Good Wood for Practice.

[William Milligan]

As many of you might know...I am very new to Laser Engraving...just got my epilog Monday. This is probably not a GREAT question and may have bbeen addressed in the past (though I couldn't find any such postings)...I've thought of getting some hardwoods (i.e. Cherry, Alder, Walnut, Maple, Oak, etc) for practice but as I think of it using these woods for practice can get pretty expensive.

Any suggestions on cheaper types of woods I could use for my learning tools?...I thought of just getting some lumber/boards at Home Depot or Lowes and cutting them down to size for practice. I'd like to do a bunch of engravings/carvings just for practice in the next week...to get used to the laser and how it works on woods. TOP quality/resale quality isn't really important at this point.

Thanks!

[Mike Null]

Liam

George Perzel who is listed on Friends of the Creek will make up a box of mixed hardwoods about 1/8" thick. All good quality stuff.

[Martin Boekers]

Liam

George Perzel who is listed on Friends of the Creek will make up a box of mixed hardwoods about 1/8" thick. All good quality stuff.

That would be the way to go and while your practicing, do a search in the
forum here for Christmas Ornaments, there are a lot of designs folks lets us use. Not only will you get some time to aquint yourself with the laser
and wood you can make something!


Marty

[Dan Hintz]

Maple thins make an excellent substrate for learning to burn. It has a great contrast level and is soft enough to allow for 2.5D images.

[Larry Robinson]

I recently tried a 1/4" plywood called "Sandeply" from HD. Cuts like butter. Try it.

Larry

[Robert Walters]

I recently tried a 1/4" plywood called "Sandeply" from HD. Cuts like butter. Try it.

Larry


What butterknife (settings) are you using to cut it?

[Michael Simpson Virgina]

The cheapest stuff to work with is cardboard. I cut up several of the older blue priority mail boxes and did a lot of practicing on them.

Even now I oftain protype shapes in cardboard.

Next on the list is hardboard. I would buy a 4x8 sheet for $8 and cut it down into 16 1x2 pieces. I have made quite a few items with this stuff. Its kind of nasty on the edges. I would use a damp paper towel to wipe off the char.

If you want to play with engraving wood then some of that 1/8 hobby ply will cost you a little over $3 for a 1x2 sheet. Woodcraft sells 12x12 sheets for $.99.

For solid wood you can pick up some Poular real cheap. Home Depot sells this in 1/8 thickenes and up. You should be able to cut all the way up to 1/2" with out issues.

I purchas rough popular from local lumber yards and dealers. I can get it for as little as $1.50 a board foot.

From that point the sky is the limmit. I purchase a lot of extoic woods from wood craft to make earrings and such. BloodWood cuts and engraves nicely. Cherry is a good Domestic standby.

[Larry Robinson]

Robert,

My settings were speed 18, Power 100, and a low frequency. The plywood thickness is 0.208.

The edge was a medium brown color and no charring.

The only problem with Sandeply is that it is not very strong. It seems like the core is made from Balsa wood. However, it does cut like "Butter"

Larry

[Pete Bejmuk]

One of my products is made from tempered hardboard. Cuts and engraves great, and is super cheap - a 4' x 8' sheet is about $6 at a local hardware store. Have them cut it up into more managable pieces for your machine.

[Bill Cunningham]

Robert,

My settings were speed 18, Power 100, and a low frequency. The plywood thickness is 0.208.

The edge was a medium brown color and no charring.

The only problem with Sandeply is that it is not very strong. It seems like the core is made from Balsa wood. However, it does cut like "Butter"

Larry

Ahhh yaaaaa. But, a 80 watt laser @ 100% power has considerably more effect on 'butter' than the average 30-40 watt :D