I found a box of wood veneer I had from a project a few years back and decided to make some business cards with them. Although I do not have a ton of laser cutter experience it seemed like it would be a pretty easy project. I had my file ready and headed to my makerspace.
I was totally wrong. I got to the makerspace at my reserved time but they were doing a safety training course so my time got pushed back an hour (this would not happen with my glowforge )
Once I was able to start using the laser cutter I imported my filesā¦ it ended up taking an hour to set the file up correctly in the software and unfortunately no matter the settings I could not get the laser to pick up all the thin details of the calligraphy.
Regardless, I cut a few of them before the makerspace closed for the night. The whole time I could not stop thinking the glowforge could eliminate the majority of the frustrations I had while trying to cut these. I will try these again when my glowforge gets delivered and I am really looking forward to posting a comparison of my experiences!
I can see where the laser you used didnāt do your calligraphy full justice, but those cards still look very nice! I canāt wait to see what you produce with your own laser.
Thanks for sharing! They look good but I do see where there is room for improvement with a better laser cutter. Canāt wait to see how they look coming out of your Glowforge. Iām expecting custom laser engraved/cut business cards to be part of the business model for my Glowforge to earn its keep.
Nice job. I feel for you with the Makerspace. When youāve got one at home itās so much easier to work through learning issues.
When itās home & in the basement itās even easier Before the GF PRU I had to hunker down in the garage with a portable heater going. Now Iām all comfy and close to where we keep the snacks
@johnwills great idea! laser cut business cards are awesome!
@jamesdhatch my makerspace is 45 minutes away so I donāt get there that often, and when I do Iām restricted to 2 hours of use. It is going to be so much better when I have a laser in my office!
I always enjoy when you share your work, and cannot wait to see what youāll do with your Glowforge!
FWIW, I have similar challenges w/my ālocalā makerspace. Theyāre wonderful - but not close or convenient, so scheduling is far more challenging than it should be. All that to say that I feel your trials and tribulations - hopefully, theyāll be behind you very soon
Mine is near the office but a half hour from the house. I can use anything 24x7 but that means sometimes I look up and itās 2am and I still have to drive home. We have everything there and Iāve been adding to whatās available. Everything new coming into the house has to have something else leave so some of my little used tools are ending up in the Makerspace. If I need a Mig welder I can still use it but now itās taking up room in someone elseās space and other folks can use it when I donāt need to (about 99.99% of the time since Iām a very infrequent welder).
The laser is good to have at home and Iām finding even better when itās inside vs the garage
I use wood veneer business cards too, but use an ink stamp for the info at the moment, canāt wait to give this a try when I get my Glowforge! They look great!
This is a great project idea and yes, cannot wait for GF delivery to carry out this and so many other ideas. Love the idea of business cards cut on the GF. Yes, i agree, something was lost in the total effort, but they still look pretty darn good.
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Before the GF PRU I had to hunker down in the garage with a portable heater going. Now Iām all comfy and close to where we keep the snacks 
so some of my little used tools are ending up in the Makerspace. If I need a Mig welder I can still use it but now itās taking up room in someone elseās space and other folks can use it when I donāt need to (about 99.99% of the time since Iām a very infrequent welder).
