Dan, I enjoyed seeing your model at the convention, as well as now. Not many people left that scratch build in 1:24th. Maybe one day I can convince you to build your models to 1.5" gauge track like we do!!! BTW, I was only teasing about the photos! I live by the code: It is your model, make it how ever the he!! you want to!
Are you a member of the NMRA at all? We are up here mostly because there aren't any other clubs we fit in with. Our house is only a few miles from the convention this year, if you are a member and are attending let me know, we can arrange a visit.
This laser should be fine for most everything you need to do. Even scratch building rolling stock, you wont have much if anything over 1/4 inch. Also you can push the laser and cut very slow, I would bet you can get it to cut much thicker than 1/4 inch. You may have to make more than one pass. Your laser most likely has a short distance focus. probably somewhere near 1/2 inch. This will be good for fine detail, something we have to sacrifice a little of. When our laser cuts, it burns about .01" of material. Yours is probably closer to .004". You can order different mirrors that will give you deeper cuts or finer detail, but every time you change them it requires refocusing. Our laser is also a C02 water cooled unit.
The best advice I can give you on laser cutting is this; Take each type of material and each thickness and do test cuts. Run the laser across it making several 3 inch (or so) passes at varying power and speed levels. Do not cut pieces out, just straight lines. Look at both the top and bottom of each cut, and figure out which setting makes the same sized cut on the top and bottom. Use this setting for its specific material and thickness. You will end up with a pretty accurate and square cut. You can also use this to base power settings and increase or decrease to get a slight taper on materials when needed. All of the material I use, I purchase from a local lumber yard or Lowes / Home Depot. I then plane it to my required thickness and will usually make more than I need. You never know when you will need a little extra for a different project, or when you break a piece. Small wood is very fragile and this will undoubtedly happen.
Casey
