Hey Guys
There has been a lot of people asking lately for recommend accessories or items to purchase to use with the glowforge. I put together a list that a lot of people wanted me to send them but I did an entire video of what I recommend and why and what to avoid. Feel free to check it out here if it helps you out both if your new or want to try something different: https://youtu.be/eUufciFl6pg
Aside from sandpaper and the like i would suggest 3 additions. The Medical alcohol hand cleaner is thick and a universal solvent . It will dissolve the the masking adhesive as well as the gunk that builds up on the wood. Also the gunk that builds up on the fans, the glass and just about everything and for me replaces the soap and Isopropyl alcohol that rumor has it will damage acrylics. I haven’t tested that but don’t need to. it is similar to the orange stuff but watch for pumice as you may need that to get engine grease off your hands but it is not good for lenses and other tricky bits.
The next thing is furniture oils. If you are making really nice pieces , especially of nice wood you will want to sand it down through many steps to 1200 or even 2000 grit. Hard woods like Maple Walnut, Cherry, Padauk etc will make a difference and the touch is amazing. Lacquer will cover up that work, and multiple cleaning wil dry it out but furniture oil will restore that. I have made some pendants and the polished backs particularly are like a sensual worry stone, as well as bringing out the beauty of the wood .
The third thing is LPS3 not so much for use on the Glowforge, but for every other tool where moving parts tighten up. Tools that I had to spend an hour every day loosening up I have not had to touch for 35 years and they work just fine.
Good catch on the rubbing alcohol, I thought I said that about acrylic but rewatched and I didn’t, I will put a warning next to it in the list shortly. I don’t think I said to clean the Len’s or machine with the orange stuff, just 3d engraves on wood and the residue on your hands, but I’ll put a warning next to that as well. Thanks for the added input as well. I am always greatful for input and other ideas.
One weird thing about ethanol is that it really likes water. Even distilling it many times the best you can get is 90% or so. If you want to get to 100% you have to use something line Camphor that has a stronger tie to the water and distill that off. The result is that high concentrations will grab water from anywhere, even grabbing it from organic molecules which is bad news for small critters like Bacteria and how it is antiseptic.
How that helps us is that if you have a bit of wood that is wet it will take much longer to dry than the highly volatile alcohol, so when I am finished cleaning a piece of wood (and Bleach can do amazing things cleaning the burn) I then dry it as much as possible and then get it wet with the hand cleaner alcohol. This reaches in and grabs all the free standing water and evaporates more quickly taking any water with it.
Deep cleaning of course also rips out most of the natural oils in the wood and so after I have sanded it as well as possible I then wipe it down and apply just a bit of Pledge Restoring Oil and rub that in with a clean cloth This does amazing things to the wood bringing out more of the grain’s natural beauty and does not need the shellac. it is not absolutely permanent out doors etc but can restore that beauty at any time depending on the abuse the wood gets which is what it is mostly sold as to bring out that beauty in old faded furniture etc, but works well at the start too.
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