I cut the .006" thk abalone shell veneer with the laser as well. It's the only way to get perfect cuts for such delicate work. Oh I wish I had a forklift to move that thing, thank God it has wheels!

On a side note... I had quite a conversation with Jim Heep (Pedal Steel player for the Bellamy Brothers) who is in Switzerland right now on one of the last stops of their world tour. He plays a Franklin pedal steel (very expensive) and saw my FB posting of my fretboards. He had NEVER seen anything like that and someone who plays professional and records like he does would see a LOT of pedal steel fretboards trust me... he wants me to make him two for his Franklin pedal steel guitar.

I'm honored and shocked at the same time but making a pair for someone who is as talented as Jim is and knowing he gets a lot of joy playing over one of my hand made abalone shell inlayed fretboards really brings a smile to my face.

The one I use started out as a 50w blue & white china laser system and of course it was exactly what we expect of that kind of assembly and quality so I upgraded it with many mods. Original price was $1500 delivered, then I added about $1000 in mods and upgrades.

I use it for a multitude of things, the imagination is your only limit.

Oh it's all good, artistry is just that... share away.

@Fiddlerman Yes I have the bigger version, not the K40. It comes with the software called RDWorks, and I'll include a screenshot of the program. Compatible with Windows. I use W7 and many use WXp or even the newest W10 without too many issues. Mostly the problems are associated with the plug-ins for Corel-Draw or some other graphics program and not so much the basic RDWorks program.

@MACJR  That is a pretty colorful piece of artwork but as you are correct it would not even begin to be do-able on a CO2 laser. When thinking of a laser you have to see in black & white basically. Or stencils or silhouettes since you're removing material and essentially burning the wood or melting the acrylic away.

I addition to the basic laser, I needed a 'chiller' to keep the coolant water a constant cool temp so the tube will last. I also added a cross-hair accessory for aiming the beam or knowing where it would start. The stock laser comes with a red dot laser for alignment but as you raise or lower the table (and workpiece) then the dot will move sideways and not stay directly under the invisible beam. My creation uses a line of red laser light that doesn't change as the height does, where they cross is where the beam will hit.

I also added a poly tank for completing a sealed water reservoir system. It's purpose is to keep the water system sealed and clean, free of airborne contamination. The chiller is actually for use in an aquarium and has a UV light which kills bacteria and growth in the water as it circulates. I also added some LED lights inside the cabinet lid because the single small light that comes stock creates shadows from the gantry as it moves so you can't see the work well. A mA meter was added to watch the tube current and insure it wasn't going too high and shortening the life of the tube as well.

The electronics bay which has the stepper controllers and the 'brain' of the whole thing was getting really hot as there wasn't any airflow so I cutout a spot in the cabinet and added a small computer power supply fan which now eliminates the hot air inside which rises. Since they already had louvers on the door the fresh room air which is cooler now flows thru there keeping everything within about 5 degrees of room temp.

Yes, a lot of work but for me it was just something to do and everything was done to make it easier to use or more efficient. A welcome reward for my efforts as the unit as it sit would probably sell today for around $4000.