We offer several types of wood for your laser cut / engraved gifts to be made from. At present, all of our wood choices are 1/8″ thick hardwood ply. We sand each piece prior to running it in the laser, and sometimes after, too. Below are examples of each and how the engraving and scoring can show up on your project. Please keep in mind that each piece of wood is different and will interact with the laser beam differently. That said, this should give you a good idea of how each of our wood species can engrave and score.
What’s the difference between Engraving and Scoring? Scoring is the laser firing a single line like writing with a pen – it is thin and can be straight or curved. Often shapes to be painted are outlined with a score line. In addition to showing me where to paint, it helps keep the colors contained and lessens bleeding. Engraving, on the other hand, is the laser going back and forth in lines extremely close together, repeatedly firing to “color in” a shape. Engraving is thicker and often deeper. Each laser technique has its place in our projects and we often use them both to create our finished products.
Baltic Birch
Baltic Birch is the lightest colored wood we currently offer. It takes engraving very well and is also the preferred wood for painted projects (click here to see coloring options).
Cherry
This beautiful wood has wonderful grain patterns and usually shows engraving very well. It has a slight reddish hue to it and sands very smooth.
Mahogany
Mahogany has a nice grain pattern with flecks of black in it. It doesn’t sand completely smooth due to the texture of the grain, but makes lovely engravings.
Walnut
Walnut is the darkest of the woods we offer and has more gray tones to it. It has a beautiful grain pattern and sands almost smooth.
