Thank you. My software is called Luban, and it is proprietary to my machine due to the machine being a 3 in 1 - 3d printer, laser, and cnc machine. I could use lightburn as plug in, but this software is very solid as is, and unfortunately, it's only for Snapmaker machines to my knowledge.
Thats a good question. I dont think it would help any. It would likely only collect the burnt surface, but there will probably be more burnt underneath and if you touch it, it would probably still smudge. I did hear something about using a shop vac and using the bristle attachment. If never tried it, but it may be a working idea.
Question. I've noticed on a few of your great videos, your app references "dot filled". How does "dot filled" correspond to the settings used with Lightburn?
I don't really use Lightburn, but with certain image types you can select dot mode (The laser will pause and pulse at regular intervals along the path, instead of burning/cutting continuously). You can also get nearly the same function using dither mode (Dithering technique tries to reproduce shades of gray by pixelating image of incredibly small black dots). I choose dot fill because it works like pixels in a tv. Individual dots create a higher quality image. It also gives better detail on greyscale images as well, creating a uniform shading, going from black to white.
Correct, it is a chemical and is not good as a final surface for food, it would need a food safe clear coat for food items or a clear food safe epoxy.. But if its just a display, no need to use foodsafe clear. When it comes to cutting boards, i aim for perfect surface burn, without it digging into the wood.
borax es unos de los seguros chemicas en el mundo, and has a million uses. It's a vitamin, ant poison, garden mineral, used as flux in home foundries, laundry aid, etc etc etc. It's incredible!
Thank you for this video. As a newbie, I would have rubbed it off. When you clear coat it, do you do a spray version or do you paint it in carefully, so it doesn’t smear? I’ve also heard masking the wood with painters or masking tape is a good way to get a great engrave on wood. What are your thoughts there? 😁🤓
Your welcome 😊. When i do clear i use clear spray paints (i believe i cover that on my wood engraving video). When it comes to using masking tape, i dont use it when im doing graphics (i like a perfect surface burn). But i do use it when im cutting. It keeps your cuts clean, and if you paint wood, and let it dry, then mask and cut, it comes out really clean (unless you want your edges painted to).
If its been sealed, and then borax applied, it will likely just cause a mess. If stained before, you can probably just engrave on it and it end up being black, then seal.
Yes, if you finish/seal it with food safe epoxy. If you try to seal it with an oil, it will likely just smudge. If you are doing cutting boards and similar items, i would dial your laser in to get perfect surface burn. You can check out my video on getting high details. I cover perfect surface burn. It will give you the darkest outcome without digging into the wood or charing it.
That could potentially work, but I feel certain that even then if you touch it it will smudge. The laser is burning small particles, so I dont think you'll ever be able to successfully remove all of them.
Great content! Which laser module do you have on your snapmaker? Ive got the og a-350 with original laser. Doesnit work or you got the upgrade? Thanks!
@@MadeByMervich thanks for your reply! you like the 10w over the 40? I was going to upgrade, and trying to decide if I should get the new frame they made for laser or just get the head for my a-350. Thanks for giving me your perspective! I look forward to seeing your art grow!
@mistrfinga well, the lasers have their own purposes. For most of what i do, i aim for high detail. The 10w is very high detail. The 40w does great detail as well, but it can cut thicker stuff and it can color metal (through heat exchange).
Depends on what im wanting for an outcome. With borax, i use my typical speed (dependent on machine) but power is reduced by half to get a starting point.
Thats a good question.. im unsure what the reaction may be taking that approach. Thats definitely something ill look into trying to see how that may work.. 🤔
Welcome to the world of laser engraving, and Im glad you found my channel. You would set the power for each individual image. In this video, I had already done all my settings prior to recording to keep the length of the video down to minimum. Doing the settings for 12 images and 12 text individually is pretty time-consuming. If I was doing one image, I would only make settings one time for the image. And if the image is in greyscale, the darkest part of the image would be at full power (what ever you set you max power at) and it would surge down as the blacks get lighter, on its own, due to the algorithums in the software your using.
Hi there! So glad I found you! Everyone that orders from me always wants darkest I can get the image. Anyhoo-I was wondering, do you know if the borax method is safe to use on charcuterie boards? Thanks so much.
If you seal the board with a food safe sealer, then the borax method can work. The only problem is you dont want to rub it, it can potentially smear. In an ideal scenario, you would really like to get your power set to where it burns the wood, without digging into the wood. I call this a perfect surface burn. It will be black, but not go into the wood. No smudging as well. That is trial and error, and can change depending on wood type.
Very informative video, thanks! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thank you, very much appreciated 😁
A clear and detailed explanation of the process. Thank you for the precision.
Thanks 😁, much appreciated.
Some of my favorite vids. Borax is king. Your bottle is even easier than ny foam brush
Thank you for that comment. The bottle makes the whole process fast and easy and gives you a really uniform application.
Very cool technique!! Thanks for sharing!! Much ❤ Mervich!!
Your welcome! 😁
Thank you for showing how the Borax smears. I’m new to laser engraving and would have wiped it off.
Glad i could help others with this!
Enjoyed the video. Thanks.
Glad you enjoyed it
very cool, what software is that? I normally use lightburn, will the software you're using work with a smoothieware board?
Thank you. My software is called Luban, and it is proprietary to my machine due to the machine being a 3 in 1 - 3d printer, laser, and cnc machine. I could use lightburn as plug in, but this software is very solid as is, and unfortunately, it's only for Snapmaker machines to my knowledge.
Can you remove the soot with tape without smudging the image?
Thats a good question. I dont think it would help any. It would likely only collect the burnt surface, but there will probably be more burnt underneath and if you touch it, it would probably still smudge. I did hear something about using a shop vac and using the bristle attachment. If never tried it, but it may be a working idea.
@@MadeByMervich there’s also the car cleaning puddy they use to get the crevices in cars. That might work
Question. I've noticed on a few of your great videos, your app references "dot filled". How does "dot filled" correspond to the settings used with Lightburn?
I don't really use Lightburn, but with certain image types you can select dot mode (The laser will pause and pulse at regular intervals along the path, instead of burning/cutting continuously). You can also get nearly the same function using dither mode (Dithering technique tries to reproduce shades of gray by pixelating image of incredibly small black dots). I choose dot fill because it works like pixels in a tv. Individual dots create a higher quality image. It also gives better detail on greyscale images as well, creating a uniform shading, going from black to white.
@@MadeByMervich Thanks for the detailed reply. It makes sense..
Your welcome!
Great video!
Thank you 😁
Thank you for explaining this.
Pero imagino borax es quimico, no es nocivo para la salud si lo utilizamos en productos que sean para para alimento?
Correct, it is a chemical and is not good as a final surface for food, it would need a food safe clear coat for food items or a clear food safe epoxy.. But if its just a display, no need to use foodsafe clear. When it comes to cutting boards, i aim for perfect surface burn, without it digging into the wood.
borax es unos de los seguros chemicas en el mundo, and has a million uses. It's a vitamin, ant poison, garden mineral, used as flux in home foundries, laundry aid, etc etc etc. It's incredible!
You can also sometimes rinse off the harder woods if you get crystals from borax..but no touching
Yes, but as you mentioned, no touching it.
Thank you for this video. As a newbie, I would have rubbed it off. When you clear coat it, do you do a spray version or do you paint it in carefully, so it doesn’t smear? I’ve also heard masking the wood with painters or masking tape is a good way to get a great engrave on wood. What are your thoughts there? 😁🤓
Your welcome 😊. When i do clear i use clear spray paints (i believe i cover that on my wood engraving video). When it comes to using masking tape, i dont use it when im doing graphics (i like a perfect surface burn). But i do use it when im cutting. It keeps your cuts clean, and if you paint wood, and let it dry, then mask and cut, it comes out really clean (unless you want your edges painted to).
@@MadeByMervichthank you for this info. I’m going to binge watch all of your videos 😊😁
How well does it work if the wood has been treated with sealant or stain?
If its been sealed, and then borax applied, it will likely just cause a mess. If stained before, you can probably just engrave on it and it end up being black, then seal.
Are you able to use this for food-safe products like wooden spoons or chopping boards?
Yes, if you finish/seal it with food safe epoxy. If you try to seal it with an oil, it will likely just smudge. If you are doing cutting boards and similar items, i would dial your laser in to get perfect surface burn. You can check out my video on getting high details. I cover perfect surface burn. It will give you the darkest outcome without digging into the wood or charing it.
What about using a high pressure air after engraving and before clear coating?
That could potentially work, but I feel certain that even then if you touch it it will smudge. The laser is burning small particles, so I dont think you'll ever be able to successfully remove all of them.
Cool Hint On Using Borax Thanks for Sharing.
No problem!
Great content! Which laser module do you have on your snapmaker? Ive got the og a-350 with original laser. Doesnit work or you got the upgrade? Thanks!
I have the Snapmaker Artisian. I have the the 10w and 40w laser. Most of my work is done with the 10w. Yes, i believe the A350 is interchangeable.
@@MadeByMervich thanks for your reply! you like the 10w over the 40? I was going to upgrade, and trying to decide if I should get the new frame they made for laser or just get the head for my a-350. Thanks for giving me your perspective! I look forward to seeing your art grow!
@mistrfinga well, the lasers have their own purposes. For most of what i do, i aim for high detail. The 10w is very high detail. The 40w does great detail as well, but it can cut thicker stuff and it can color metal (through heat exchange).
So what setting do you use the speed and power?
Depends on what im wanting for an outcome. With borax, i use my typical speed (dependent on machine) but power is reduced by half to get a starting point.
What if you clear coat it before applying the Borax? Will the clean up be easier?
Thats a good question.. im unsure what the reaction may be taking that approach. Thats definitely something ill look into trying to see how that may work.. 🤔
If you clear coat first, the Borax won't penatrate the wood so you'd be defeating the purpose of using Borax.
i am new to laser engraving. How does the engraver know to change power settings for each picture?
Welcome to the world of laser engraving, and Im glad you found my channel. You would set the power for each individual image. In this video, I had already done all my settings prior to recording to keep the length of the video down to minimum. Doing the settings for 12 images and 12 text individually is pretty time-consuming. If I was doing one image, I would only make settings one time for the image. And if the image is in greyscale, the darkest part of the image would be at full power (what ever you set you max power at) and it would surge down as the blacks get lighter, on its own, due to the algorithums in the software your using.
Hi there! So glad I found you! Everyone that orders from me always wants darkest I can get the image. Anyhoo-I was wondering, do you know if the borax method is safe to use on charcuterie boards? Thanks so much.
If you seal the board with a food safe sealer, then the borax method can work. The only problem is you dont want to rub it, it can potentially smear. In an ideal scenario, you would really like to get your power set to where it burns the wood, without digging into the wood. I call this a perfect surface burn. It will be black, but not go into the wood. No smudging as well. That is trial and error, and can change depending on wood type.
this method can applied for plastic also?
Just for darker engravings on wood.
Thank you 🙏🏼
You’re welcome 😊
If you wanted to stain the wood after using the borax method, what is the best way to clean up any smudges before staining?
Q-tip is your best bet for cleaning up. You can do the laser engrave, spray the stain, then clear coat it.
what speed did you use?
350 or 400
Thanks
Your welcome!
Me encantó!!! Muchas gracias ☺️
Your welcome 😁
To me, the borax side is blurry, to the point of being unusable. This seems most evident with the higher power settings.
😁
The amount of wasted water just triggers me to much to watch this
Yea, i should have cut it off. I was more concerned with creating the content.
I was waiting for the step that used the running water again 😂
Guess you'll just have grown up and be an adult and GET OVER IT 😂😂
@@wylinout2257 I have by now, tutorial is great!
15ml of borax to 400ml hot water
The ratio is approx. 1 to 2 tabelspoons of borax, to 400ml of warm/hot water.
couldn't take that hot water just running!
Noted!
Walmart sells it
Yep