My first step was to sand off the old worn varnish and to try to make the surface as smooth and even as possible. I wasn't going to spend a lot of time but I also wanted to make sure the old stain marks and scratches were erased as much as possible.

Next, I had to remove the base and set to "Open Plane" to allow the tablet to fit under the lazer. I have my M1 encased in a cabinet that allows the smoke to mostly be contained once it's all closed up, but if you don't have it contained, just know there will be SMOKE..and lots of it. (You will need to clean the exhaust fan after something like this.)

Someone asked, "how did you center it?"

Well, I knew the top is the most accurate reference from the camera, I knew how large the wood tablet is and how big the image is. Then....I eyeballed it..... lol. It's just a bit off center but I think it came out great.

So here is the engraved piece. Notice on the close ups there are "shiny" areas in the image? That is the residual sap that was heated up during the engraving process. It's what sticks to your honeycomb or grid after you cut or engrave projects and it's was "floats" around in the smoke and fan after each wood project. That is what needs to be cleaned. Some say an Air assist would help with the "char/burn marks but you still have to contend with the residual sap.

Again with the sanding, I used an 80 grit a few times over just to remove the sap and a few dark spots.

Take a look, great detail and cleaned up just fine. I tag most of my work with my business information so it makes it easier for customers to contact me if they want more projects in the future.

TA DA!! That's about it.

Thanks for your time. Please if you have any comments or suggestions, feel free to enter them below!

Thank you

Robert