Hi, everyone.
I'm new to the forum but not new to lasers. I've been interested since before mass-produced 532nm laser pens flooded the market.
I'm known on LPF as RA_pierce.
I'm a motorcycle enthusiast, a photographer, and an evolutionary biologist (specialize in speciation genomics).
I came to this forum because I'm interested in learning how to make a compact 405nm & 635nm projector that can display a static shape for a friend's backyard bar.
To show off what I can do, here is a photo of a current work in progress - a pointer featuring a 4mW 561nm laser. The housing is aluminum-bronze and the heatsink is made of aluminum. I cut the features from rough stock by hand with files, abrasives, saws, and a drill press. There is still more work to do on it. It's nothing fancy in terms of the electronics and doesn't rely on software, so there is a lot of new stuff I have to learn.
I plan to construct a mini projector in a similar fashion and with similar materials because I find aluminum-bronze particularly beautiful, as far as metals are concerned.