Laser Preferences

Hey. I just joined and want to learn more about lasers. I recently bought a 532nm 5mW green laser pointer. I like that I can see the beam and that it is highly visible. I am thinking about buying a class 3b laser around 50-100mW. I want to be able to focus the beam and burn some things. However, I don't know if there are laws about owning a class 3b. I haven't managed to find any yet, but I want to make sure. Also, what color should I get? I have heard that blu-ray is best for burning things, yet other people say the color doesn't matter.How do you find what level of eye protection you need for a particular laser? I have heard that you sometimes want under the amount it says for better viewing of the laser, and going over can make it so you can't see the laser clearly. If it isn't obvious I've been researching these things myself, but I want to hear from people who actually own and use lasers.

Welcome to the forum.

Update your profile and give us an idea of where you live.

There are no laws against owning a laser in the US. But there are laws against pointing it at airplanes and police helicopters. Common sense will keep you and the laser(s) out of trouble.

pschlosser said:

There are no laws against owning a laser in the US. But there are laws against pointing it at airplanes and police helicopters. Common sense will keep you and the laser(s) out of trouble.

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I was reading somewhere that class 3b lasers had to have a lock that uses a key in order to be able to turn it on. Was the lock just false information?

StormFury said:

I was reading somewhere that class 3b lasers had to have a lock that uses a key in order to be able to turn it on. Was the lock just false information?

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They have to have certain safety features to be FDA approved, any laser without those features can't legally be imported into the country (though they often are anyway) and can't be used for things like laser shows in public. You can own whatever kind of laser you like in the privacy of your home.

Addonex said:

They have to have certain safety features to be FDA approved, any laser without those features can't legally be imported into the country (though they often are anyway) and can't be used for things like laser shows in public. You can own whatever kind of laser you like in the privacy of your home.

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Addonex is right. There are laws on manufacturing lasers for sale, and also Customs laws for importation. Some of these include key locks, power on delays and labeling. But if you built a laser from scratch in your garage, it could include or be missing whatever the heck you wanted.

Just use it responsibly and you should have no trouble. But if you're doing something stupid with it, your gonna hurt someone or lose possession of it. or both.

I have heard that people make their own, but I think I'll stick to just buying them for now. So any laser I buy then should already have the safety features right? How, do you know what level of safety protection glasses you need though? I have heard you sometimes want to under the amount it says for better viewing, but not by too much. Is that true?