It Begins

So about 4 months ago I decided I wanted a laser cutter. The reasons weren't particularly rational, but I managed to convince myself I needed one. I started trawling eBay and came across the ubiquitous K40. A 40 watt Chinese laser cutter advertised as the cheapest in the world (and for good reason). These go for around £500-£600 direct from China.

My plan was to buy a cheap second hand one for a few hundred pounds. However, their seemed no such thing. There's a high demand, not just for cheap laser cutters, but for units already in the country and in good working order. Apparently a high percentage of machines arriving from China were broken in a verity of ways. On top of this people were getting stung for import duty. I also discovered there were many variations of the same machine with additional extras and software versions. It wasn't going to be as easy as ordering a machine from the cheapest supplier and lasering away. (lasering is a word, right?)

The new plan was to buy a new machine with the specs and software I wanted and to try and reclaim the cost by doing bits of work for friends and maybe making the odd thing to sell on eBay. The purchase was signed off by my other half with the understanding that if it hadn't made its purchase price back in a year, it was to be sold.

So, cash in hand (or rather in PayPal) I started watching eBay for the right machine for the right price...