Alive again

Josh Briley demonstrates the use of his laser inside his Camby workshop Jan. 24. Briley owns and operates Puretech Laser Solutions, a company that uses lasers to remove rust and decay from everyday objects and restores them to their original form. (Jared Quigg photo / MCC)
CAMBY — Josh Briley extends a pair of safety glasses that make the spacious barn glow orange.
“God gave you two eyes,” Briley says. “You wouldn’t want to lose ‘em.”
Placed before him on a small table is a cherry-wood cabinet door. After fiddling with a couple buttons on the nearby metal machine, he stands over the wood and gets to work.
Briley’s laser is invisible to the human eye, but the effects are apparent to all the senses. The Decatur native looks a bit like a Ghostbuster wielding his laser, but when he fires the machine he sounds like Luke Skywalker swinging a lightsaber. The damage would be about the same — Briley once burned a hole straight through a thick gymnasium floor.
Light purple sparks singe the wood,...