Wood Carving: Four Secrets to Success

Laser cutters and engravers are very versatile tools that can add a ton of variety to your creative projects. When it comes to the materials you will use in your laser system, wood will be one of the most common. The reason wood carving is so common is simple: it's a versatile material for cutting and carving, and it's one of the easiest materials you'll find online and in stores.

Since wood carving and cutting is probably one of the most common things you do with a laser, here are four tips you can use to help you get the best out of your laser. This list applies primarily to CO2 laser cutters and engravers, as they are one of the most common types of lasers used by consumers and are best suited for processing organic materials such as wood.

Before you use CO2 laser cutters and engravers for wood engraving, you should first make sure to check your material carefully before buying. While it's understandable that you can buy most materials online, you'll probably go to your local hardware store (such as Home Depot or Lowe's) to do so. If you have an option available, check it out in a store before buying.

When buying lumber, you need to pay attention to the following:

Make sure the wood grain suits your needs. If you're sculpting something like a photo with various gradients, wood with inconsistent grain colors can interfere with the result. If some parts of the wood grain are softer than others, your depth will be inconsistent, and these different colors may make details and parts of the picture not as visible as others. The knots will also be another thing to look out for as they have slightly different densities and will change the result. Sometimes these knots are filled with putty and fillers that don't sculpt well and can cause inconsistent results.

This will be the biggest challenge you will face when buying wood carving materials, especially if you have a larger laser system like the P-Series 48x36 or Muse Titan, both of which allow you to fit larger materials into your work space. If your wood is bent, it won't stay level inside your machine, which means your focus will be different. This will affect wood carving and cutting.

The glue used to hold the layers together may be more abundant in some areas of the plywood than in other areas, and the laser won't cut those parts as easily. It's hard to tell when first inspecting the wood, but make a note of which types of plywood have this problem and where you bought them so you can avoid using the same wood in the future, or note down specific settings.

Different types of plywood have layers of different consistency and hardness. When you choose plywood, check the edges to see what types of layers it has. You'll notice that some plywood uses a series of thin layers of the same material, while others may use a surface layer of wood and a center layer of filler such as fiber or sawdust. This makes a huge difference when you cut and carve, so you want to find plywood that has the most consistent layering possible, and try to avoid plywood that uses fiber or sawdust material as the inner layer.

If you're using wood that's never been used before, make sure you have extra wood so it can be properly material tested. The results of material testing will give you meshes for different combinations of power and speed settings, and can be used for engraving (raster) and cutting (vector). You can download these test files here. And don't forget, if you don't get it right the first time, try again. Trial and error is one of the best ways to learn about lasers and how they work.

Whenever you use a type of wood from a specific source, make sure to document the final setup you used. Sometimes you may not use a certain wood for months and then come back wondering what settings you used to get the previous results. If you document your settings using our material testing log or your own method, you will be able to quickly reference these settings so you will get the same results almost every time.

If you are getting the same type of wood, but from different sources, it is recommended that you document the results for each source. Even if it's the same type of wood, there's a chance that something slightly different will give you different results.

Wood always produces smoke when it is cut or engraved in a laser engraver machine. CO2 lasers basically burn wood when cutting and engraving, so this is unavoidable. As a result, dust and residues will appear inside your machine, which needs to be cleaned. Make sure your mirrors are 100% reflective and keep your lenses free of dust and debris for the best results every time.

Because wood carving and cutting can produce fumes, make sure you have proper ventilation so you can breathe in as little fumes as possible. The smell will always be there, but you want to make sure to keep those smoke particles away from your lungs. Also do not leave the laser unattended while cutting or engraving. There's always a risk of fire, so make sure you always have a functioning fire extinguisher and check your air assist frequently to make sure it's working properly. Safety is usually the least of our concerns, although it is the most important factor you should be aware of when working with laser cutters and engravers.

Best plywood for laser cutting and engraving