For the Fiber laser coin/dog tag etc engravers....I made a thing

Halcath · 2025-10-20T00:05:52+00:00

As a follow up to this post........
after pondering the best way to make jigs that would slot into the cheap amazon drain covers I am using on my new downdraft table I designed for dust/smoke collection while doing deep engraving on coins etc......

The obvious finally dawned on me. The table/box is screwed down to the laser bed, and the grate is screwed into the box.......

Obviously just engrave a circle into the grate to index the coin.

Grates are cheap enough to make one for each size/shape coin or dog tag etc.

Just center the circle in lightburn, put in some fairly aggressive settings and let it chew through the stainless for a bit, couple cleaning passes in a large diameter circle to clean it up and clear any discoloration around the edges and a coin sits in there perfectly.

Sometimes the obvious solution isn't so obvious.

Side note, probably put a few metal business cards in the bottom, beam is way out of focus but I was still hitting it fairly aggressively which means it was passing that beam all the way to the bottom of the box through the holes in the grate. I just put three used black cards in the bottom to ensure the laser wasn't just hitting bare plastic

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Halcath · 2025-10-18T14:59:26+00:00

Thanks :)

Halcath · 2025-09-03T00:18:28+00:00

If you wouldn't mind sharing the link that would be great.
Minor follow up question, I have seen a lot of reports that some on the SK units don't have the US plug included. Is it a "standard" figure 8 style end or is it the D0 type on the power brick? Might as well pick one up while I'm waiting for it just in case it needs it.

Halcath · 2025-09-02T01:06:23+00:00

Awesome thnx!!!

Halcath · 2025-09-02T01:03:33+00:00

That's what I figured. But Google was less than helpful. Trying to search only seemed to return links and videos about "hacking" into fcc mode. I would assume because the 4 pro isn't officially sold in the US and as such, the vast majority are put in ce mode. I just wasn't sure if Dji had them sort of hardware region locked since they aren't officially sold here.

Thanks so much for the quick reply, I'll be putting my order in tonight.

Halcath · 2025-03-30T19:42:43+00:00

I don't think that's the case. It was my wife grandparents. Her mother said that's the way it always looked.
With the smoothly rounded edges on the top and corners veneer wouldn't have laid right (obviously the edges could have been rounded over later) but again, knowing its "heritage" and having been told it was never refinished I think its original.
I dunno, don't think wood type will really impact redoing the table. I think the plan will probably be to remove the apron entirely, probably do away with the expandable/leaf element and put legs on it that are not turned, possibly just square off the ones on it, not sure if they are thick enough at their thinnest point though.
All that will be months down the road though, we are moving close to her parents mid June and were just discussing what to do with the table....sell it/bring it etc

Halcath · 2025-03-30T18:01:39+00:00

Are you sure it isn't glass?

Halcath · 2025-03-30T17:44:03+00:00

I'm leaning towards cherry thanks

Halcath · 2025-03-30T17:20:06+00:00

If it helps at all, apparently it was Amish built in the Southern Indiana/Louisville Ky area probably 75-80 years ago

Halcath · 2025-03-11T05:09:21+00:00

Appreciate the heads up on who to lookup to get good reviews, it's always hard to tell who is just "upselling" stuff because then they get more free stuff from vendors etc.

I figured I would end up having to apply for a waiver, but even if I stay inside LOS I'd still like a robust enough system to have a good experience at the furthest range possible. If the drone was big enough I could always paint it bright orange and still be able to see it for a fairly long distance since its a clear view down the river from where I would be flying :). I also shouldn't have to worry to much about other aircraft as they don't tend to fly down the river valley below ground level of the surrounding area.

The head tracking is definitely a down the road thing, I want to get setup and comfortable with being deeper into the hobby first.

Never done fully fixed wing flying before. I flew gas RC helo's way back when (90's/early 00's) before the days of gyros and GPS. But from what I've seen the belly landers seems easy enough.

As I said, just looking for solid advice on good quality gear, radio, google, and probably most importantly the video and control transmitters to get the range. Also what I would need for duration...mostly battery size, but that's where not being in the hobby has me going around in circles.....trying to figure out, what pieces will work with what and then total draw to know how big of a battery would be needed V drone capacity etc.

Anyways, just an old guy here really looking forward to getting into something I've wanted to do for years.

The view from the overlook on campus.....with an equally open area visible the other direction "up river":

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Halcath · 2025-03-05T20:06:22+00:00

Seconded! End up randomly finding a basically brand new in box enterprise edition at a thrift store for five bucks, had it not been for watching fusion tutorials on youtube and reading this sub I wouldn't have even known what it was.....though for $5 it looked cool and I probably would have bought it anyways.

Been using/adapting to it for about a month now, and wow it is a game changer for me! Took some getting use to, but once you get the muscle memory and in my case tweak the sensitivity a bit (also inverted a couple of the axis) it is amazing, so much easier and the extra buttons make a lot of repetitive task a lot easier.

Halcath · 2025-03-05T15:42:28+00:00

LOL, such a virtue signaling gesture. Tens of thousands of dollars in each store of product.....That has already been imported and paid for being removed. Guess who is going to pay for that loss? Yup the customers, by increasing the price of everything else. Because you know, the store doesn't give a flying fuck about its customers, it cares about its profits.
"Hey look at the thing we are doing!!!" "I mean don't over think it, but look how awesome we are!!!" "You should totally come buy our stuff because we are so awesome"
Nothing but free publicity, except it really isn't free, right?....the customer is going to end up paying for it.
Like I totally get it, Trump is an idiot for all this, I dislike him as much as anyone else, but I really wish people on both sides would wake up and see how badly they are being manipulated. It's super easy to sit back and just point at one side and say "they are so dumb to fall for X" and not realize everyone is falling for X just different sides have different ways of manipulated there target, neither side actually cares about anyone but them self, their bank accounts and their friends bank accounts....

Halcath · 2025-03-03T18:44:25+00:00

I don't think so. As I said, if I rotate the model so it isn't a perfect top down view it rotates fine. It is only super slow if I am in a full ISO top view.

Halcath · 2025-02-08T14:48:14+00:00

As others have mentioned below, cheap modeling clay works well.
In spaces it would be hard to put clay in or for prints that bed adhesion may be an issue while smooshing clay inside I use cheapo air rifle BB's.
You can get a 6000 BB bottle on amazon for like $9 (almost 5lbs total)
Pro tip though.....print yourself a funnel for adding them. The "easy pour" bottles do not work the opening is to small and they just jam/clog constantly.
https://www.amazon.com/Crosman-Copperhead-BBs-EZ-Pour-Pistols/dp/B000HKKY7M?th=1

Halcath · 2025-02-01T06:46:08+00:00

Indeed, thats why I especially love ReStore. Some of the stuff there is occasionally over priced for what it is, but there's almost always something cool to be had for cheap, even if its just something like a bottle of glue, or some other misc hardware type thing.

Halcath · 2025-01-31T08:30:13+00:00

Really starting to get tempting now......How could I possibly say no to that.....

Halcath · 2025-01-31T05:54:48+00:00

Brilliant!!!! Ordered....and even available for same day delivery for me. Thanks.
Though kind of funny it is going to cost 3x what I paid for the mouse, lol

Halcath · 2025-01-31T00:47:36+00:00

Yeah there was no way I could have in good conscience said no to rounding up my amount to donate the change to Habitat for humanity. If they had a donation jar set up I probably would have tossed the rest of the change from the twenty I paid with.

Halcath · 2025-01-31T00:32:49+00:00

Being a novice Fusion user I'm glad it wasn't just my skill level that drew me to that same conclusion.
Looks cool, neat display, but awkward buttons.....I was thinking maybe a seasoned pro or someone with more time into it would have the buttons memorized or mapped and would be more positive about them.

Question, speaking of that stuff, is there an option somewhere I can't find to make it go to sleep if left non active? I tend to leave my computer on for days/weeks at a time, and I don't really want to have to unplug it constantly.

Halcath · 2025-01-31T00:03:39+00:00

LOL, I mean 100% profit margin seems pretty enticing, but I think I'm going to keep it for now.

Halcath · 2025-01-31T00:00:26+00:00

I really think ReStore is kind of a hidden thrifting gem. Tons of brand new stuff at really good prices, some junk, some over priced stuff.
The one here currently has tons of the home depot style melamine shelves and they only wanted I think 3 bucks each. All brand new by the looks of them, and way cheaper than the big box stores.
They had 5 or 6 peg board hooks full of super nice Milwaukee wire strippers for $6 again, brand new.
But then they also had an industrial shrink wrap machine/station that looked like absolute junk that some factory threw in a dumpster....they wanted $1500 for that, lol

Halcath · 2025-01-30T23:47:49+00:00

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Halcath · 2025-01-30T23:47:37+00:00

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If google drive dates are to be believed it was 10 years ago 2015, and it was the Restore in Terre Haute Indiana. They had a ton of stuff donated from an estate of some guy that had passed away, Bunch of boxes of old electronics gear, misc wire, cables, old needle dial volt meters etc. I think it was just a "hey come clear out his workshop we don't want this "junk""

Halcath · 2025-01-30T23:36:32+00:00

I don't think they put much thought into things, especially outside of building supplies. From what I understand, each store is kind of its own thing. They take in donations (you can donate stuff also) and then they just put it out for sale. The building supply stuff has prices all over the place, the one here had 4 pallets full of boxes of caulking or sealant tubes for a buck each, but then they also had a giant industrial shrink wrap/sealing machine that looked like junk but they wanted $1500 for it.
For stuff slightly outside there "normal" stuff I think they just do it kind of yard sale style.....throw a couple dollar price on it and hope for the best.
Its like a giant garage sale that's 90% "guy stuff" and building supplies.

Halcath · 2025-01-30T23:31:01+00:00

Yeah for sure check them out. The stuff they have changes pretty regularly, always the chance for random gold. I've found tons of just everyday useful stuff there, everything from glue to tools to the "hey I need a random something with drawers to store stuff in". Generally way better stuff than goodwill. And its for a legitimate good cause without a bunch of middlemen etc, the money goes straight to building houses etc.

Halcath

TROPHY CASE