How to make a powerful burning laser for CHEAP!

After watching many videos on youtube of people burning things with high power lasers, I wanted one.Those lasers can cost a lot of money though, something I don't have. So I made one, and in this instructable, I will show you how to make one for less than ten bucks. This is my first instructable, so if I did something wrong, please tell me. This laser outputs between 50-100 milliwatts(I think), and can burn electrical tape, light matches and melt thin plastic.I was messing around with this laser one day, and I shined it at a mirror, and the laser shined back in my eye for a second. I heard a popping sound and I couldn't see anything for a couple of minutes. Now, I was LUCKY that I did not get permanently blinded, but if I shined it a second longer I probably would have been. Now with that said, NEVER point a laser at another person, animals, or any other living thing.

Okay, Now lets make the laser.

Step 1: The Parts needed

You will need:

1. A old DVD drive (free)

2. A LM317 ($2.00)

3. 10 ohm resistor ($0.10)

4. An Aixiz Module from here: ($5.00)

5. 6-volt battery pack from Radioshack ($1.99)

Tools Needed:

A soldering iron (free)

Screwdriver (free)

Total Cost : $9.10

Step 2: Get the diode

Remove all the screws on your DVD drive, take off the rails by removing the screws that hold it in place and take off the laser tray. There should be two diodes on the laser sled, one of them is infrared. You can test for the red diode by hooking the diode up to a 3 volt battery pack. Then remove the weak 5 mw laser module from the Aixiz housing and add the new laser diode from the DVD laser assembly. Solder 2 wires to the positive and negative of the laser diode according to the diagram.

Step 3: Build the driver

Solder the positive wire from the battery pack to the right pin on the LM317. Solder the 10 ohm resistor between the middle pin and the left pin. Then solder the laser positive to the left pin, and the laser negative directly to the battery negative. The picture shows a 5 ohm resistor, but it should be a 10 ohm. If you use a 5 ohm, it will still work, and the laser will be more powerful, but it will shorten the life of the diode.

Step 4: Burn stuff!

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Put in 4 AA batterys in the battery pack, and fire it up! The laser dot is really bright. I like to shine it through my neighbors bathroom window and scare the crap out of him(not a good idea). But anyway have fun, be safe, and don't get caught.