hi, I was wondering if I could use a 1" x 8" piece of wood from Home Depot or lowes? and what setting I would have to use? pine, oak, cedar, walnut, etc.
You can engrave it but not cut it. You have to take out the crumb tray and raise it up to the correct height. I prefer SD engraves and when I look at 99% of all wood SD engrave settings they are 1000 full and i believe 270 lpi.
To engrave on sure to cut, no way a 1x by board is actually three quarters of an inch thick which is just too much.
As for the settings, you may have to experiment. Start with the proofgrade settings for the type of wood that it is you are buying. What kind of wood is your 1 x 8?
I planned on using pine, cedar, walnut, oak and others I can find at the stores
how far the laser does it need to be?
You might cut maple or walnut if you can flip it over and cut in the same place precisely, a straight vertical line cut as example. you would need to have a base 1.65 inches thick to support it.
The surface that you are cutting or engraving must be within the 1/2" focus area of the laser, so the top of the board must be between 1.5" and 2" from the bottom of the Glowforge with the tray removed. As stated above, it will be very difficult to cut anything as thick as a 1 x 8 no matter the type of wood.
ok, thank you very much. I will have to do a few test runs then. thank you again