by Pyro Veteran | Oct 5, 2023 | 3D Printing
When I purchased my Flashforge printer one roll of 3D print filament was included. The filament lasted for at least a month (I was doing small prints at the time). When the roll started getting low, I had no clue about the replacement filament. Well, for me being new to this, I had to investigate (LOL). So, I went to Amazon and typed in 3D filament in the search bar and SUNLU popped up right at the top of the page. Ok, well I found something, you would think since it was on the top page, they must be popular. I started reading customer reviews, there were a lot of them but overall, the company has an average of 4.8 out of 5-star rating. I decided to order my first roll of filament (PLA).
The package arrived; when I opened the box the filament was vacuumed sealed. I loaded my printer and started to print. Everything worked out well, the print came out much better than the other filament I was using. Yes, that was a big wow factor (LOL), I see why everyone gave this product an average of five stars including me. The filament came out nice and smooth and I also added a raft to the base of my print. The print was easily removed, hardly any effort compared to the other filament I used (PLA).
Since then, I have done some bigger prints and had the same results. In my opinion, if it’s not broken then don’t try to fix it so, why try something new. What really impressed me the most was pricing, I compared other companies that sell 3D printer filament but, the issue was it was more expensive and had lower ratings. I guess, I can only say the quality of the material is not so good, who knows why (LOL…just weird).
I highly recommend SUNLU products especially if you are new to 3D printing. Mistakes are going to happen and sometimes you may forget to change a setting, add a setting, or make a new print configuration. The result is the print just did not work out; I don’t feel bad when that happens considering how much I paid for the filament. The loss is bad but, I would rather have a sting than a burn (LOL).
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by Pyro Veteran | Oct 5, 2023 | Gaming
Let’s talk about GameFly! Well, for starters I was doing business with them for over 10 years, right of the bat I had no issues with them whatsoever. I have always been a gamer, but not a hardcore one like my kids (lol). Going to Gamestop back in the day was ok, I didn’t not have the best experience sometimes but still they were alright. I would buy games for the kids and a month later they wanted to trade them in for something different. You know, games are not cheap so you would think if you spend $40 – $60 dollars for a game you would want to keep it, not trade it in for just a few dollars. In my opinion, I could not see any value doing this. You can try to sell them on Facebook, Ebay or any other selling platform (good luck with that everyone is doing it). The competition out there selling games online is fierce.
When Gamefly first started I was all for it, surprisingly the kids were also (a sigh of relief, I can save some money LOL). Their setup is so simple, you pay your monthly membership (there are different plans to choose from). You rent the game or movie as long as you like and if you really like it you have the option to buy (they even give you monthly discount coupons). In my opinion, that’s a great deal and I don’t have to leave my house and interact with a store, don’t have to worry about getting to the store early for new releases that’s fantastic! The best part is a two-to-three-day turnaround time in receiving what you select (it depends on how close you live to one of their shipping warehouses) They even provide you with a pre-paid shipping envelope, so all you have to do it put the item in the envelope and drop it off in the mail. Once they see that it was mailed out, they automatically send you your next selection in the “Q”. You can always contact customer service if you have any issues, either call them or chat with a live body on their website. In all my years doing business with them I never had a problem with customer service (they are always courteous and professional. In my opinion their company overall is solid and I recommend Gamefly to anyone who enjoys video games or movies. They even have accessories for just about all gaming platforms, not to mention you can buy gaming systems from them as well.
In my opinion, I feel that there is nothing out there that can compare to what Gamefly does, well at least not to my knowledge. I will continue my membership for another 10 years or until I am too old to be gaming (LOL).
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by Pyro Veteran | Oct 3, 2023 | Laser Etching
When I started woodburning, I learned a lot about the process by watching videos and practicing on different types of wood. Woodburning is easy, think of it like this, you are drawing with a hot pencil; the difference is you do not have an eraser (LOL). As time passed, and a lot of woodburning projects been done, I wanted to take things to the next level. I wanted to get into laser etching and burning. I had no clue about any laser products, so I did some research. After reviewing a few machines and reading the customer feedback. I decided to go with the Ortur Master 3.
Ortur Master 3
Once the machine arrived, I was a bit overwhelmed by all the parts that I laid out. I grabbed the installation guide and to my surprise it was well organized with detailed step by step picture illustrations. The enclosed USB flash drive had additional information links to instructional videos, software to use for the machine, as well as step by step instruction on how to install the software along with tips and tricks. When I got on Facebook there was even a group dedicated to this machine. I learned a lot from the group everyone is so patient and friendly.
After I assembled everything and went over some basic information, I done my first impression and what I burned took only 45 minutes. The end was not perfect, but I can honestly say it was not bad for my very first time. There is a lot to learn about laser etching from the type of wood or glass to use as well as how deep you want to burn into the wood. Those settings you will learn from trial and error (that’s what worked for me). I am no expert at this, but I can tell you after doing this for a while I don’t consider myself a beginner (LOL).
If you ever consider laser etching, I will strongly suggest starting out with the Ortur Master 3. They have entry level ones at lower prices, but the laser is not as powerful. Trust me, once you learn the basics you will want a more powerful laser, so why do you make the right investment and get it right the first time so you would not have to buy another machine. Well, if you buy two of them you can get a lot more projects don’t (LOL).
If you would to know more about the Ortur Master 3 click here.
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by Pyro Veteran | Sep 30, 2023 | Photography
I enjoy cooking, my mother taught me how to cook when I was a kid. When I was in my twenties, I worked at a resort on St. Simons Island. I remember watching the Gourmet Chefs planning and putting together meals for the guests at the hotel, the food looked fantastic. Sometimes there were photographers there to take pictures, I always thought that was so cool. I could not understand how these pictures would come out in such details, especially when I see them in the local magazines. Now, I understand how all that stuff works LOL, it’s the camera they use.
The other day I was preparing dinner (sirloin steak, baked potato, and green beans) and then I had an idea. I wanted to take a picture of the meal just like they do in the magazines. So, I got my camera, one of the settings is used for taking pictures of food, so I tried it. I must have taken ten photos, they looked great on the little LCD camera display. Then when I downloaded them to my laptop my mouth dropped to the floor. The pictures were beautiful for my first time. It goes to show you that anyone can be a photographer (lol). Don’t get me wrong there is much more work involved in photography, I am still learning the basics of it. I am sure you can get good quality photos with the camera on a phone, but the experience of holding an actual camera, focusing the lens (or using the automatic focusing feature) and choosing the correct filter is the fun part of owning a digital camera (in my opinion). See for yourself in the photo gallery below the pictures are really detailed, no editing was done on these photos. So, I guess the mystery is solved, it’s the type and quality of the camera that makes a difference.
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by Pyro Veteran | Sep 22, 2023 | 3D Printing
Flashforge Adventure 4
I wanted to talk about 3D printing, well first off, I am a long way from being an expert. I am sharing from my personal perspective. Ok… with that being said (LOL). Since things slowed down for me, I have taken a serious interest in my hobbies. One of them, and this was something that I wanted to do for a very long time, was get into 3D printing. The only problem for me was I felt intimidated by it (I felt it was something out of my league). Then I started thinking, I had plenty of time to learn it. So, I decided to get one. Well, looking on Amazon, there are a lot of manufactures out there. I was a little overwhelmed, it did not want to spend a lot of time researching this (I know it sounds crazy, but I was impulsive LOL). I took a shortcut and read the reviews and looked to see how many people purchased particular models. Then I stumbled on Flashforge Adventure 4.
This machine had all the bells and whistles. I wanted to get something starting out that had a lot of features like Wi-Fi connectivity, and a camera to watch through my network. Unlike laser etching you must stay with the machine pretty much at all times while it’s printing. Ok, I want to stay on topic here, I talk about laser etching in a different article. I can say I was impressed when I received it. The instructions were easy, the machine was already assembled, man the company made sure packing the machine was protected, they thought of everything. The instructions were step by step with pictured illustrations. They even included links to watch videos and gave examples of how to do certain functions on the printer.
I was able to start my first print with the default settings within 1hr. It was a quick print, a tool to use for the machine. It was finished in about 45 minutes; the print was very impressive. My wife and I was shocked, I started watching the videos (by the way they are captioned for us hearing impaired folks. I asked my wife how it sounds, and she says it sounds like a regular office printer, but much quieter. So far so good after a few weeks, some trial-and-error setting. I finally made my first large print (the one pictured). I’ve always been a Batman fan since I was a child.
Joker and Harley
So, I am recreating all my favorites with the printer. My only disappointment is Harley Quinn she looks more Anime (oh well it looked different from the picture). The file was well organized though (I had to give the designer some credit). Eventually I will find the right file and make another (that was a learning curve).
Overall, it’s a pretty solid printer, I have not had any issues with it so far. Works well with me considering my disability. I am still working on other models. I will post some articles about them soon.
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