Thanks for the link. Will be checking it out
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Just checked and we have our event in Sepember!! 
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Excited to see what you pick up in a few months!
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A great score!
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OK - This came just 2 days after THE announcement. Ouch! This supplier has been mentioned before, but this order was just over the $150 (not including shipping) ProofGrade value that we are set to receive. Iām hoping for a variety of acrylic in the GF package, but here is a sample of the amount of hardwood/plywood in that $$ range. All look very nice, sanded and smooth on both sides. Will have to add paper transfer tape to deter smoke damage, which will not be necessary with ProofGrade.
I picked some of the least expensive woods for the first practice runs. Hope I didnāt pay way too much, but it was very convenient to Click Shop. Probably too easy!
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Has anyone thought of using laminate flooring for small projects? I was organizing some stuff in the basement and saw the excess pieces from some home projects. The seem to just be pressed fiberboard with a printed design. I know that at least one of the manufacturers of my material is Armstrong. They didnāt have any specific info about PVCs on the laminate. I have an e-mail into their FAQ page regarding this. I hope it is OK. It always seemed that I needed just a little more and have 1/2 to 3/4 cartons of the stuff stacked in the basement. The planks that I have are only 5 inches wide, but could make some quick little boxes with pre finished faces. Local flooring installers or shops would also be a great place to get some free scrap, either excess or old samples.
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I have thought about this. I have leftovers of at least three different styles of laminate flooring. I assumed they have bad stuff in them but I havenāt checked. Iād love to hear what you find out about Armstrong.
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I have a ton of wood laminate planks that i got cheap off craigs listā¦never occured to me to use them for engravingā¦Iāll have a look at the āingredientsāā¦lol. Sweet!! Thanks for the idea
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I did a bamboo job on my kitchen floor, 3/8 solid (laminated) 4" wide.
Aluminum oxide finish (no idea of toxicity) with that or the glue used in laminating - but, like 30sf for around $40.
Got a box and a half left. 
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Regarding Laminate Flooring - I dug around the Armstrong Flooring site and found an MSDS document for their laminate. I believe Iām reading it correctly. As far as I can tell, the most dangerous component is āwood dustā. Good news for that 3/4 box of leftovers. Iāll just have to contain myself and keep at least a couple of planks in case any repairs are ever necessary. Now Iāll have to take a look at the other boxes to get the brand and research them. Hereās the download site for Armstrong, as well as a .jpg of the doc I think applies.
http://www.armstrong.com/commflooringna/technical-download-center.asp
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Good news! Yeah, it will take some self control to leave a few pieces for future repairs.
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Are there other good ways to get wood/acrylic/leather sample packs? Some of the best Iām finding are at least $50 a box. I was hoping that anyone might know of a way to get some of these free expired samples/offcuts/scrap pieces. I checked the ZeroLandfill thing, but the closest one is close to 200 miles away from me (I live in MD).
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MSDS isnāt what you want, thatās hazardous to YOU not the laser. For instance HCL in tiny quantities wonāt be hazardous to you, (every time you belch a tiny amount of HCL comes out since your stomach is full of it) but is highly corrosive to the laser. I mean heck saline solution is obviously safe (youāre about 40% saline solution) but pour it on your glow forge (donāt) and you have a brick. MSDS is about human safety. So the glues, coatings, etc may be totally fine, but when decomposed by the laser may destroy the electronics.
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Today I learned not to belch on my laser!
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Or at least take omeprazole first!
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I didnāt realize that was present in the stomach.
I did read that the cells lining of the stomach are replaced like every 4 days.
The reason is clear to anyone who has had a burp bring up a littleā¦ 
Yeah, your stomach most days has a pH around 1 from the HCl, and youād definitely donāt want to get that on your hands (since of course itās designed to break down meat (e.g. you)). The body then neutralizes it as soon as it leaves the pylorus (output of the stomach) by releasing bicarbonate (baking soda essentially) so it doesnāt burn your duodenum (early part of the small intestine, not surprisingly the most common site we see ulcers in - more common than the stomach). Of note this acidity is also protective since it kills most (but not all) bacteria you swallow, so that when you aspirate at night (and we all do) tiny quantities of stomach contents you donāt end up with pneumonia. Thatās why we try not to keep people on chronic acid suppression unless they really need it.
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Wow, some great info there!
The pneumonia from inhaling oneās food was recently the fifth leading cause of death in the US. I was having this type of pneumonia every 2 months for over a year(despite antibiotic treatment) before diagnosing myself with lung cancer. Once I stopped the cancer, the pneumonia ceased to be a problem. As a side note, the first project that took me to the international science fair, consisted of a simulated stomach, complete with acid drip rate, churning, temperature control, and pH monitoring while aliquots of antacids were introduced. Placed 3rd in the chemistry division. For a laugh, hereās a news clip from the period just before winning the regional. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19780515&id=evZLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=C-4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6744,6502254&hl=en
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Thanks for the detailed information!
Maybe you can help with the whole idea of dangerous materials.
In my case I have some formaldehyde sensitivity from a job doing formica work. I know that some plastics decompose into formaldehyde, but I donāt really know how to think about the amount generated versus their real danger (or irritation).
There are lots of these byproducts, and I have been thinking (for instance) about what I am inserting into my neighbors air stream when venting out the window.
Any thoughts?