an inexpensive solution to generate a laser line is to use a round glass rod ... no it's not as good as a real laser line lens ... the generated beam will be brighter in the middle of the line and gets dimmer towards the edges, but most people won't notice when it's used with fog
this is exactly what i did & the results were
i purchased glass stirring rods from amazon ... i used a file to score the rod where i wanted the glass to break ... i have a drill press, so i just gently squeezed the glass in the chuck, turned it on and held the edge of a file against the rod while it was rotating ... just snap the rod at the score line ... i also used a small propane torch, the kind used for plumbing to melt the edges at the score line so that the potential to get cut by the glass was eliminated
put the cut glass rod in front of the laser & you'll get a line
hope this helps you out
amk
this is exactly what i did & the results were
i purchased glass stirring rods from amazon ... i used a file to score the rod where i wanted the glass to break ... i have a drill press, so i just gently squeezed the glass in the chuck, turned it on and held the edge of a file against the rod while it was rotating ... just snap the rod at the score line ... i also used a small propane torch, the kind used for plumbing to melt the edges at the score line so that the potential to get cut by the glass was eliminated
put the cut glass rod in front of the laser & you'll get a line
hope this helps you out
amk
