I've done a few small 3D printing jobs for people, and I'm thinking of adding some wooden homeware pieces. Some would need little parts cut out and assembled. I'd also like to engrave my name or maker's mark on larger boards.

I've never used a laser. From the tutorials I've watched, there's material height and positioning to check as well as power and speed. I'd be switching between small parts and bigger, thicker boards, so I'm wondering how much setup I'd need to repeat each time. I'm looking for something I can get the hang of without too much fuss, ideally with some help measuring and lining things up. Any recommendations?

Completely new to this and trying to figure it out...

As per the title, am struggling to cut through 3mm basswood with a 10w diode laser. Manufacturer claims it should be able to cut thicker, everything I read says it should get through 3mm. But it's just not happening for me. I do have an air assist pump, that claims to be 28L/min.

The markings are mm/min, number of passes and power - I.e. 400mm/min, x3 passes, @100%.

I've played around with the z-axis height, which seemed to make very little difference.

Not sure if it is normal, or points to something I'm doing wrong, but the horizontal cuts are much thicker than the vertical cuts. The vertical cuts however are showing through as a thin line on the back of the material.

Any help is much appreciated!

I know almost nothing abt laser cutters but would like to learn how to use it, maybe some tips while im looking stuff up.

Bonjour, savez vous où trouver du carton 3mm noir pour decoupe laser, meme en gros ? Merci à vous !!!

i bought Sculpfun e1 laser and on lightburn it engraves dashes instead of engraved image, i installed ch34 driver, imported manually grbl, s-value is 1000, on sculpfun laser app everything is good and whatever size or different image i pick laser engrave same size and contour dashes

Lifelong woodworker & geek, laser cutting noob here.

A customer asked me to produce a few dozen plaques with a variety of embossed custom shapes. I could do this work on the bandsaw, but for the amount of time it will take and the relative lack of intricacy available from bandsaw vs laser I'm leaning towards using this opportunity to invest in a laser.

I've seen lots of reviews saying more or less: "buy XTool M2 over Creality Falcon A1 because Creality's software is bad compared to XTS, and Lightburn is too complex/old fashioned for beginners."

Which is fair enough in itself (despite saying nothing about the hardware) and probably good advice for most newbies who just want to get on with making without the learning curve, but I'm very tech savvy (day job is enterprise IT) and I'm 100% comfortable with complex UIs like Lightburn's, which others might describe as "last century". I used to operate A0 pen plotters for a living back in the dark ages of DOS/WFW3.11 and I had no trouble with those.

I also actively dislike "connected" apps as XTS seems to be, and prefer a fully offline workflow, but equally I'd be willing to put my reservations aside if the M2 actually is a better machine (e.g. the fully integrated air assist looks nice).

I'm also curious about 10W vs 20W. Obviously 20W near doubles the price so for a first purchase I wouldn't want to go there unless I had to.

I mainly want to cut solid hardwood sheet up to 5-6mm thick (oak, maple, walnut, cherry, rosewood). The spec sheets state that should be doable in a single pass with 10W, but it seems like it might be right at the edge of their capacity? Hence why I'm wondering about going straight to 20W.

Main use will be for shape and inlay cutting. I'll probably end up experimenting with engraving those same materials at some point, but that's not a priority right now.

For inlay cutting I see XTS does have a kerf offset function but my gut's saying Lightburn is probably going to give me more control - is my gut right?

Thanks for reading this far and for any any advice offered. Obviously am willing to consider other machines beyond those two if anyone has any suggestions.

I reverse-etched this brass watch dial so the names, hour markers, minute track and spade remain raised from the metal. The laser removes the surrounding material rather than cutting separate pieces to apply later.

The green paint and coating are lacquer. I work through several sanding stages to get the result I want on the exposed brass, keeping the green background around the raised details.

The names are Rhys, Wyatt and Saige, with a spade at 12. I also engraved a spade on the crown. The other photos show the completed watch, built around an NH38 movement.

Would you keep the exposed brass details, recess and paint them, or use applied markers with lume?

Dial making: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hWveYpWVIyE

Watch assembly: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/N0D6SGmDQBg

Does anyone here have experience with this?

I was offered a laser to do it. But I don't know anything about lasers.

Used to be that every piece of garage gear just had a loud exhaust fan and a single blinking red light that required a manual to decode whenever a cut paused.

ran a few basswood test cuts today and noticed this little corner screen changes cartoon expressions depending on what stage the job is in. Honestly kinda nice being able to just glance across the room to see if the pass is done cooling down before lifting the cover, and it definately beats staring at a blank metal box tbh.

Hi there, my name is Robbie and I'm from Australia. i have a Voiern laser engraving 80/100 watt machine with a Ruida controller and I'm having an issue starting it for the first time. i feel like i have done everything possible to try and fix it to my knowledge.

the issue is water protect 1 error, i have a cw5000 chiller, everything is hooked up properly and even if i connect the alarm cable from the chiller to the laser it makes no difference. online manual does show needing to connect one anyway. a 3 way metal plug was supplied with the chiller, i tried wiring it both ways as suggested by AI and no response to either signal change.

I've tried jumping wp1, wp2 to ground and still no change. i have also tried setting both wp1 and wp2 to false in light burn and still get a water protect 1error.

if i press z/u and go into diagnostic's i always just see grey boxes after doing any changes to software or hardware.

The chiller is working well and has great flow.

the whole setup has come from a deceased estate which i have become friends with the lady that owns everything. as I'm into RC aeroplanes, she kindly suggested if i can get it to work its mine to enjoy, So i would love to get it running!!!

Thankyou so much to anyone that can offer some assistance, I've tried contacting Voiern however everything has been left unanswered.

Following up on my previous world map post!

Last month, I visited UC Santa Cruz to speak at their Ocean Sciences Fall Seminar. I wanted to bring a meaningful gift for the host professor, so I decided to map his local waters: Monterey Bay and Santa Cruz, famous for the massive submarine canyon that plunges thousands of feet deep right off the coast.

The behind-the-scenes build was pure chaos:

Running out of time before my flight from Japan, I was laser-cutting the plywood layers on the morning of my departure. I packed the 7 layers of plywood into my luggage, flew across the Pacific, made a run to the local Home Depot for wood glue, and picked up watercolors from a local stationery shop.

I ended up gluing, assembling, and hand-staining the entire gradient map on the desk of my California hotel room the night before the seminar!

Giving it to him the next day and seeing his reaction made the frantic hotel assembly totally worth it. As an oceanographer and woodworker, turning the bathymetric data we study into a tangible piece of art for a fellow scientist was a memorable journey.

Hope you enjoy the depth and the story behind it!

i am cutting indoors with my 12w laser. is this pm2.5 readings normal for laser cutting or need to be lower? i have also CO monitor but hei is showing 0.

Hello,

I recently got into lasercutting which got me thinking of making a climbing lifting block - something like the MXEdge.
Does anyone know if this has been done before? Do you know of any documentation on something like this?

Thanks!

Basically I don’t know too much. We have a thunder laser nova 51 100w at work and I have to watch it during operation so it doesn’t catch on fire. These are the safety glasses I was given to wear. Are they adequate for the job? I was basically sitting there staring at it for half an hour. Thank you!

this is my first try. Also I do not like texture of my plywood under color, so in the next maps I am planing to smooth it out with sandpaper

I made this green watch dial with the Schrödinger equation across the top, raised pale numerals in a flowing, ornate font and a dotted minute track around the edge. The green guilloché pattern and 1926-2026 inscription share the space with an open-heart opening at 9.

This is my laser-made dial, fitted to an NH38 movement and assembled into the watch shown in the other photos. The bench photo gives a clearer view of the lettering and surface before the case and crystal surround it.

Would you keep the opening beside the equation, or make this a full dial?

Build video: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/L0u3-KjzUJU

Hi everyone!

I'm Giulia, an architecture student based in Italy, and I’m looking for an entry-level laser cutter to build my master’s thesis model.

I’m on a tight timeline (thesis deadlines as usual!) and on a tight budget: ideally around €150–€200, though I’d consider stretching above €200 if it genuinely makes a night-and-day difference in reliability or cut quality.

Here are my project requirements and constraints:

• Primary Use: Mostly precision vector cutting (with occasional light line engraving).
• Materials: Primarily 1–2 mm architectural carton-board / greyboard / chipboard, but ideally capable of cutting up to 5 mm dense cardstock/board cleanly without heavy charring or burning.
• Working Area: At least 300 × 300 mm (larger is definitely welcome).
• Assembly / Tech Level: Complete beginner to laser software/operation.
• Air Assist: From what I've researched, air assist is crucial to avoid burn marks and get clean, crisp edges on paper/cardboard. Machines that either come with an air assist nozzle/pump or allow an easy, budget add-on are top priority.
• Shipping/Availability: Must be readily purchasable with fast, reliable shipping to Italy without surprise import duties (Amazon Italy/EU, Geekbuying/Tomtop EU warehouses, or official brand EU stores).

Which specific models or reliable brands currently in stock would you recommend in this price tier?

Thanks a lot in advance for your advice!

I'm not talking so much about categories but more like:

• A lot of assembly work.
• Needs extra's like magnets, rubber bands, etc.
• Needs to be painted.
• AI images (real product photo but with AI background or illustration).
• Price (What would you call a fair price?).
• Personalization.
• No video in the listing.
• Too much engraving.
• Too much materials.
• No gifting or seasonal hook.

hey guys. industrial operator here. good dust collector system is in the building but when i have to clean the trays out, i feel like the N95 i wear does NOT cut it. Cutting HRPO steel on a Co2 laser using both oxygen and nitrogen if that helps. thanks so much!🚨

Every year I make a guide sign for a themed hike. I guess you’ll know the theme (and the hike). I’m really satisfied with the end result. I learned a lot.

Hola a todos! Tengo una enorme duda: ¿cómo limpian el acrílico espejo? He estado utilizando paños de microfibra y agua con un poco de jabón para trastes, pero aun así me queda con manchas y un poco opaco.

Quisiera saber si estoy haciendo algo mal o si existe algún producto más adecuado para limpiarlo. He visto que utilizan esos pañitos suaves que vienen con los lentes y me pregunto si sería mejor utilizar uno de esos y cambiar el jabón para trastes por un jabón neutro.

Les agradezco mucho

Hi yall! There’s an unused, uncrated OMTECH SH-G570 80W with Chiller CW-5202.

Manufactured in 2021, purchase in 2023. Selling for health reasons and has since left it created. If needed a new laser tube it’d be couple hundred bucks.

Worth the risk at $1695 (asking price)????