Jay Selway
11-29-2014, 1:32 AM
So I've been working with 1/4 A1 grade, MDF core plywood. Cherry, and Maple. Both look sweeeeeet.
I noticed that if I cover the wood with low tack masking tape, the engraving looks much richer, and darker (especially with the cherry). In fact, if I engrave the cherry w/o any masking tape, the laser burns through the veneer and the MDF shows through as little white specks. I assume what's happening is that the masking tape is burning, trapping heat and creosote on the surface of the veneer as it engraves (making it darker).
Smoke marks aren't really an issue without the tape, so I am only really using it so that I get a richer engraving color.
Anybody else experienced this before? I'm thinking I got a thin veneer on this batch of ply, and that I'm better off switching to full veneer core plywood (although it's probably much more expensive).
I noticed that if I cover the wood with low tack masking tape, the engraving looks much richer, and darker (especially with the cherry). In fact, if I engrave the cherry w/o any masking tape, the laser burns through the veneer and the MDF shows through as little white specks. I assume what's happening is that the masking tape is burning, trapping heat and creosote on the surface of the veneer as it engraves (making it darker).
Smoke marks aren't really an issue without the tape, so I am only really using it so that I get a richer engraving color.
Anybody else experienced this before? I'm thinking I got a thin veneer on this batch of ply, and that I'm better off switching to full veneer core plywood (although it's probably much more expensive).