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What for fun do you do with your burning laser?

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I'm new on this forum and I'm thinking of buying my first burning laser. 1W or 2W.
I've still no idea actually :)

What do you do for fun with your burning laser? Tell your great stories :)
 





Its kind of one of those things where the only limit to what you can do is your creativity. If you have a more powerful laser like a 1 Watt then you could pull off some neat tricks like lighting a candle from across the room. Or you can buy a lot of small mirrors from a craft store and place them around a room to create cool beam patterns.

Just remember these rules if you do buy a laser of that power:
-Buy some quality laser safety glasses! These usually cost at least 30$ but your eyes are worth it!
-Never shine your laser at airplanes, cars, people, or animals! Not only is it dangerous, but you can go to jail!
-Use good common sense! Lasers can be fun, but a simple lapse in judgement could cause you or others harm.

I know these may seem obvious, but theres a surprising number of people out there who have bought powerful lasers and end up doing stupid things by showing off.

Be safe, have fun, and welcome to the forum! :)
 
Ignore said:
I'm new on this forum and I'm thinking of buying my first burning laser. 1W or 2W. I've still no idea actually :) What do you do for fun with your burning laser? Tell your great stories :)
Click to expand...

Welcome to LPF! Do intro yourself at the welcome page to make more friends and take time to read the stickies on the safety/culture here before committing yourself. There is also a safety and legal section with interesting stories about cases that have made the news and caught the attention of the 'powers that be'. Peace :yh:
 
Blarg King said:
Its kind of one of those things where the only limit to what you can do is your creativity. If you have a more powerful laser like a 1 Watt then you could pull off some neat tricks like lighting a candle from across the room. Or you can buy a lot of small mirrors from a craft store and place them around a room to create cool beam patterns.

Just remember these rules if you do buy a laser of that power:
-Buy some quality laser safety glasses! These usually cost at least 30$ but your eyes are worth it!
-Never shine your laser at airplanes, cars, people, or animals! Not only is it dangerous, but you can go to jail!
-Use good common sense! Lasers can be fun, but a simple lapse in judgement could cause you or others harm.

I know these may seem obvious, but theres a surprising number of people out there who have bought powerful lasers and end up doing stupid things by showing off.

Be safe, have fun, and welcome to the forum! :)
Click to expand...

Thanks all!
I'm willing to be safe. That's why I want to know what is 'too powerful'. Such as when I light the laser on my hand and it burns immediately (= too powerful).

It will be my first laser so I want to take some cautions
 
Well a 1 Watt laser will burn your skin instantly. You might want to start off with something less powerful like a 100-200 mW laser.
 
You beat me to it ^^^. 1w will instantly burn when even close to focused. A very dangerous first laser, or any laser. I would not jump to 1w off the top. I would suggest 100mw range just to get used to safety practice. This may sound like preaching, but I have been using high power lasers for a while, and have recently had an accident I'm still (please god) healing from. So I have first hand experience on how fast and unexpected an accident can happen, even if you think you being Careful. Just looking out for a new member.
 
I actually don't do much, I show it off to my friends once in a while but mostly I just keep it as a collection haha
 
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One of the best lasers to start off with is a cheap eBay 405nm 5mW or 650 5mW unit. Not too powerful and can help you learn the basics of lasers! :beer:

It's even posted in the thread from "LivinLoud"
 
ebay 5mw 405 seems legit. totally not a beginner laser those things are usually 50-80mw and they are about as bright as a dollar store .1mw laser. don't tell new people to buy that off the bat. I can see it now "oh its not bright and I mean it is labeled as 5mw so its totally safe right"
 
MagnaMagicBtu said:
I mean with a low powered laser you can't even see a nice beam at night. This is why I prefer power. If you got $$$ than high powers (100mW+) in 593.5nm :p :na:
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Good luck getting a handheld 593.5 at anywhere near that power. And I would think a 100mW 593.5 labby would be $X,XXX at least
 
How come everyone but me seems to get over-spec ebay lasers? I've bought dozens of those silly things over the past few years. Is it those pen ones or the bigger ones that say things like "military grade"?
 
It's like the Chinese lumens syndrome. Overspec'd until you LPM it. In which case you wouldn't want an overdriven diode to prematurely fail either. And 'military grade' labels are just another mind trap for those with Pentagon budgets!:p
 
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