Should I buy or build

I'm just getting my laser collection started and I want a highly/medium viable from afar laser that can burn stuff should I buy one (btw my grand budget is $300) or build one please tell me some good lasers from different companies that you have tried or tell me some good parts to build this laser :thanks:

Hi welcome to forum ...well with a budget of around the 3 hundred ish you would get a fairly good 445 nm blue about 1watt or 1.5 watt off the shelf, green will cost a lot more think thousands to do same thing you could probably make a good one but of course u need to have the know how,which this forum is great for .you need to get googles as well before any anything else or at least the same time, really important they can set you back a lot of money, so u need to have more money in the budget you only get two eyes and just a flash from a reflection of 1 watt plus 445nm blue and you can have permanent damage .good luck keep safe and enjoy lasers

My opinion is that you should have some patience, put any need for instant gratification into perspective, and READ the many threads on this forum giving detailed info on how to build, where to buy parts, and which vendors are reputable/reliable.

If you do this, you'll also be more able to decide EXACTLY what you want this laser to be, and then bring it into being YOURSELF. It's a much more satisfying road than sending a chunk of cash to a company and waiting by the mailbox.

And, as Blaster said^^^, get eye protection as soon as you decide on a wavelength for your laser. (you need to know this in order to buy the appropriate protection) We can't stress the importance of this enough. This forum has seen people (usually noobs) come here in a state of panic and fear, looking for help because they suffered a hit in the eye from a laser, and suddenly they can't see very well. And, believe me, NO MATTER HOW CAREFUL YOU THINK YOU ARE, accidents can and DO happen. A split-second reflection off of something that you didn't even know was there is all it takes to damage your vision FOREVER. By the time you even know something happened, it's already too late.

It's a VERY scary place to be, and I'll bet if you asked any of those people how much money they would be willing to spend to get their vision back to what it used to be, they would ALL say "every penny I have".

Bottom line: BUY QUALITY SAFETY GEAR. USE IT.

Many here recommend Eagle Pair safety glasses, but there are threads discussing other brands (good and bad) as well.


Oh yeah....Welcome the forum, and to an amazing field of technology

You have a thread already asking the same thing... go look at it alot of people comented on it

No point in opening a second thread with the same question