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Message:: [QUOTE="-jeffB, post: 26537184, member: 27832"]I was watching a video of a laser welding tool that's apparently on sale to the general public now. The guy demonstrated using it to make beautiful welds very quickly. Then he said "but whatever you do, don't do this." The thing comes with a conventional metal welding nozzle to carry gas, and a wire lead to clip to your work piece. The laser can only fire when the nozzle is in contact with the workpiece, as a safety measure. It's a safety feature if you don't clip the wire lead directly to the nozzle. He did that, pointed the thing at the other side of the garage, and lit a poster on fire. One of these days, we'll get enough blinded idiots and innocent bystanders to precipitate a serious crackdown on high-powered laser gadgets. In my day <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie69" alt=":oldman:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />, equipment like that lived in locked rooms full of safety gear, and you didn't get admitted to the room until you'd been through extensive training. It's odd how chemistry-related stuff has been regulated to the point where it's very difficult to pursue as a hobby, while laser stuff has become an ever-wilder West.[/QUOTE]