Remember back when the handle fell off my glowforge? Or when the glass lid detached from the hinge?  After the laser tube went out, I got a (refurbished) replacement unit, which has been working fine for a year. However, now the glass lid on my new (to me) replacement unit started to detach from the left rear hinge.

This also lead to the rear of the lid sitting a bit proud, and the left front not quite lining up right.

So, time to buy some more epoxy. This time I got one with the “mix in the nozzle” syringe style applicator, to make it easy to get the epoxy into the crack between the hinge mechanism and the glass.   The last time I attached the glass back to the hinges, I used the upward spring force on the hinges against weight from rocks (protecting the glass with pieces of wood). This allowed me to align the glass lid and center it within the opening on the top of the Glowforge, and it worked out well.

This time (as shown in the video) I clamped the lid to the hinge in an upright position (because I caught it before the glass separated too far), which worked, but I feel like the alignment wasn’t as good as the previous time I glued a Glowforge lid. Sure, the lid closes, but the left front side scrapes a little bit when it does.  I haven’t noticed any calibration issues with the top camera alignment, so it worked well enough, but if I have to do it a forth time, I may go back to the flat lid with weights on it procedure.

I realize that watching a video of me talking about how many times the factory adhesive has failed for me may not make you want to buy a Glowforge…but it really is the easiest to use inexpensive laser cutter on the market. You really can’t get cheaper unless you want to deal with a hacking/DIY required Chinese made K40 clone, and I think that the Glowforge is still the best option for the home user who doesn’t want to build their own.

So, if you decide to buy one, this link will get you $500 off (and give me a $500 credit towards my next laser tube replacement). https://glowforge.us/r/1crpof

Aug 25th 2022 Update:

The lid started to detach from the hinges again!  So I used the other mix-in-the-nozzle epoxy applicator to add more epoxy, and this time I used the “rocks on top” clamping force technique, which I have decided I like better.  It’s not like I’m opening the lid of my glowforge 20 times a day…..so the “clamp the hinge to the lid” technique I used six months ago is no longer recommended. First, it doesn’t get the alignment as nice, and second, it didn’t last.  (We’ll see if this time lasts or not…..)