arthritis in horses. Most creatures including humans are grossly lacking in the trace mineral Boron (aka, Borax) , and studies have found that micro dosing it in water to severely arthritic horses has caused reversal in major symptoms and aided in tissue repair. Also resulted in stronger and healthier hooves. I've read lots of testimonials about the difference people saw when they began dosing their horses with it. These are horses that expensive, fancy supplements had NO effect on. Horses are a BIG industry, people wouldn't risk harm if they scientifically didn't see a valid reason for trying it.

[@This1LifeWeLive]

Curious about your warnings about Borax, it's actually a type of Boron, which is a trace mineral most people are lacking in their diets, and Borax itself has been shown to drastically reduce arthritis in horses when mixed in water and fed in small amounts each day. But carry on, lol ;) Love the Borax results on the wood too!

[@SensSword]

So awesome to see an advert for pcbs.

[@ethansdad3d]

Thanks, for letting us know that the Borax solution is a carcinogen. I didn't know. I've used it before, and I liked it at first, but then realized that it also seems to prevent the laser from burning the wood. It's basically just black ash sitting on top of the wood, which is easily brushed off, at least with a diode laser. You definitely need to coat it to seal it in. I found that if I just burn slower, I can get darker, and I'm really learning to love the natural look.

[@kevinjones6924]

​@J Do you have any documentation to support this? Whenever you're using anything, whether it's baking soda, borax, etc, when you laser it, its going to produce fumes that are completely different than the product you used. I'm not trying to be confrontational, I'd just like to know. For myself I have extremely good exhaust (I probably over-designed my exhaust fan) and I never get any smoke or smells into my small 8' x 10' "maker" room. It definitely helped that I was able to exhaust outside through a window that's 2 ft away and a foot up from my 40watt CO2 laser and I used 6" ductwork. My fan is rated @320 CFM's, I've had small pieces sucked up by it! 😂😅

[@wd41]

If you believe everything you hear, then everything is carcinogenic! Borax was used in many traditional remedies but they would rather you buy some companies product instead so they plant seeds about how everything is carcinogenic.

[@justtinkering6713]

I googled it. Borax is NOT a carcinogen.

[@jeffcross4704]

Love the borax! Would love to see more laser videos. Thanks! 🙏

[@alpha_pixel_]

Incresing dpi, slowing down , helps to make engraving darker naturally

[@dicy60]

Which laser are you using 5, 10, 20 watt? Or does it not matter? I’m pretty new.

[@CD_DESIGNS]

What wattage is your laser

[@kevinjones6924]

I definitely like the effects that Borax has on engraving wood. It seems to make the engraving "pop" more! Thanks for another intuitive video Jim! You da man! 😂😅 Do you have info to support the Borax being a carcinogen? I've never heard this before.

[@Pygar2]

Neither has Wikipedia.

[@AndrewAHayes]

It was banned in the EU and the UK in 2010 as it contained known toxic ingredients that injured unborn children

[@makesbyryandean]

@@AndrewAHayes burnt wood is a carcinogen............

[@This1LifeWeLive]

@@AndrewAHayes borax is natural, it has no extra ingredients. It's the powdered form of Boron which is a trace mineral. now that's not to say that too much of ANY mineral such as copper, zinc, iron, etc is a good thing, most of these have a specific ratio animals and humans need in their diet. Selenium is another example. Without enough of it, sheep will die, too much however will kill a horse. And realistically, MOST man made products cause MORE damage. The CDC only RECENTLY suggested taking Tylenol while pregnant has a high chance of causing miscarriages, yet for decades it was suggested as safe by doctors.

[@fums0108]

What is the reactive ingredient in borax which gives such a dark engrave like titanium dioxide does on tiles

[@woodwaker1]

I like the boraxe the best, maybe try cellular oil.

[@leeslegacywoodworking5405]

Happy Father’s Day to you, good sir,

[@TheLukemcdaniel]

What about sodium carbonate vs the sodium bi-carbonate?

[@robertbutler795]

Do you have a video on making a file? Boy do you have a lot of 3D videos. You might think about categorizing them. I spent 20min going thur your videos looking for the one on fire switch. 😂🤣😎👍

[@rgcrowman3188]

CAN YOU DO THAT SAME TEST WITH A FIBER LASER ON WOOD ?

[@medic458]

Thanks for this video! How would I “seal” in the Borax to make it food safe?

[@BlueGeckoLaser]

hahahahahahahahahahahahaha

[@AndrewAHayes]

Yet another product that is not available in the UK! LOL, oh well maybe the active ingredient can be weaselled out, talking of weasels, whats the difference between a weasel and a stoat? Well, a weasel is weaselly recognised wheras a stoat is stoatally different!

[@woodwaker1]

Are you trying to beat Bryan Vines on Fathers day?

[@AndrewAHayes]

@@woodwaker1 Bryan can never be equalled, he is afterall the king of the dad joke!

[@woodwaker1]

@@AndrewAHayes Glad you admit it, He can not be topped , at least with that head of hair

[@wd41]

You can buy it in the UK - did you look at all? I bought borax easily.

[@AndrewAHayes]

@@wd41 I just did a search and found this on one site Borax is not available to buy in the UK or EU at all, due to the ‘borate’ group of chemicals being reclassified in 2010 as potentially hazardous to health. However, you can purchase a borax substitute in the UK, which does a very similar job.

[@CoastalBachelor2009]

They leave a film of ash that has to be washed off. Just turn up the power.

[@johnmood5653]

It's pronounced "boreaxe" not "boreoxe", notice, it's spelled borax!

[@terryeason4319]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍🏼👍🏼👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

[@christopherfothergil]

we cant buy borax in the UK

[@makesbyryandean]

That because its a natural cleaning product, govcon dont like natural.

[@BlueGeckoLaser]

Learn to use your laser and you won't need any gimmicks. Wipe your finger over it after you're done, is it permanent? That's not engraving, that's soot.