Can a lser cut be considered handmade?

[Jediscroller]

And what will you think when the laser guy puts a bad scrollsaw cut ornament on his table to compare his laser cutting to. Using it to persuade people to buy his laser cut stuff.

As long as they're not violating any of the rules of the show that they're in (e.g. items must be produced by hand, no CNC or Laser produced items allowed etc.) more power to them. I was at a show once where somehow a guy got past the jury with imported "scrollsawn" crap. He helped my sales immensely as people could see for themselves the difference in quality and workmanship. Just as I don't compete with Ikea or Walmart I don't worry much about folks with lasers or CNC's. It's different product for a different clientele.
I don't have an issue with CNC's, Lasers or any of them. Personally, I'm waiting for plasma cutters to come down in price enough to buy one as they can cut and hold much tighter tolerances than lasers or CNC's.
Having worked with lasers and CNC's for many years in my real jobs they are definately not handmade. An engineer creates the design, s CNC programmer creates the program, a CNC operator runs the machine. Granted, for a home based CNC or laser it's likely that it's all the same person but it's still no more handmade than the parts for your car or washing machine or refridgerator are.
As far as "hand drawn" patterns, I don't think I've ever seen that claim on any pattern and who would want one anyhow? The line weights are variable and they're usually full of errors. Give me a computer generated pattern any day.

[lucky2]

Rick H. Do you consider or market the items that you make with your laser cutting system to be handmade? Or do you sell them as items that are laser cut, and hand finished? I don't have a problem competing with laser cut items at the sales I attend. That is, if the people who do the laser cutting are honest enough to let people know, that their items are cut that way and not handmade.
Len

[Markru2002]

Wow I never thought I would get this much feedback but I think it is great.
One of the other "arguments" the seller said was, If I made a shirt useing a sewing machine, Do I consider this hand made. I did not answer them because I did not want to get in a heated argument. My answer to this would have been yes the shirt is handmade because the operator of the sewing machine still has to move the material around the needle. As a scrollsawer, I still have to move the wood around the blade. If I turn the scrollsaw on and put the wood on the table, nothing will be made because I have to move the wood around the blade. I have never used a laser, but I am sure you do not move the wood around the laser but the program on the computer moves the laser around the wood. Thanks again for all the feedback.
Mark

[Rick-H]

Lucky2,
No I have never tried to sell my CNC work as scrollsawn or handmade. Mostly I use the CNC anymore for making discontinied carbarator gasket sets for a good friend who rebuilds old ones. Also I make the name plates for a Fire Dept for the gear racks and accountability system. I also have cut multiple sidewalk stencils for the school Booster Club. Any work I do on the CNC I am proud to claim it as CNC cut, the same as what I scrollsaw I claim as scrollsawed. Mostly what I do on the CNC could not be done on the scrollsaw, it is just another tool in the shop to do a different type of work. What is cut on the CNC can easily be seen as machine made.
I do not have a laser but would like to own one someday. I do have a vinyl sign cutter machine that I love to play around with also, All just more toys in the shop to use.

[kofte]

As far as "hand drawn" patterns, I don't think I've ever seen that claim on any pattern and who would want one anyhow? The line weights are variable and they're usually full of errors. Give me a computer generated pattern any day.

I hate working with hand-drawn patterns. The first thing I do with a pattern is get it into the computer, into corelDraw. Than I have to edit the thing so that the lines are smooth/regular, the circles circular, and everything 1/2 pt thick. I've had to totally re-draw some patterns before I could cut them! I'm willing to pay more/buy from electronic pattern vendors than ink-on-a-paper.

[oily]

No...........