So two things are required of any GF PRU recipient who has another laser - first we have to do the @takitus/@marmak3261 Aztec Sunstone and the other thing we need to do is a comparison with the results of our other lasers so we can see if we really are getting groundbreaking wonderfulness.
So here’s a Sunstone engrave from the GF and a Redsail 60W.
Can you tell which was from which machine? I hope so - it’s very apparent in real life. One is Baltic Birch ply and the other is GF PG maple ply.
The GF shows much crisper engraving with finer details.
The GF Sunstone is not weeded - I like the aging look it provides. The Redsail example was not masked but was surface sanded with a random orbit palm sander with 220 grit to remove the smoke staining.
Bottom line - the GF is delivering wonderfulness.
It’s possible other lasers like an Epilog that allows frequency and LPI controls could match the GF but it’d be 2-4X the price.
BTW, the 2nd picture was GF produced
I did grab an updated jpg for the GF one so I’ll do it again with the exact same file but the more detailed new one came out better than the less detailed first file so I figured I was more than happy.
Nice comparison. Does the Redsail do a vector engrave or only score vectors? It looks like there are scores. I wonder how it would compare with a high res bitmap engraving for the Redsail.
Definitely like the Glowforge version. This is one of those complicated drawings that has so much potential. Once you add some paint into the design as it would have been on the stone altar. Keep them coming!
It does vector engraves for watertight objects (bound objects). It does raster engraves of bmp graphics. It can do vector scores or cuts. But it can’t do both vector operations and bmp engraves in the same file/job. (No “add artwork” function )
The GF one I got from your trip to Mexico - you mentioned the Sunstone so I was able to find it on wiki commons. The other one I think I grabbed from @takitus’ post when he did it. It was a jpg I think but I don’t have the file with me now. Now I’m curious about what the resolution delta was in the source files.
No, but I’m going to do each in the other machine for a full 4-way dual machine dual file comparison now.
The staining wasn’t too bad as I recall though. That’s one of the reasons I tend not to do masking - it’s a trade-off in time between weeding or a quick buff (30-60 seconds) with the sander. For fine detail items like this I tend to hurt myself when I weed - I use a sharp dental pick to help pull the mask and I always stab myself with the thing and then I have to clean the blood off the piece too
I finally got the Gorilla tape and it works great for the living hinges, but every time a tear a piece off I think, "That’s 10 cents down the drain.) Same with masking. It’s a time waster and time saver and you have to do the calculations. In unfinished wood sanding works faster for many applications as you point out.
Love these posts from the PRUs !! It’s interesting that, prior to this forum, I never heard or saw a lasered object keep the masking on as part of the aesthetic. Only used as masking for the laser burn, or kept on while painting to stencil certain parts and keep others clean, then removed. That said, how calendared is the masking to keep from peeling or coming off in temp changes, humidity or age. is there any way to seal it on better (spraying clearcoat could possibly make it less adhesive by stiffening small pieces?) . And of course you cannot sand the masked area and be careful sanding around small masked areas a well. Any thoughts or suggestions?
My only thought is that the masking fails and lifts off over time with some of the pre-masked materials that I use, and for other pre-masked material the longer it sits, the harder it is to remove. Quite curious where the proofgrade masking falls in that range.
(and I think I’m not alone in that 
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