The mirror is hot glued with the frame. My first idea was to unseal mirror with hot air gun but this process breaks the mirror 2 times out of 3 so it’s not a great idea.
My second idea : keep the frame and engrave the mirror’s back without crumbtray (with crumbtray, the frame is too high and but up the carriage). But with this solution, no possibility to have the mirror surface in the good engraving range like in this plan:
What you’re describing will work. If you know exactly how high your spacer needs to be there are lots of ways to make them with your Glowforge. A box that is that tall works, but even a simple “X” where you make two strips of material with slots in the middle would do it.
That being said if you’re sure it’s hot glue and not a silicone caulk, rubbing alcohol causes hot glue to unstick from lots of surfaces you don’t need much, just get it on the joint and it should work its way into the joint. After a few seconds of letting the alcohol work try to pull the mirror off the glue and it ought to be easy.
Of course you might want to test what alcohol will do to the finish of your frame first… and any other considerations that you might have.
Thanks, I will give a try to the alcohol. Il will be the easiest way if it works. I could engrave directly on the tray.
With a spacer, I don’t see how to do because to put the mirror into the engraving zone (between 1.5 to 1.9in from the glowforge floor), the frame will still touch the carriage. I maybe don’t have been very clear. I don’t try to engrave the mirror but it’s back (black on the second photo).
Ah right I misread your diagram. If your tray walls are over ,5” tall you can’t engrave in focus.
Defocused engraves are a thing and have their place but they’re by definition not as crisp, and get less so the further your surface is from the focus point.
You might get an ok result depending on your design but you’d have to try it. I agree that removing the mirror is probably your best chance for success.
If it is put together with hot glue if you preheat the oven to 200 and then turn it off and put the mirror on a support the frame might get soft and fall away from the mirror.
Or maybe not preheat – seems less likely to break the mirror if it’s heated gradually. I’d stick the mirror in the unheated oven and let it preheat, too.
Yeah it’s really useful. You need almost no alcohol, too… it almost works like a catalyst, a little alcohol goes a long way as it wicks up into the joint.
I’ve had my glue gun sticking into a drinking glass until I finally get around to making a stand for it, and the glass has glue drips all over it now. This could potentially offer me several hours of entertainment while I’m stuck in bed – thanks!!!
My alcohol-free upbringing has effectively eliminated that option for me–it’s apparently a taste one has to develop when young. It all tastes like rubbing alcohol to me.
I spent a month in Denmark on business one time, and had to drink wine with every meal so as not to be impolite. No matter how I tried (nor how expensive the wine) I just couldn’t taste anything but rubbing alcohol.
But, from what I understand from people I know in the industry, is to largely ignore the price tag - $100/bottle is not necessarily better or more preferred than a $20/bottle.
