Laser Etched Beads

A couple weeks ago I made a laser etched baseball, and ever since I've been stuck on the idea of lasering into other spherical objects. Etching round wooden beads into to tiny globes occurred to me as an interesting challenge.

In this Instructable, I will explain how to use the rotary attachment for the Trotec Speedy 300 to make extremely detailed etchings around beads. The pictured beads include globes, beads with numbers and words spiraled around them in continuous lines, and some with monkey to man evolution images. I have lots more ideas for images that would look cool etched onto beads (coming soon - Death Star Beads). I'm sure you've got some ideas too - put them in the comments!

Take a look at this video to see 108 digits of Pi on a 3/4 inch bead. 

I am planning on making a lot more of these, experimenting with different materials, and producing some finished jewelry. Winning a contest or two would definitely be a good start. VOTE FOR MY BEADS.

Jewelry Contest
Epilog Challenge Contest

If you think these are cool but don't have access to a laser etcher, visit my Etsy store, smallworldbeads, and support my TechShop habit!

I made it at TechShop.

techshop.ws

View the original article here