There are tons of wood species to choose from for laser engraving and laser cutting but how do you know which ones will engrave with high contrast, and which ones will be a lame. In This article I will break it down for you, so you can start making wood engravings that will wow your customers, and make you a laser engraving super star every time!
"Get some Baltic Birch they say" it's great for laser laser engraving projects and engraving they say! NO its not great for laser engraving. In fact is horrible for engraving logos,pictures, and pretty much everything else. Baltic Birch has very little contrast when engraved and its messy and leave soot and pitch and looks cheap. But it is cheap and you can get it anywhere and laser engravers all over the world (including me in the beginning) used it because that's what I was told to use. There are so many other woods that are better suited for laser engraving than this cheap wood, however if you are in the business of laser cutting shapes and building things from laser cut pieces Baltic Birch https://amzn.to/33B0Prk is a nice go to stock wood to have around for cutting, because its cheap and comes in many different thickness., but if you hoping to get a nice high contrast engraving on Baltic Birch that's going to wow your customers...forget about it.
-Disclaimer
These are my own personal opinions based on my 7 years experience as a professional laser engraver and I have not been paid by any of these companies to write these reviews.
I'll get right to it. There are 5 fantastic woods for engraving that I have found produce the best high contrast results.
Alder, Mahogany, Cedar, Cherry Wood and some types of Maple. These are my go to woods if I can find them for all my laser engraving projects. Alder wood is my #1 favorite. It cuts clean, and engraves nice and dark like a dream without much scorching or soot with just the right settings. Alder wood comes in many various thickness as well that are commonly used in laser engraving applications. 1/8th" and 1/4" and even thinner if you need it. Check out these pre-cut and sanded Alder wood 5"X11" blanks, great for hanging signs and lots of other applications! Get Alder + Cedar Wood Blanks For Laser Engraving https://amzn.to/2Dfgi61
Of course you can laser engrave all woods and even achieve depth!, but what is it going to look like when your done? Take walnut for example. Its already dark brown wood on the surface and when you engrave it the engraving is hardly noticeable because it engraves the same color as the surface! Alot of exotic woods are like this. There is always the option to color fill the engraving but you will need to mask your wood before engraving to do this. I say its best to stick with one of the 5 winners. Say a nice Cherry Wood for your next project. Cherry Wood is very close to Alder in looks and they way it engraves is so nice. Its is bit darker and red in complexion but it produces a nice high contrast engraving every time. Check some out here Get Cherry Wood Blanks
Mask it! Masking before laser engraving wood has many advantages. Masking is the process of well,,, putting masking tape over the area you are about to engrave to protect the surface all around the wood where you are not engraving. The laser will blast right through the mask and into the wood, and all those scorching and burnt sap marks you normally see around the engraving with some woods goes on the surface of the mask and not the wood. There are two masks I use. The first is a wide roll mask for masking larger surface areas find it here (GET BIG ROLL MASK) https://amzn.to/3gxoZXo
You will want to apply the mask and use the supplied hard card to smooth out the mask and make sure you have a tight bond on the surface of the wood. Using the hard card that comes with is is important. You don't want the mask peeling up in the middle of the job, that's a no no! The other mask I use when I know I'm going to paint fill the engraving afterward with color is good old 3M Scotch Blue Painters Tape https://amzn.to/2DDZLbi the widest I can get. This stuff is great for bonding strong to the surface of the wood and creates a tighter mask for paint filling. I don't have to worry that my paint is going to bleed under the mask with this stuff, plus I use it for a lot of other applications around the shop on a daily basis, and Ill go into that in another article soon!
One last bonus tip if you will, because sometimes you got to work with what the customer gives you right? and there is no other option. If you find yourself working on a wood like Pine or Baltic birch that you know is not going to engrave dark, try this: Take a penny or two pennies, put them on the surface of the object you are about to focus your laser to and focus to the top of the penny or 2 pennies instead of the surface of the wood. By de-focusing your laser you will create a larger dot size which can lead to a darker engraving. You might loose some detail but not enough for the customer to notice. Try it it works. The picture you looking at is a box that I did recently that was made of ( you guessed it) Baltic Birch.
Wrap Up Notes:
There are tons of species of woods out there to goof around with, and you might find some that I don't talk about here and if you do let me know! In the end I wanted to share with you the 5 main woods I use that produce great results and are easy to get. I think Its time to offer your customers quality wood that stands out from all the rest, don't you?
Don't forget to do lots of testing with various speed and power to get you setting just right for your laser engraving system. Its not just about the laser settings, but getting them dialed in to your woods is important too!
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