Laser materials · Wood
Laser cutting and engraving wood, plywood and MDF
Wood is where most laser makers start, and for good reason: it cuts on CO₂ and diode lasers, engraves to a warm brown, and forgives a lot. A few habits make the difference between a clean edge and a charred one.
Which wood to buy
| Material | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Basswood plywood | Layered maps, boxes, signs, ornaments. Light, even colour and easy to cut | Soft face veneer dents easily |
| Birch plywood | Stronger boxes, puzzles, structural parts | Glue lines can vary between suppliers; buy “laser grade” where possible |
| MDF | Templates, jigs, painted signs; very flat and consistent | Smokes a lot and leaves dark edges; needs good extraction |
| Hardwoods (walnut, cherry, maple) | Premium engraving, cutting boards, gifts | Slower to cut; colour and density vary with the grain |
| Pine and other softwoods | Rustic signs | Resin-rich grain engraves unevenly; sand smooth and engrave with the grain |
| Bamboo | Coasters, cutting boards, phone stands | Engraves very dark; the visible strips show through |
| Cork sheet | Coasters, pin boards | Burns easily; use low power |
Measure every sheet. Plywood sold as 3 mm often measures anywhere from 2.8 to 3.2 mm. For anything that slots together, use the measured thickness.
Cutting wood
A CO₂ laser cuts plywood and MDF cleanly at a range of thicknesses. Diode lasers cut thinner sheets well, usually with more passes; the higher the diode’s power, the thicker it can manage. Whatever the machine, the same rules apply:
- Focus on the surface (or slightly into the material for thicker sheets). A few millimetres out of focus is the most common cause of cuts that don’t go through.
- Air assist on high for cutting. It blows the flame out of the kerf, keeps the edge cleaner and helps the cut go deeper.
- Faster with more passes chars less than one slow pass.
- Pin warped plywood flat. A bowed sheet drifts out of focus in the middle.
Kerf (the width burnt away) matters for anything that fits together. Measure it once per material with the kerf test and enter it in the box generator or any studio with a kerf setting.
Engraving wood
Engraving burns the surface darker. Light, even-grained woods (maple, birch, basswood) show the most contrast and the finest detail, which is why they are the usual choice for photo engraving. Dark woods like walnut give a subtler, tone-on-tone look.
Grain affects everything: the dense growth rings and the softer wood between them don’t burn at the same rate, and resin pockets burn differently again, so engraving on pine can look striped. Sanding smooth first and engraving along the grain helps.
Charring, smoke stains and masking
Smoke settles on the surface around cuts and engravings, leaving a brown halo. Two fixes work well together: masking the surface with paper transfer tape before cutting (peel it afterwards and the stain comes with it), and running air assist so the smoke is carried away. For engraving, raising the speed and lowering the power slightly reduces the halo without losing depth. A light sand or a wipe with a damp cloth removes what’s left.
Finishing
Lightly sand the face, then seal with a clear finish if the piece will be handled or hung outside. Oil finishes deepen the contrast of engraving; water-based clear coats keep the wood pale. Paint can be wiped into engraving and sanded back for filled lettering. For layered pieces such as street maps and topographic maps, stain or paint layers before gluing.
Safety
Wood is safe to laser with proper ventilation, but it does burn. Never leave the laser unattended, keep air assist on when cutting, and clean resin and debris out of the bed regularly. Don’t laser pressure-treated, painted or varnished wood unless you know what the coating is; some coatings give off harmful fumes.
Settings
Starting values for every common wood are on the settings pages, for example xTool, and for other brands via the laser settings hub. Treat them as the middle of a test card, not as the final answer: two sheets of the same plywood can need different settings.
xTool is a trademark of its owner. Laser Generator Studio is an independent product and is not affiliated with or endorsed by it.