"Best" choice of wood for GF

interesting, i’m guessing the glue is probably the key differentiator; i bet they have a number of suppliers that get rotated as needs arise.

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It’s taking off!

Do you have any pictures of the good versus bad MDF (scraps from your cuts) that shows how to identify the material (close ups would help)?

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I didn’t care much for the standard MDF at the big box stores so chose a 2’ X 4’ sheet of something Lowes and Home Depot calls “Chalkboard”.

It’s just MDF with a black surface on one side. They also have something called Whiteboard that has one white surface. A little over $2 by the time you cut it up into GF sizes sheets. The cool part is that the single black or white surface is such that you can mostly just wipe off the smoke damage. The MDF side takes paint well. I used it for my balance toys.

(The toy stands were Proofgrade, everything else is the Chalkboard.)

Here is a very close up shot (~1" square) of the bad (left) and the good (right) Chalkboard material. It’s easy to miss the strands unless you focus closely without magnification.

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That is some bad MDF. I’ve never seen particle sizes that big in any pieces I’ve ever purchased.

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Not an expert on MDF because I have largely ignored it in all my woodworking. Will note that the picture was taken with a macro lens and is really blown up. The larger strands are about 1/8" long.

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i don’t think it’s bad, it’s just perhaps not laser-appropriate. it would almost certainly work fine in any other project that requires mdf.

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No, I was just basing that on Greger’s statement above that MDF quality might vary from one manufacturer to another. As I said, I’m a complete novice in these matters; I had to look up both MDF and draftboard just to figure out what they were when I saw them in the previous replies. The general impression I’m getting here is that at least initially, I’m probably better off sticking with proofgrade and draftboard for my work. Once I get comfortable with the basics of both the GF and working with wood in general, then I’ll start experimenting with manually setting the laser and playing with wood from local suppliers.

So for those of you who’ve had a chance to play with the different varieties of proofgrade wood, is there any one species that seems to do better with the more 3-D bas-relief type of engraving? Or is there any significant difference between them at all? Since painting means I’ll have the luxury of not having to worry about how light/dark/pretty the wood’s finish will be, my main concern is what will look best once it’s engraved. I’m sure that most if not all proofgrade wood will look good with just straight up and down cuts. It’s the more sculpted, 3-D engraving that intrests me, so I want to go with whatever species of wood (if any) that handles this best on a GF.

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Just a quick observation, species aside, the lighter woods will show engraves better than the darker woods. That said, I’ll let other opinions roar.

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Oh yes, I remember. Yes, it can give great results but as broad advice… well, we agree.

Like all things, your mileage may vary, but I’ve had great luck with the consistency of MDF from the same source but that is just the thing, a home center type store can change up on you and unless you notice they will have changed suppliers.

Don’t know if you saw the final action shot from this week:

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How was the smoke show for that

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I should have put a salmon outside the vent…

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Yeah, as long as you’re bringing that up, I might as well ask what sort of smoke levels should I be expecting? Will there be a visible stream of it shooting out my vent? Frankly, I doubt my neighbors would even notice since I use my smoker all the time for cooking, but I’d still like to know what to expect.

No. Even with the oak, unless you looked super close at the vent it was not visible.

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So far Proofgrade hardwoods are only available at 1/8", so the 3D depth is pretty limited. All the species we carry seem to work equally well, though.

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OK, thanks. A minor inconvenience, but since I can’t realistically expect to be producing 3-D engraved masterpieces the day I start playing with a machine I’ve never worked with before, I’ll survive. What about the draftboard you mentioned? Any chance that comes in thicker options? Almost every 3-D logo I’ll be printing will be painted, so the prettiness of the wood (or lack thereof) won’t be of any real concern.

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I don’t believe we’ve tested 3D engraving in Draftboard, so I’m not sure how well it will work.