Q: Was this done on a Pro Model? <A: No>

I might not go as far as “ridiculous”. As soon as I read that, I pictured a laser engraved fireplace mantel engraved onto 1/4" stock laminated onto something thicker.

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oh absolutely, there are plenty of uses for it. I just don’t actually need to do it.

But I’m gonna do it, anyway.

ETA: Great, now I want to make a mantelpiece. It’d be neat to do something like this, but with 1/4" wooden planks.

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mmm… only ridiculous if you don’t have a table saw

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I don’t (I should really fix that) but I can totally rip planks on the ol’ radial arm saw. I’ve never actually tried to do something that thin, though.

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You rip planks with a radial arm saw? You are a daredevil sir. Just had to rip a walnut board yesterday for some drawer fronts (on the table saw) and ended up with a nice piece of leftover veneer… yes I kept it for the Glowforge.

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I like to live dangerously… or negligently, I suppose. I don’t do much woodworking (which is probably obvious by my lack of a basic woodworking tool like a table saw) so I very rarely need to rip anything. The only time I’ve done it recently is when we were adding some under-deck waterproofing and needed to turn 30 feet of 2x4s into 60 feet of 2x2s.

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eeps! To each their own, but that sounds scary to me…

you can get a used table saw for real cheap on craigslist, but they are bulky and require space to use and store.
If you have a hand-held circular saw you might be able to make a jig for long thin rips. I have a Kreg jig for my cordless that might be inspiration to start with. Mine is “not recommended” for widths under 1".

You could also build a table-saw using a hand-held circular saw:

Simple:

Fancier:

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I’ve had building one on my project list for a while, but it’s a very long list and I am not moving through it very quickly.

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haha, I hear that!

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I use my handheld circular saw to rip a couple times a year, not as easy as a nice table saw, but when that’s all you have you learn to make due :slight_smile:

I disagree. I will be lasering out measuring marks on door molding to mark off the kid’s height.

Fair enough. I don’t have kids, though, and at 6’4" the piece I’d need to laser to mark my own height can fit in the basic model.

that would be resawing(hard to do with a 1/4 inch thinkness, or a whole bunch of passes through a planer :slight_smile:

I’ve done ripping with a table saw, a circ (including a homebuilt zero-clearance sled) and a bandsaw. OK, tried it with a saber saw once too… Unless you’re ripping something that’s not very wide, you’re going to need to plane it to final thickness anyway…

But the one thing I think many of us are missing (including me much of the time) is that laser cutters are mind-bogglingly precise compared to most of our other tools. So if you adjust for the kerf you can stack multiple pieces and have them come out to your final measurement.

I don’t suppose you have pictures of that laying around?

Ok, so I have a use case: Chain-link fence privacy inserts.

These could be up to 9’ tall, about an inch and a half wide (not sure about this, will check when I get home), and must be fairly thin. So ripping down 2x4s would probably work (one would have to calculate the time involved to see if it saved $$ over just buying thinner stock to start with. but saving money isn’t always everyone’s goal) Using the passthrough, and a sliced-up photograph/design one could engrave an image that stretched the length of the fence, or wrapped around an entire yard, or even around an entire playing field!

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Lattice board might work, but it’s typically kinda spendy. And you can rip 2x4 really thin (I have made offcuts that are almost translucent). It might be worth investing in a thin-kerf blade, though, because otherwise you’re making as much sawdust as you are boards.

Random thought: instead of lasering the slats (which would be very nice but perhaps too subtle), use the laser to make a set of detailed stencils? You could then apply paint in whatever colors you chose – possibly with multiple stencil layers – and get some really cool results.

Oh, and the sled wasn’t much – just a piece of one-side-smooth 1/4" masonite with holes drilled to match the tapped holes on the bed of the circ, and measured for a specific offset. It rode against a smooth-ripped edge of some hardwood or other. If I’d been doing it right, I would have glued on some hardwood blocks with threaded inserts to set things up for an adjustable side piece faced with umhw tape – have I mentioned how much I love that stuff.

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IMO a radial arm saw is very versatile, crosscut, ripping, molding, planning, sanding and even drilling with the PTO.
Killed the saw years ago, but if I were to buy another, it would probably be a radial arm.

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Awesome awesome awesome idea!

Reminded me of this:

http://community.glowforge.com/t/automated-safety/1716/25?u=wesleyjames