Editor's Note:
From a curious beginner to a skilled creator, Trey’s journey with laser engraving is a true testament to his passion and persistence. What began as a childhood interest gradually evolved into a successful venture as he honed his craft.
In this section, Trey shares his laser engraving journey and highlights how finding the right laser engraver was pivotal in advancing his career.
Discovering a Passion for Creation
I’ve always been a creator. As a kid, the floor in my room was quite often covered with wood train tracks, Legos, model kits, and many other building toy sets. In my preteen years, the toys were replaced with model kits, and junior high would soon become high school.
When I received my new schedule, I discovered the school had switched mine and another student. And that included some class called “shop” which I didn’t have much of a grasp of what this shop entailed. Little did I know, it wasn’t someplace where kids were made to do work - instead it was this wonderful room where I could escape the monotonous regular classes, and do what I excelled at, building! The first thing I made was a wall clock for my grandma, and I was hooked. I saved money for tools so I could do woodworking at home - shelves for my models, a small cabinet for video game consoles, and even some working catapult models!
Woodworking as a Lifelong Hobby
Fast forward to adulthood, woodworking was always a hobby I enjoyed. I had this unique ability to create myself a desk, build my wife a bookshelf as a Christmas present, and help my church with furniture during a remodel. I slowly gathered enough tools to have a full-fledged and highly enjoyable workshop. A popular item at the time was a variation of the American flag made from torched pine - and I had to try my hands at making one. But when it came to the tiny stars, I wanted them to be perfect, so I purchased a pack of laser-cut stars from another maker. I told myself I’d own a laser cutter one day! I spent most of my time after work creating and selling handmade wood decor.
The Leap to Laser Engraving
During the pandemic my day job was shut down, so I went to my happy place, the woodshop. Now that I had more time, I was able to make more money - enough to pay the bills! I started to see woodworking as a serious career path. So I invested in tools.
One of the first new tools was a small desktop laser engraver. Little did I know, that this small upgrade would yield huge results and set me on a path that would lead to the digital side of woodworking. I quickly became one of the only creators that could offer customization on my products. That ability was a game changer - especially as I got into finer woodworking like cutting boards, wedding gifts, and custom signs.
The Search for an Ideal Laser Engraver
I went through a few different laser engravers, upgrading over time. I even bought one that was portable and battery-powered to customize products at craft shows! But I never took desktop diode lasers seriously as a cutting tool. In my mind, that was the job for an expensive (and very heavy) CO2 laser. At least that’s what all of the “serious” woodworkers told me. So I stuck with just surface engravings.
That was until I saw a respected creator reviewing a large, powerful diode laser that would supposedly compete with the power and size of bigger CO2 lasers. And it was from a brand I had seen before. That laser was the A70 Max from AtomStack. I watched a few videos on it, and immediately ordered one!
The Perfect Fit: AtomStack A70 Max Laser Engraver
I’m in a shop with limited space, so all of my big tools are on wheels. I’m constant pushing tools around to manage my space for large projects like conferences tables. I couldn’t imagine doing that with a super heavy CO2 laser and its external chilling unit. But my A70 Max is on a lightweight cart I built and moves around easily.
I love it because the A70 punches through those thicker materials quite easily, and its workflow is familiar to diode laser users. It's a great compliment to my CNC - which is a great tool itself, but the spinning bits can’t create sharp inside corners and they tend to tear out delicate materials. That’s where the A70 Max shines. It enables me to be even more creative!
