DIYEveryday Life

I Meant to Set an Example as a Dad — Instead, DIY Got My Kid to Love Tidying Up

Hi to everyone so overrun with stuff at home that you’re tempted to just throw it all out — I’m Hide, tech journalist and part-time house-husband. This time it’s about laser engravers. Apparently you can even rent them at home improvement stores these days, but lots of affordable home models have come out too, and they’ve gotten much easier to use. My daughter’s toys had piled up so much that tidying was a struggle, so I figured I might as well make something like a collection case — half for my own satisfaction — and got an unexpected result. My daughter started tidying up on her own. Let me explain how this happy surprise happened.

Laser Pecker hits max practicality in its second generation

I’d bought a Laser Pecker, a laser engraver whose selling point is being super compact, and then stashed it away, but when my daughter got into superhero squads, I pulled it back out. The original Laser Pecker was easy to use, but it was slow, which was a bit inconvenient.

The original Laser Pecker. This tiny unit can engrave and cut
The original Laser Pecker. This tiny unit can engrave and cut
Name tags I made with the original. Way too slow for making lots
Name tags I made with the original. Way too slow for making lots
In exchange, it’s cheap — about ¥70,000 even for the full set — but if you want to mass-produce something as a side hustle, it falls short on specs. The second-generation Laser Pecker 2 I used this time, on the other hand, is in a different league for speed. Processing time drops to about a tenth. The collection case took a full day on the original, but on the second generation I finished it in about 30 minutes.
The second generation is a little bigger, but way more capable
The second generation is a little bigger, but way more capable
When you want to cut along an outline, choose Gcode
When you want to cut along an outline, choose Gcode
And the Laser Pecker 2 has a godsend of an option: the “Copy button”! For the same design, you don’t have to go through the app every time — press once to preview, twice to start, and you can mass-produce.
The Copy button looks cool too
The Copy button looks cool too
It sticks to the arm with a magnet
It sticks to the arm with a magnet
Using the button to breeze through the work, it was done in no time.

About ¥300 in materials from a 100-yen shop and foam from Amazon

Honestly, I didn’t think it would turn out this precise, so I was thrilled. And my daughter was overjoyed too.

Now that’s a sight. Even the spots I cut into circles so you can pull figures out look like a store-bought product
Now that’s a sight. Even the spots I cut into circles so you can pull figures out look like a store-bought product
Buying a case like this in a store would probably cost several thousand yen, but here I used an A4 wide case from Daiso and foam from Amazon that cost about ¥300. If you count only the amount of foam I actually used, it’s even less. Once you’ve made one, you can make as many of the same as you want, so you can keep up even as the toys multiply.

Once there’s a place for things, kids want to put them away

And what made me happiest was that my daughter started tidying up on her own. A case that fits perfectly is fun, like a puzzle, and lining things up seems to feel good. It looks like I could make all kinds of other things with foam and 100-yen shop goods, so I’m thinking of making some for her other toys too.

There’s a rotary tool too, so you can engrave cylindrical things
There’s a rotary tool too, so you can engrave cylindrical things
You can also put names on water bottles, or engrave her favorite characters for personal use — the possibilities are endless. With this much use, I thought it was worth buying as a hobby tool, even if it’s a bit pricey. Laser Pecker is already up to its fourth generation, but every model since the original is still sold, so I think I’ll keep using this one a while longer.

**Materials: Sukkiri Document Storage File A4 M (Daiso) NR sponge rubber 10 × 300 × 300 mm (WAKI)

Product: Laser Pecker 2 (Laser Pecker) Laser type: 450 nm diode laser Work area: 100 mm × 100 mm Resolution: up to 2K Supported OS: Mobile – Android & iOS, Desktop – Windows & macOS Price: ¥109,999 (Amazon price as of May 17, 2023) Size: 196 mm deep × 153.5 mm wide × 236 mm tall

Official site: Laser Pecker

Questions, comments, or “please review this!” requests — send me a DM on Twitter. Author’s social media:** Instagram: Hide – Everyday life of a part-time house-husband @hidenori.kimura Twitter: Hide – Just a part-time house-husband @hidenorikimura YouTube: Shin Kimura Ke @rekimuras

As an Amazon Associate, Hidenori Kimura earns from qualifying purchases.

This story was originally published (in Japanese) on Yahoo! News Japan Expert.

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