At first glance I thought I maybe got a slightly better tube than I expected simply because the ends had a bit of metal and the label showed both rated and peak power instead of just "power". Another look today seems more underwhelming than I thought yesterday. The dimensions are correct for 80W at least (1250mm x 80mm).
But since I still don't know, anybody feel like tossing in their $.02?
I think even this tube will work well enough to start to learn how to set up & run a laser. I don't mind upgrading whenever it becomes necessary, so I guess if this is a cheapie, time will tell me how soon that has to be. Thoughts on the upgrade priority of the tube are welcome too. I'm thinking when I eventually do upgrade, I will step up to 100W as well unless there's some good reason not to. I know the power supply has to be up to the task, but that's not a deal-breaker either. Of course the difference between 80W and 100W needs to be significant enough to make it worth whatever the additional expense is.
On my wish list is the ability to cut plywood often (like 1/2"), but since I don't know much in the first place, I might have unrealistic expectations already. We'll see.
Thanks for any input. This should be a fun year. Also doing a CNC plasma cutter in a few weeks and a sawmill later this summer. Gotta stock up on Red Bull or something.
