Im looking to get an inexpensive laser to mess around with and see if its something worth investing more time/money in. I do leather work and would mostly be using it for engraving though if it could cut too that would not be a bad thing.

I was looking at some of the 40w ebay ones and it seems like that might be a good first try. The small area it can engrave wouldnt really be much of a problem im just worried that the piece as a whole wont fit inside. Many of the things i would be doing would be a few smaller images over a larger piece so if that cant fit inside it kind of causes a problem. I came on this one too http://chinaplccenter.com/CNC/Engrav...raving-graphic . The fact that i can position this over the part i need the image on then move it to the next spot seems that it would work perfect.

I cant really find much on this unit other then the videos they have posted. Is it worth getting it in 1.6w? Also worried that this ting will be painfully slow. Im not trying to pump anything out but dont want to have to run it all night. Finally will the 1.6w be able to cut through anything or is it just going to engrave? The most i could see trying to cut would be some balsa wood or thin acrylic. i guess im really not sure what the difference is in the laser this uses and the co2 one in the other. Is the one on ebay really 38.4w stronger or is a different type and the watts work out differently?

thanks