Making Boxes

[Walt Langhans]

Hi Guys!

Any one have an suggestions for some type of laser-able wood that's sturdy, and has a good enough finish on it to look nice with out doing anything to it? The idea being that I can cut it, and send it out in pieces, and the end user can assemble it and have it look decent (yeah I know... that's really subjective) right out of the box ;) . I pretty much work with just MDF so pretty much anything would be an improvement on a MDF box.

Thanks!

[George M. Perzel]

Walt;
How big a box are you talking about?
Best Regards,
George
Laserarts

[Walt Langhans]

11 * 11 * 6 inches

[Jack Clague]

Birch Ply?

Here in AU you can some really really nicely finished Ply and looks great when laser cut using finger slots as the layers all match up.

[David Somers]

Hey Walt,

Where are you located again?

Here is Seattle I have a number of lumber yards that stock a very wide variety of sheet stock ranging from Apply ply to baltic birch, cherry, walnut, etc etc etc. Even Koa Ply if I ever decide I want to give up 3 or 4 kidneys in exchange. They are all very good quality ply's available in 3 to 6mm thicknesses, or roughly 1/8 to 1/4in. I can find solid core or veneer core depending on what I want. And although I havent looked for it, I can find an mdf core as well.

Another option would be to buy a ply that you like the core of, like an apple ply or baltic birch, and then apply a veneer over it if you want. There are a wide varieties of veneers with adhesive backs that require no glue to apply.

I also know a number of sources for solid wood in thin pieces, ranging from 1/2 to 1/8in thicknesses and literally dozens of varieties of woods. These are solid woods and not veneers and have been sanded down to their thicknesses. I can get them from my local yards or mail order them from places like walllumber.com and coloradoheirloom.com to name a few. I am sure folks can chime in with other sources if we know where you are in terms of local suppliers or suitable mailorder.

And dont forget bamboo. It can be had in some nice solid core ply's that CNC and laser cut quite nicely. Again, available from 1/8" up to 1/2" that I have seen locally. And, it is usually a green product so you can claim your boxes are green, low sodium vegan, and even gluten free! Wow! <grin>

Dave

[Walt Langhans]

Thanks Dave, and Atlanta GA.

I'm looking to do as little work here as possible so applying a veneer isn't going to happen :D

[Lee DeRaud]

And dont forget bamboo. It can be had in some nice solid core ply's that CNC and laser cut quite nicely. Again, available from 1/8" up to 1/2" that I have seen locally.Where have you seen bamboo that thin? Given that it's glued up vertically (like quartersawn lumber), I wouldn't expect anything below 3/8" or so to be particularly strong.
(Also haven't tried cutting it: it engraves nicely, but I wasn't going for much depth.)
[EDIT: Never mind, I missed the bit about "solid core ply". What's the core layer made of?]

[David Somers]

Lee,

You are in Anaheim so it would not be worth it to you to travel up here, but the company that has a great variety of woods is Crosscuthardwoods.com here in Seattle.

Next time in town I will stop and check, but I believe it is all Bamboo. So cored with Bamboo. But in a fast web search for that company I see that the cored bamboo is 1/4 inch/6mm, not 1/8 or 3mm. It comes in bamboo core in 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4" and 1.5" in countertop, in vertical, horizontal and natural or carbonized. All are 2 sided except the countertop I believe. Nice looking stuff.

Online I see 1/8" only in Phillipine mahogany, but I was just down there and know I saw more wood types in 3mm and 1/4. Certainly they had baltic and Russian birch in those thicknesses, and I am certain I saw teak in those thicknesses as well. Matter of fact....I just checked my phone and I had taken photos of the teak and Baltic Birch so I know they stock it. Things come and go there as well so it pays to talk to them.

In veneers they have paper backed which requires you to glue it down. And they also carry adhesive backed which is already backed with an adhesive. Peel off the protective paper and you are ready to press it down. Walt....this was what I was thinking for you. It is a piece of cake to use and is what I will work with for the snowflakes you saw. It is available in 2x8 and 4x8 sizes in a very wide variety of species and could be put down very quickly.

There are prefinished ply's as well, but only in one or two species and one or two thicknesses that I remember.

And Walt....I mentioned Apple Ply? There is no Apple wood in Apple Ply. It is simply the name of a ply construction. This company carries maple faced apple ply. Apple ply is a VERY high quality core suitable for anywhere you will have the core exposed. Just FYI if you werent familiar with it.

Seattle is a good sized city, but certainly no bigger than a slug of cities around the country so you should be able to find this stuff in your area as well. My postman really grouses if I mail order 4x8 sheets of plywood. And they always fold it when they put it in the mailbox. Sigh. Local suppliers are so much better! <grin>

Dave

[Kev Williams]

I like plain old red alder.

[Mark Taylor2]

You might check Woodcraft and WoodworkersResource. They sell sheet stock of various woods including "exotics". It's all boils down to not only what you want, but what price you're willing to pay. They also sell online but online is a good place to start as you can search and what they have.

[Walt Langhans]

So do all the woods suggested cut well? I 'think' remember reading about certain woods that didn't but I can't find it now.

[David Somers]

Hey Walt!

Are there particular woods you are interested in? If I have them handy I am happy to try a test cut for you. I think I have some 1/4 teak ply handy. Also some 1/4 poplar and 1/4 Baltic Birch. I know the poplar and birch does fine. Not sure about the teak. I have suspicions that it is not a good cutter, but I could be wrong. It is like Hawaiian Koa and has lots of silica in it as well as oil. I have maple veneer and that cuts fine. I dont have much on hand beyond that. I tend to turn my wood so it is all big chunks and raw logs.

Bamboo cuts and engraves fine.
Cherry should be fine.
Alder, ash, beech, fir (douglas I believe) and pine (not sure what type) should be fine.
Sapele, Philippine Mahogany, and walnut should be fine.
Not sure about red and white Oak and Khaya and Ash. I imagine folks here have done the oaks or ashes so hopefully can pipe up about it.

Next time I am in town I will see if they have any scraps of these I can test.

I tend not to buy wood from Woodcraft. They are fine if it is your only local source but at least here in Seattle they are much higher priced than someplace like Crosscut. Good in a pinch though.
One thought on Woodcraft. If they are decent sized you may be able to work with them for a volume discount. Otherwise they tend not to stock that much so their costs are higher. The one in Seattle moves a lot of wood and you can deal with them if you catch a manager when it is quieter. If anyone is in Hawaii the shop in Honolulu was the same way. These are two of their largest shops and able to be more flexible.

[David Malicky]

The only woods I've had trouble with are lignum vitae (lots of oil, messy and heavily charred edges) and some ebony (high mineral content, didn't get through). I'd guess teak would be similar.
While dense, compressed bamboo, cumaru, jatoba, and macassar ebony cut just fine.
We have our students make boxes out of 1/8" Baltic Birch ply. We prefinish it ourselves as we haven't found that in 1/8". Our max size is about 6"x6", as warpage is an issue above that. So an 11" panel would call for 1/4".
Google "1/4 prefinished plywood" gives plenty birch and maple... looks nice with the browned laser edges. Maybe a cabinet shop would know of other prefinished options.

[Ron Gosnell]

I really like basswood. It is very light in color and engraves very dark. It cuts nicely.
It accepts any stain or finish and is easy to work with. I am just a novice and still learning
but the basswood is making me look like I've been doing this for years.

Gozzie

[Lee DeRaud]

The only woods I've had trouble with are lignum vitae (lots of oil, messy and heavily charred edges) and some ebony (high mineral content, didn't get through). I'd guess teak would be similar.Add rosewood and purpleheart to that list...

[David Somers]

Walt and anyone interested.
I found a scrap of 1/8" teak ply and it cut just fine.
Just FYI.
Dave

[Walt Langhans]

Thanks guys! I guess what I need to do now is head down to the store and take a look at these woods. Unfortunately my wood working skills and experience only extend to MDF, and the lumber you use to build houses with. I've never worked with any of the 'nice' stuff :D

[David Somers]

Walt,

Just thought. If you have some manufacturers in the area....cabinet makers for example, check with them to see if they have scraps you could take to play with. Let them know you are testing woods and are hesitant to drop the $$ on a full sheet just to play with. At least in HI some of the high end cabinet makers and furniture makers allowed a friend to dumpster dive and pick out whatever he wanted. He got some lovely pieces that way....to the point where his wife started to harumph a bit about the space it was taking up.

Dave