The Gee Bee R-1

Can’t speak for anyone else, but my GF does an amazing job of marking titanium belt buckles, wallets, etc. Looks just like anodized aluminum. YMMV, of course.

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Guess I’ll have to disagree. I just finished engraving a titanium piece for part of my parents grave marker. I will writing up a post in the next month or so about my process. I did not use a marking medium

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That reminds me of one my favorite sayings:

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Be interested to see what you have to say. Titanium melts at a little over 3000ºF and there’s no way the GF laser is producing anything close to that amount of heat. But Titanium can be anodized, just like Aluminum. And that anodization will laser just great, just like Aluminum… if there’s some other secret method I’m anxious to learn!

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I collaborated with two forum members who were willing to help me in all manner of things with this project. Josh Kopel, who was one of the earliest of the founders, and @jamesdhatch who is still an active member, and has been a huge contributor to my success. Here’s a ‘teaser’ photo;

It was not anodized. I did have to run it in stages…with rests of 10 in between each stage to keep it from warping. Stay tuned…

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How thick (thin) is the sheet?

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specially interest how you cut it out :slight_smile:

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I have an engrave on wood with a paduk frame of this graphic:

Now I have to do a cutaway image on titanium.

I LOVE the SR-71. For years I have studied anything I can get my hands on about this aircraft. This is a really fun one (and a fun series of books - I think have have a dozen on different topics)

https://www.amazon.com/Lockheed-SR-71-Blackbird-onwards-Workshop/dp/0857331566/ref=sr_1_13?keywords=sr-71+blackbird+book&qid=1661457915&sprefix=sr-71+%2Caps%2C124&sr=8-13

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I live 15min “down the road” from the EAA Oshkosh convention and a lot of planes stop and stay at the Fond du Lac, airport. In Fond du Lac a number of years ago a P-51 chewed up the tail end of a small plane during taxiing. No one was hurt but I’m sure the person in the front plane had to change his underwear.

Oh and I’ve seen Gee Bees flying at the convention a few different times. They are unique.

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26 ga,8.5" x 5.5". Only reason I know is because I still have the invoice from the place I bought it in 2020.

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I didn’t cut it. I couldn’t have cut it with the GF. I had it cut to my specifications and sent to me. They cut the size I asked for and sent it along with the scrap pieces which I used for testing my settings.

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the svg file:
Lockheed_SR-71A_3_v1.zip (157.6 KB)

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This has always been my favorite military jet

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Nice interior stuff, Would make a great Glowforge project to do just the frame
:slightly_smiling_face:

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All planes are usually safe while in the air, it is only when they contact the ground that can be rough.

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Not hard to find, in several levels of detail.

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Yes, the Navy taught us that when an aircraft on the ground
it is out of its environment, and is dangerous in that condition. The hazard we faced most on the carrier besides launch and recovery was on fire/security watch at night on the flight deck. Walking into a control surface head first while looking at the ground trying to avoid tripping over tie down chains. :face_with_head_bandage:

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I have some scars from clipping the tie down under the wing because you just don’t instinctively duck low enough and for some reason hanging the flag on it was too much work for someone.

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