More Lasery Goodness.

[arfink]

Aaaaand green plastic.

[img]https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-xL0ZrDVPeqk/UEGdN5IbeSI/AAAAAAAADdE/8zGPObaGawk/s800/IMG_3013.JPG[/img]

[Innocent]

It looks good. But it looks like you haven't attempted cuts multiple depths in the green plastic Medal of St. Benedict. The wooden one looks better because of the 3D effect of the table with the poisoned goblet and the crow.

Also, if you're going to sell these, perhaps you could also consider making a few medals with the Latin "Vade Retro Satana...etc" for those who prefer the wording in Latin.

[franciscanheart]

[quote name='arfink' timestamp='1345681445' post='2472222']
Here's the latest to come off the laser. This is one I'd be comfortable selling, and will be part of my initial lineup when my web store opens in 2 weeks.

[img]https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-wlje_trj3EQ/UDV2WoFuYkI/AAAAAAAAC7c/UZHMXvl5V64/s800/mta%2520pendant.JPG[/img]

This is made from 1/8" basswood (it's becoming a favorite material) and is 1 3/4" across. It's meant as a pendant, but could be used as a keychain if a more sturdy material such as acrylic were used. The edges look darker than they really are, because they are in shadow. The piece is quite light in color, with only one tiny spot of visible varnish near the loop. It has not been cleaned yet, but I imagine these could look even better with a dark stain.
[/quote]
I was thinking a dark stain would be really nice.

[Ed Normile]

With that wood I would use Tung Oil as it would preserve it and give it a clear finish. Speaking of oil you were talking about the wood used as wax stamps, it would seem that any oil such as mineral oil or even baby oil would make the wooden stamp slick where it would not stick.

ed

[arfink]

[quote name='Innocent' timestamp='1346478406' post='2477065']
It looks good. But it looks like you haven't attempted cuts multiple depths in the green plastic Medal of St. Benedict. The wooden one looks better because of the 3D effect of the table with the poisoned goblet and the crow.

Also, if you're going to sell these, perhaps you could also consider making a few medals with the Latin "Vade Retro Satana...etc" for those who prefer the wording in Latin.
[/quote]

Yeah, I was getting impatient. It takes almost 15 minutes to make a pair of these medals as a single pass, and a half an hour to make a pair with the multi-pass method. I have to make them in pairs because of the flip that has to happen later in the cut.

And yeah, I can make a version in Latin no problem.

[Groo the Wanderer]

dood! your laser knows Latin?! that is so frikking razzle dazzle

[TheresaThoma]

Fink you need to set up a store ASAP. These pics are teasing.

[Innocent]

Also, I was just comparing this with the one I'm wearing and I noticed that your medal is missing two bits of text that are normally found on a Medal of St. Benedict:

1. "ex SM Casino MDCCCLXXX" below the feet of St. Benedict on the front side of the medal.
2. "PAX" above the cross on the back side of the medal.


Also, I noticed:

1. Since you opted to expand the "V;;R..S..N..S..M..V::S..M..Q..L..I..V..B" which is normally abbreviated, you didn't have enough space to include the "Nunquam suade mihi vana! (Never Tempt Me With Your Vanities)" (N..S..M..V)
2. There are two columns that look like pillars behind St. Benedict in the front in every medal I've seen. (Or perhaps they are the frame of a doorway. I'm not sure.) I don't know if they have any theological significance, though. I notice you've left them out.
3. The foot of the cross in a typical Medal of St. Benedict is different from its other three arms in that it does not end in a knob, but rather in a kind of base. ( Or perhaps a coupling sleeve that would continue into a pastoral staff?)

[arfink]

[quote name='Innocent' timestamp='1346548401' post='2477403']
Also, I was just comparing this with the one I'm wearing and I noticed that your medal is missing two bits of text that are normally found on a Medal of St. Benedict:

1. "ex SM Casino MDCCCLXXX" below the feet of St. Benedict on the front side of the medal.
2. "PAX" above the cross on the back side of the medal.


Also, I noticed:

1. Since you opted to expand the "V;;R..S..N..S..M..V::S..M..Q..L..I..V..B" which is normally abbreviated, you didn't have enough space to include the "Nunquam suade mihi vana! (Never Tempt Me With Your Vanities)" (N..S..M..V)
2. There are two columns that look like pillars behind St. Benedict in the front in every medal I've seen. (Or perhaps they are the frame of a doorway. I'm not sure.) I don't know if they have any theological significance, though. I notice you've left them out.
3. The foot of the cross in a typical Medal of St. Benedict is different from its other three arms in that it does not end in a knob, but rather in a kind of base. ( Or perhaps a coupling sleeve that would continue into a pastoral staff?)
[/quote]

The first bit of text that is omitted is only included on metals that are from the "original" medal struck in 1880 in Monte Cassino on the 1400th anniversary of Benedict's death. I chose to omit that because mine isn't the same.

The PAX was an oversight, I should be able to work it in.

1. Yes, it's difficult to fit that much text around the border without the abbreviations, but I wanted to have some in English to help it appeal to people who do not know Latin or the meaning of the abbreviations on the medal.

2. The columns behind Benedict are actually two large altar candles. I omitted them from the design to reduce the complexity of the image. The laser was having a hard time with the limited "resolution" of the wood as it was.

3. The base of his cross is different, yes. I didn't do this for any particular reason, except that in the pictures I have seen of the 1880 medal the base of the cross and the front of his sleeve are ambiguous.

Edited September 2, 2012 by arfink

[Innocent]

[quote name='arfink' timestamp='1346548687' post='2477405']
The first bit of text that is omitted is only included on metals that are from the "original" medal struck in 1880 in Monte Cassino on the 1400th anniversary of Benedict's death. I chose to omit that because mine isn't the same.
[/quote]

Okay. But I've seen [url="http://www.catholicforum.com/forums/showthread.php?41741-A-True-Saint-Benedict-Jubilee-Medal&daysprune=-1#post338763"]private opinions on the internet[/url] that a medal without that date [i]may[/i] not be covered by certain Indulgences.

[quote name='arfink' timestamp='1346548687' post='2477405']
3. The base of his cross is different, yes. I didn't do this for any particular reason, except that in the pictures I have seen of the 1880 medal the base of the cross and the front of his sleeve are ambiguous.
[/quote]

Ah, I had not noticed that, but I actually meant the cross on the back (which, [url="http://monkallover.blogspot.in/2006/05/cross-of-st-benedict.html"]Fr. Stephanos, OSB, informs us in his blog[/url], is actually the [i]front[/i] of the medal) of the medal with the CSSML and the NDSMD written on the vertical and horizontal arms.

This is what I meant:

[IMG]http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r30/prophet_o_peace/Phatmass/St_Benedict_Medal-foot-highlighted.jpg[/IMG]

[arfink]

[img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-abC86Uq0tOk/UFzfhlowIJI/AAAAAAAADsw/46zRg47Ad58/s800/IMG_3037.JPG[/img]

[img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_z7jOk04TnY/UFzfdt0sqyI/AAAAAAAADsw/NdaLS89En0M/s800/IMG_3036.JPG[/img]

[BigJon16]

[img]http://www.geekzenith.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/shut-up-and-take-my-money.jpeg[/img]

That black one looks FLOOPIN' amesome!!

[dUSt]

Could your laser make custom phatmass rosary centerpieces out of metal?

[arfink]

[quote name='dUSt' timestamp='1348286347' post='2485316']
Could your laser make custom phatmass rosary centerpieces
[/quote]

YES! I certainly could.

[quote name='dUSt' timestamp='1348286347' post='2485316']out of metal?[/quote]

Nope, not metal.

[arfink]

So today I did some experiments to determine the resolution capabilities of the laser, and of my materials. I have discovered a few things from this:

1. the laser is indeed capable of operating at 1000 DPI
2. acrylic, however, is not capable of holding details at 1000 DPI, it actually starts to break down at only 500 DPI

I did a halftone-shaded rose as an example. It is a little over 1 inch across, roughly the size of the US quarter. This was done in hi-gloss 3mm thick acrylic.

[img]https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-t0sK374T_g4/UGD5XjVBRQI/AAAAAAAAD0A/c906B4KCUHg/s800/IMG_3042.JPG[/img]

Here is a closeup, magnified several times. In the original design, none of the halftone dots ever touched each other, but you can see the plastic is not capable of "holding" this kind of definition, as some of the edges melt into eachother. I may be able to improve this by tweaking the output settings of the laser, but ultimately this is a shortcoming of the plastic and not of the laser itself.

[img]https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-z7HwKLpWCYE/UGD6Ng02XZI/AAAAAAAAD0c/ef729VFi6kY/s800/Screenshot%2520from%25202012-09-24%252019%253A25%253A33.png[/img]

You may also notice some slight waviness in the surface of the piece on the right hand side of this image. That is a result of two factors: first, any areas of the piece which are heated above 140 degrees C will shrink linearly by 1%, with nominal shrinkage in thickness as well. This produces a sort of "band" around the area where the high-intensity cutting beam cut the piece free from the stock sheet. You can also see my finger oils, which is the more obviously rippled portion of the surface.

Edited September 25, 2012 by arfink