Landsailor
New member
Hi,
This is a cumulative response to things that caught my eye in this thread. I don't have time to go through and respond to every response individually. Please don't take anything as a personal attack. It's not meant that way.
As a former Laser Safety Officer responsible for maintaining the system and the paperwork necessary for the CDRH Variance for one of the most complex laser shows of the last century, this thread causes me to have all sorts of concerns. I am a certified Field Service Technician for Coherent Laser Group for the Innova 70, 100, and 300 series of continuous wave ionized gas lasers. (Fancy words for "I can buy a $50,000 watercooled laser tube that runs off of 600VDC and install it for you".) I don't claim to know everything about lasers and their myriad uses, but I did earn my living for six years with them.
Laser Power
The power of medical lasers compared to these high powered, extremely dangerous toys is a moot point. Once you boil the liquid in your retina and damage the cells, you're not getting them back.
Comparing a "<1800mW laser" to a medical laser is like comparing a .22 to a .30-06. You're just as dead.
They "burn" by hitting something that absorbs those frequencies of light and cannot dissipate the energy. When I got my finger in the dialed back (<1W) argon beam, it transferred the energy of the beam into the plasma of my blood. It would have quickly boiled if not for my pain reflex. The skin was undamaged.
The only way you can be killed by a laser is by electrocution or having the power supply fall on you. They can put a world of hurt on you in numerous other ways, though.
Safety Glasses
Eagle Pair glasses are made in China. There is no way you can hold the company that sells them accountable for a failure, therefore you cannot guarantee your safety with them. Do you know their testing and certification procedures? Do you know their batch lot traceability? You do not, therefore, there is no way on earth I would entrust my family's eyesight to them, especially since I know what real ones cost. (As a stagehand who has rigged hundreds of tons of gear above the unsuspecting public's heads, I've seen entire reels of expensive steel cable marked "Made in Korea - DO NOT USE!" because of the lack of traceability. I've taken several courses in safety and liability from the person who literally wrote the book on stage rigging.)
Even with them, there is a very good reason why the laser jocks always used the same eye to focus the table.
"I use my left eye so I always have one good one."
Demonstrations at a Store or Club
The store owner who allowed a demonstration with people wearing sunglasses is completely ignorant (not meant as an insult) of the potential liability he endorsed by allowing that to happen. Had I seen that, I would have been "Mr. Safety Jackass" and demanded that it stop. That was so incredibly dangerous that words can't describe how I feel about it. Suffice it to say that the person who lost their sight would be very rich right now and the store owner and "laser expert dude" would have a criminal record in addition to the civil penalties.
If anyone ever says "These sunglasses are OK!", that person is a danger to himself and those around him. Put a stop to it however you can.
Fiber Optic Feed
That is impossible with these crappy, unstable lasers. Fiber runs require an optics table and ultra precise alignment. You have to bounce the beam into the feed with a front surface mirror aligned to within ten thousandths of an ince. Also, the light emitted from a fiber is uncollimated (just a giant wash of light), so you would need a collimating lens assembly that wouldn't mind being immersed in saltwater. Good luck finding that.
PVC Pipe
Ask any owner of an Epilog laser cutting system if they will cut PVC. They will tell you "No, because the chlorine gas released when it's cut with a laser will destroy my equipment." I don't know if this universally applies to every wavelength of laser, but I would advise extreme caution with PVC around anything this powerful if you cannot find a better material.
Treat it like it's a firearm
Best advice in this thread. I keep my cheap, high power Chinese astronomy laser under double lock and key.
PPE
I would recommend long sleeved, natural fiber, flame resistant clothing. Cotton burns, nylon melts. Heck, buy a cheap pair of military surplus tank crew member coveralls from eBay. The ones I use when shooting fireworks cost $20 shipped and were made from 100% aramid fibers.
Remove all rings, watches, jewelry, etc.
Judge for yourself if the benefit is worth the risk
Did you double check that you're alone in the house? Do you know what you're doing?
If you're doing this for the "kewl lasers!" factor or showing off in any way, you're not in the proper frame of mind.
Lastly, Pay attention to what you're doing. If you don't know exactly what you're doing, don't do it!
Never, under any circumstances do anything that will result in you saying the following:
"My son can't see out of his right eye, but at least I got rid of that aptasia on a rock."
Mr. Glerum (the guy who wrote the book on stage rigging) always told us "I have investigated many accidents and found many well intentioned people who made decisions beyond their qualifications and resulted in people being injured or killed. The one thing that no amount of lawyers can buy you is a good night's sleep."
If you're not sure about something, just stop. Don't rush it. You can't blink fast enough to save yourself.
Personally, I would never attempt this and I sure wouldn't want my name associated with the dissemination of this knowledge on the web, but that's just all of my training talking.
Anyway, I hope this helps in some way. I'm not an "afraid to go outside" guy. Heck, I pay good money to go to the middle of the desert and manufacture my own fireworks a few times a year, however I understand the risks involved and am well trained in the consequences.
Feel free to add any of the above to your info sheet, just reword it so that I'm not associated with it.
Jason
