The reason for the intermittent cut is purely speed. Look at the bottom 1/4" of the cut and note all the curved striations. This is not the laser beam cutting but the super hot gases doing the burning, Slow down by 1 or 2 mm/s and these marks will disappear and the cut will be perfect in one pass.
That's pretty darn amazing. I almost don't believe it for a 130W machine! I'm struggling to cut 1/4" pecan and you are easily doing 3/4" cherry. I can cut 3/4" MDF but keep struggling with our hard hardwood such as pecan, oak, and mesquite. I can't imagine the Cherry is that much less dense and softer. Anyway, can you tell us if the American Photonics lens was a drastic improvement over what came with your machine? I've tried CloudRay lenses and haven't noticed any performance boost over other Chinese lenses.
Pecan like hickory are very dense woods. Cherry is way softer look at the janka scale to see the difference. We love the American photonics lens they are comparable to thunders. The cost is a lot less as well. Hope it helps.
I wonder if you raised the bed and did a fast second cut at 30-40mm per second it would solve your cut through issue without having to plane multiple times.
That's impressive with the standard lens. Is 130w the rated or max output power on the Thunder ? Looks like the 4" would easily cut it. I'm still trying to decide if a 130w machine would put out decent engraving. I see on the forum's people that a higher wattage laser doesn't engrave as fine detail as a lower one. How do you find engraving on the 130w I know they do a Hi Res head.
The 130w produces fantastic engravings. The only drawback is if you have a material like anodized aluminum or suede picture matte they do not engrave the greatest.
We are still on the original tube, year and a half currently. I think the manufacture estimates 2-4 thousand hours, I could be wrong. I guess if you run the tube at 100% all day everyday it would shorten the life.
I have a 100w 24" x 37" CO2 laser and I am thinking of trying to make some small furniture items out of .5 to ⅝" plywood. Do you think that is reasonable?
The furniture maker inside me says no only kiln dried hardwoods, however as long as your laser will cut it sure. It would be a great way of cutting the parts for small foot stools and such. Have fun with it and try.
You are the absolute BEST! Great video! I just changed my laser to the 4' head to try to see how to cut thicker plywood. - Brianna
@@BellasMagicalUniverse thanks hope it helps
The reason for the intermittent cut is purely speed. Look at the bottom 1/4" of the cut and note all the curved striations. This is not the laser beam cutting but the super hot gases doing the burning, Slow down by 1 or 2 mm/s and these marks will disappear and the cut will be perfect in one pass.
Very informative! Thanks for sharing.
That's pretty darn amazing. I almost don't believe it for a 130W machine! I'm struggling to cut 1/4" pecan and you are easily doing 3/4" cherry. I can cut 3/4" MDF but keep struggling with our hard hardwood such as pecan, oak, and mesquite. I can't imagine the Cherry is that much less dense and softer. Anyway, can you tell us if the American Photonics lens was a drastic improvement over what came with your machine? I've tried CloudRay lenses and haven't noticed any performance boost over other Chinese lenses.
Pecan like hickory are very dense woods. Cherry is way softer look at the janka scale to see the difference. We love the American photonics lens they are comparable to thunders. The cost is a lot less as well. Hope it helps.
I wonder if you raised the bed and did a fast second cut at 30-40mm per second it would solve your cut through issue without having to plane multiple times.
There is that possibility.
That's impressive with the standard lens. Is 130w the rated or max output power on the Thunder ? Looks like the 4" would easily cut it. I'm still trying to decide if a 130w machine would put out decent engraving. I see on the forum's people that a higher wattage laser doesn't engrave as fine detail as a lower one. How do you find engraving on the 130w I know they do a Hi Res head.
The 130w produces fantastic engravings. The only drawback is if you have a material like anodized aluminum or suede picture matte they do not engrave the greatest.
@The Angry Craftsman thanks for the reply much appreciated
How long has the original tube lasted? I read comments about rube life based on % of cut power...so far loving my 51/130. .had it for 1 week using it.
We are still on the original tube, year and a half currently. I think the manufacture estimates 2-4 thousand hours, I could be wrong. I guess if you run the tube at 100% all day everyday it would shorten the life.
@@Angrycraftsman do you cut at 80-90% power often?
Thanks for the video! What air are you running?
We keep the secondary regulators set to 50psi
@@Angrycraftsman thanks much! Looks like this is the nudge we needed to get connected to the big compressor ☺️
@@jodyyounger4569 it will help however
@@Angrycraftsman did you do a video on how to connect a secondary compressor? I’m scrolling through your videos now…
I have a 100w 24" x 37" CO2 laser and I am thinking of trying to make some small furniture items out of .5 to ⅝" plywood. Do you think that is reasonable?
The furniture maker inside me says no only kiln dried hardwoods, however as long as your laser will cut it sure. It would be a great way of cutting the parts for small foot stools and such. Have fun with it and try.
Are you running an upgraded air assist? or the standard Thunder compressor? What PSI?
We have upgraded air. We keep 50psi at the regular
I just backed tracked you used a 4" lens but not Thunders
Correct we do not own a Thunder 4 inch lens, ours is from American Photonics. We also have their 1.5 inch lens which is great for more detailed work.
@@Angrycraftsman what psi are you running to cut almost an inch
@@davidelder5399 our regulator is set at 40psi and the air assist valve on the laser is wide open.
@The Angry Craftsman Thanks again for your help. I'm looking forward to the next video
is it in maximum power setting just 1 pass?
We try for one pass sometimes two
is iit a hard wood?
Yes cherry is a hardwood