What are the most unique materials you plan to use?

Micarta and G10

I am planning on engraving soap bars. This is low-brow compared to the wonderful ideas I see posted by others. But, as a novice to all of this I am all about “what can go wrong”! And, "who doesn’t love a bar of soap with a picture of either your “loved one” or your “loathed one” to improve shower time!

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I also want to try some tile. Not coaster sized ones, but 1"x1" tiles to replace some board game pieces.

The most unusual material I plan on trying is avocado seeds. I noticed that they turn very dark as they dry out. I’m curious as to what the laser will do to them. I have a few drying now. They tend to warp as they dry, so I’ll probably cut them into slices first to even the surface. If I can cut them thin enough without breaking, I’ll try cutting a silhouette into them.

After hearing about the tagua nuts, I’m looking forward to hearing how that turns out.

I couldn’t help but laugh at this! And for some odd reason, I began thinking up tag lines to go with engraved soap bars. “Don’t get yourself into a lather about it”…:smile:

We love reclaimed wood and upcycled materials too. We have a lot here in hippie capitol–Boulder, CO haha. I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

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ICYMI - here’s the follow up post by @shaug: Laser Thursday: Masquerade Masks using Sting Ray

So sick!

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Me too! I make all our own soap and think this would be fun as part of our gifts we give to family.

Welcome to the forum! I was in Boulder for vacation and loved every minute of it. In fact. I brought a cat back home from a friend. He’s is a Boulder cat, spawned in Ward. His name is Rumi. Go figure. I have so many ideas for laser work from the cool shops on Pearl Street.

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I haven’t tried soap but it should engrave fabulously.

I lived in Ward for seven years. Some tough cats up above 9,000’.

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My name on a grain of rice… ok maybe a small bean

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The stingray skin got me thinking. Spent most of my life on the Chesapeake and it’s tributaries. I still walk the beaches several times a month. Millions of Miocene era fossils and shells embedded in the cliffs. Really easy to pick up ancient shark teeth (black). I’ve found some as long as 5". Extinct clam and oyster shells, an occasional whale or dolphin vertebra, etc. Add to that all the modern oyster and clam shells. Tide smoothed pebbles of every type and color imaginable. Smooth sea glass. A dried horseshoe crab shell might be cool to try if I can find one small enough. Materials like this often find themselves into my wife’s art. All this stuff is laserable. All I have to do is be creative.

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This is some sort of fungi that grows on dead locust trees here in the mountains. One one side it looks like tree bark and the bottom flat smooth side has the feel of leather after drying. The wife often paints scenes on these for the locals. The one in this pic is about 10" across. Might be cool to cut one off and try lasering an image.

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This is so fascinating and intriguing to me…not so much in a ‘could I laser this’ sense as much as the thought that you have so many cool things nearby. Things that you can look for and collect. I am enamored of archaeology and related fields anyway. Your resources are very rich, indeed.

Pretty new here…been stalking the forum the last few days and getting excited about all the cool things my husband and I are going to be able to make with our Glowforge!

This could take Gingerbread house making to a whole new level! Another idea I’ll have to put on the list to make.

I was just thinking about how an artist conk would look laser engraved. We have lots of conks growing on my island. Also thinking there could be some really cool stuff done with shells and beach rocks. And leaves, I think it could be really fun to laser images into leaves, press and dry them.

Haha, want us to send you some? Glowforge special scents. :joy:

@marmak3261 Ah, no way! I totally agree, Pearl Street is the perfect venue for this kind of thing.

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… and isn’t SketchUp is based in Boulder? I really miss Colorado.

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Oooh, ooh, I just remembered that I have a ton of really beautiful antique shell buttons. They have a matte surface that I think would engrave really beautifully.

@jbv yeah, looks like it…! I know Trimble bought it from Google (who bought it from the Boulder creators). Trimble is in Superior but still close to home. If you’re ever back in CO, hit me up and maybe we can do some glowforge collabs :slight_smile:

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