MSRaynsford

The new light fittings The light in our lounge is pretty dim, really we should replace all the lights with better ones but we're waiting to redecorate everything at the same time. The idea suddenly hit upon me that I should replace the shades with something better (and laser cut). The old fittings basically block out a large chunk of the light being produced so I copied the size and shape but reproduced them in semi transparent materials. The new light fittings, three of them, allow much more light to actually enter the room making it appear much brighter. The old light fittings blocking most of the light The fittings were made from 6mm clear acrylic which was double stacked for strength. Double sided carpet tape was placed around the edge to affix the polypropylene to the front. Simple but effective. Curved former for the polypropylene Light fitting ready to be placed on the light

Coolflow DTX from Hydratech, good for lasers We're having a bit of a cold spell in the UK (I'm aware the US has it worse too) but we're not used to cold weather, temperatures dip below zero and we all panic a bit. One of the things that people always forget is that the glass tube in the back of their laser cutter is water cooled. If the water freezes it will expand inside the tube and cause the glass to smash, that's going to leave a hefty bill to replace the tube. Putting some antifreeze in with the coolant is easy to do and it's going to save you the worry. If your laser is in the garage and isn't warm and snuggly inside your house it's well worth doing. If you have the CW3000 you're going to need 2.25L of antifreeze and if you have the CW5200 you're only going to need 1.5L. The internal reservoir of the CW5000 series is smaller because it actively chills the coolant. Small quantities can be purchased via ebay and the usual sources at sensibl