Laser cutter for small shop.

[Ian Davlin The Looth Group]

I haven’t seen to many people on here using one. I will ask around. You could be the pioneer of the group.

[Ricky K]

Look at Aeon Laser (aeonlaser.us). The Mira series is where I would look for a desktop laser. They’re very pricey, but very good. I miss having access to a laser cutter. I used to make templates, cut my backs, sides, and tops to initial shape, cut bridge plates, use for inlay, etc. It’s a wonderful tool for building.

[Evan Bloom Big Elm Guitar Works]

Do some research on pickguard materials and laser cutting, there can be serious safety/health hazards with some plastics and vinyl will kill you and the laser. CNC or even one of the nicer Cricket machines (depending on material thickness) might be appropriate.

[Paul M]

For cutting templates out of MDF I think a CNC would do a pretty great job and be more useful than a laser. I could see a laser being cool for that too but CNC can do a lot of other useful stuff too.

[Chip Tait Brooklyn Fretworks]

I have an Ortur laser with the extension kit, capable of a 400 X 800mm work area, powered by Lightburn software. I use it to create templates, make custom pickguards, and to cut out inlays on fingerboards.

I’d be interested to share info with other looths (I’m no expert with this tool, but I see potential) like trading files, etc.

If anyone knows other forums/sites that may be better suited for this sort of collaboration, let me know. Thanks!