Builds by Dean

04/22/2026

Got a great new idea from a work colleague for my laser! I had already been laser embossing coins of various materials, but he told me about customized golf clubs. Had to give it a try...

Golf Club Embossment Test Run

11/02/2025

Here's a combo project I was messing around with. Laser embossed brass plate using an AI generated image converted to a depth map, being held by a 3D printed stand.

07/27/2025

07/27/2025

I'm just starting to play around more with AI generated content. Here's a short clip of a wolf as a Samurai Sith Lord. I'm hoping to use AI image generation mostly for new laser projects, but also looking at video and audio to supplement my YouTube content.

07/16/2025

Continuing to work on improving my laser and finishing skills on brass coins. The top left was one of my first, and the bottom right is the latest. The first has better depth, but I really wanted more texture to the background. However when I added in a lava flow in the back, it cut into the detail depth in the helmet.

Also, instead of just leaving them as coins, Margaret is big into pin trading and I thought maybe I could make some pins for her. I've tried Belle and Minnie so far, but without any kind of background.

07/04/2025

Happy 4th of July!

Quick shout out to the 4th with friggin' laser beams!

06/20/2025

I am starting to get a handle on embossing brass coins...

Here's the full playlist on my YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTY27IS_exRDGydG1lR1iLnnzfAd15aDg&si=nM9fsHYQD1IaQC7p

And yes, I'm working on changing up the camera I use to get better quality in the future!

03/25/2025

With some help from my brother-in-law my new xTool CO2 laser is in place... just need to finish the hookups and get rolling!

01/04/2025

Tried out my new fiber laser, xTool F1 Ultra...

11/23/2024

This is my first attempt at laser etching/cutting a motorcycle kickstand plate using my old 10W laser. The Zero Motorcycle logo looked great at first, but over time it's become scratched and worn out until it became unrecognizable. In the future, I'll have to create designs that avoid the center or leave a strip for long-footed kickstands.

07/21/2024

Here's some laser work for coffee drinkers...reusable leather coffee sleeves. Future revisions to come.

This was my first run at making leather coffee sleeves. I've altered the design a couple of times since, and now use heavier leather, but I got a lot of mil...

07/14/2024

Been a while since I added any new videos to the Builds by Dean YouTube channel. Here's a test build for my dual-extruder.

This is a test print for my dual-extruder on my Snapmaker 2.0. The model is loaded into Snapmaker Luban's library, sourced from walter on Thinginverse. Pri...