Building first laser

[trickyrick]

I have my parts on order and have a few questions now while I wait
1) will the laser burn as strong 20 feet away as it will 2 inches away from laser
2) I read that a plastic lens will melt when using 405 at about 500mw because of the heat. There are alot of glass lenses out there from $8 on up. Does it really matter on the price of the lens as long as its glass
3) If Im trying to burn a white peice of paper 8 inchs behind a peice of glass will ghe glass have any efect on the beam
4) Would I be better off buying a good driver instead of making my own
5) Alot of people here state the importance in using glasses while using a laser. Is the beam of a laser really that bright to look at as long as you dont shine it directly in your eye.
6) Can I use sunglasses
I hope thats not too many questions
Have a good evening
Rick

 

[ARG]

1) No, the laser beam will diverge and the power density will be lower
2) Any 3 element lens with coating for the blue spectrum will work
3) Yes, the glass will reflect and absorb some of the power of the laser
4) Yes (In my opinion), unless you are experienced with electronics and especially for expensive diodes. Reliable laser drivers are available for <20$.
5) Reflections off of glossy objects can damage your eyes if the laser is strong enough. It's not worth the risk (in my opinion) to not have laser goggles.
6) NOPE. You must use goggles designed for the specific purpose of blocking lasers.

Thanks for laying out your questions so that they were easy to read and answer.

 

[trickyrick]

Thanks ARGLaser I will add a pair of googles to my order
Rick

 

[trickyrick]

Im having a little trouble finding a ready made driver for the BDR-S06J Laser some say it can go as high as 700mw I can only find drivers for a 405nm 250mw
Can anyone point me in the right direction
Thanks

 

[ryansoh3]

Search for some drivers at the buy/sell/trade section.

Here's a possibility:
http://laserpointerforums.com/f39/a...ustable-micro-sized-linear-drivers-76099.html

Cheers! :beer: