best burner for the buck (noob alert)

Hey there guys, well quite sorry about this, I normally don't come on forums and ask noob questions. My son's 16th birthday is coming soon and he'd like to have a laser that can burn, now I know that as responsible parents we should make sure our kids stay away from this, but he truly loves lasers and promised him i'd get him a nice one for his birthday.

I've looked arround a bit, and would like something that can burn small things like matches and maybe light some paper. I think I read that the blue lasers are the one with the most burning power, and the green being the ones with the most powerful beam to the eye.

so here I was browsing on O-like, and although it is a entry-level laser, the power, even 220 is being too generous, I'm guess it should be plenty powerful for some light burning. I was wondering what would be the best burning laser under....100$

808nm 220mW laser torch /focusable /burning [OL808LT] - $39.00 : O-Like, Quality Products, Great Prices


thanks! M

problem is 808nm is nearly invisible to the human eye, making accidental (dangerous) exposure a much higher risk.

650nm is the most cost effective "burning" wavelength, and is visible so it is less likely to cause an accident.

Make sure you also buy safety goggles and ENFORCE using them, The last thing anyone wants is your son losing his sight.

Blu ray is a great burner, however they are usually built by dedicated hobbyists from scratch.

a 200mw green laser will burn, but the price is higher.

did I mention goggles?? oh yes I did.. Goggles are cheap compared to going blind.

Yeah I agree, take a look at O-like's 200mW red (650nm) lasers. Also understand that "burning" is strongly correlated to focusing the radiation to a fine point and the material you're trying to burn should absorb the wavelength of light you're using. In other words you'll have difficulty burning green paper with a green laser since the paper reflects green light (that's why it appears green). Same goes for white paper. Usually black surfaces are the best to burn.

Blu ray lasers (in my experience) are the best for burning. But since they expensive unless you make them yourself red would be your best bet.

Don't neglect those goggles!

-Tony

so would this be a good burner?

Yes, on dark colored materials

ask your son what colour he wants.
bluray: 405nm 150mW blu-ray pen /adjustable [OLBVL150] - $95.99 : O-Like, Quality Products, Great Prices - best rate power/burning cappabilities
green: www.rayfoss.com - highest visibility *
red: New Style red laser 200mW /adjustable [OLNRL200] - $44.99 : O-Like, Quality Products, Great Prices - best rate price/burning
*don't know if this one is best

I would steer away from near IR wavelengths.

1. Visibility is next to zero, increasing danger and decreasing fun.
2. Good for burning only dark, inorganic materials (organic materials like leaves and paper reflect a lot of longer wavelengths)
3. Divergence is high and beam is multimode, meaning the laser is only an effective burner at close range.

Now this laser could be fun with a video camera on night mode but in my opinion, near IR wavelengths are only fun with more than half a Watt.

Red is your best option for burning and a pretty bright laser.

RA_pierce said:

I would steer away from near IR wavelengths.

1. Visibility is next to zero, increasing danger and decreasing fun.
2. Good for burning only dark, inorganic materials (organic materials like leaves and paper reflect a lot of longer wavelengths)
3. Divergence is high and beam is multimode, meaning the laser is only an effective burner at close range.

Now this laser could be fun with a video camera on night mode but in my opinion, near IR wavelengths are only fun with more than half a Watt.

Red is your best option for burning and a pretty bright laser.

Click to expand...

Agreed!

For burning= 405nm
for less burning, more visible=red
for all out WOW BEAM=green

I would recommend New Style red laser 200mW /adjustable [OLNRL200] - $44.99 : O-Like, Quality Products, Great Prices

At 200 mW, it can should be able to burn most dark colored things, meaning all the burning power for a very low price. It is also good quality and has been tested by many of the members here. (You can read some reviews in the "review" section of LPF)

Should be safer (not safe, just safer) than the 808 nm laser you posted due to the fact that it is red, not near - IR. Already explained above, near - IR light is very hard to see, and may appear as a "dull" dot that seems weak, but is actually very dangerous.

Make sure you buy him some goggles too

Did anyone mention SAFETY GLASSES?

I am sure that your son is a responsible 16 yr old, but I do agree with the people above that a powerful IR laser is just about the worst idea for an adolescent's first laser.

A suggestion I might make:
DealExtreme: $28.24 High-Power 200mW Red Laser Pen (Burns Match + Visible Beam Daytime)

It's a burning laser, focusable, and inexpensive enough that if it gets broken, it won't rip your heart out! It has a nice red beam that's visible in the dark (with a bit of smoke). I would definitely recommend goggles for the red wavelenght with that one, even if it's only staring at the dot while burning... A pair would be even better so that father and son could participate in this cool activity.