I've worked with lit acrylic in the past, but I ran into some issues getting a full 2-foot long piece of acrylic to light up when lit from one edge. I knew there were materials that were made to respond better to being edge-lit, but didn't have any on hand to test at the time. … Continue reading 124: Light-Guiding Lucite
A recent client sent me a few small precious gemstones to see how easily they could be engraved. I did some tests on them, with varying results, and sent them back her way. We went with a really simple five point star to test the engraving quality—with the smallest one just .07" in diameter! Out … Continue reading 123: Semi-Precious Stone Engraving
For this post, I thought I was going to explore steam bending wood, but in doing my research, I totally got distracted by stone inlay in wood. (Bending wood will happen sometime, I promise!) I have seen where woodworking artists used crushed turquoise to fill in gaps in turned bowls, tables and jewelry to great … Continue reading 122: Stone Inlay
When Jen and I were first researching buying a laser, we didn't plan on buying the one we ended up with. We were looking to get a small, semi-portable solution. But my brother Johnny found a family out in Terre Haute, Indiana, who had owned their laser for about a year and realized they weren't … Continue reading 121: Anodized Aluminum Moai
