1/4 inch plywood never cuts through

Hello,

I bought the glowforge pro thinking it would be able to cut 1/4inch plywood. Ive had no luck. What settings do you use to cut through? Thank you!! :slight_smile:

Where did you get the plywood? It isn’t all made the same and some is made with glues that the laser can’t cut well, or full of tough knots. Basically, I would not expect cheap plywood from the local home improvement store to cut well – you have to go out of your way to find better stuff.

5 Likes

That makes sense! Does good plywood cut through?

2 Likes

100%
Proofgrade ply
Baltic Birch ply
or ply from any of the dozens (hundreds) of laser suppliers will cut through using the PG settings.
There’s even a brand that sells through the big box stores.

Do a search on here for plywood suppliers.

7 Likes

Yes, you should be able to cut the right 1/4" plywood very well.

5 Likes

Thank you both for responding!!

2 Likes

With the right settings good material is not a problem. Much of the earlier work I have done was 1/4" wood, but the first I purchased was the worst ever.

One good thing to know was when I was buying 48"x 96" sheets I did the math and 5x19 was 95 and with 4 x 0.25" saw kerfs makes 96. and 5 - 48"x19" sheets makes for very useful sizes if you have a pro.

There is stuff called “revolution” plywood that has few bad places, and cuts easier than most 1/4" wood (it is actually a bit thinner) and as long as you are not looking for great strength or beauty it is about the least expensive available. I also got 1/4" oak plywood that was very strong but I had to look through a great pile to find the best and it is the dirtiest to cut except anything with MDF, but played the same game getting 5 - 19x48 inch sheets.

2 Likes

I use 120/Full Power. That works well. However, when I engrave 1/4 it chars badly.

2 Likes

Lots of things affect that, most of all the material. It frequently needs a lot of testing if you are not using proofgrade. And I frequently test to get better results than standard settings even using Proofgrade.

1 Like

Home Depot - Columbia Forest Products PureBond Project Panel. The 1ft x 1ft 7in size fits the GF.

3 Likes

thank you!!

1 Like

Ill have to try that sometime!

1 Like

This topic was automatically closed after 30 days. New replies are no longer allowed.