Favorite material?

What’s your favorite material to work with on the Glowforge?

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For me it’s cedar.

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Monkeypod … The Cadillac of Woods. :laughing:

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PureBond Plywood Project Panels from Home Depot.

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As always, previously:

…then some more specific slices:

… and many many other “what’s the best X” type threads on here, just rummage and you’ll find more information than you bargained for.

https://community.glowforge.com/search?q=best%20in%3Afirst

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That’s quite the list of the best of the best.

Just wanted to see peoples favorites and start some fun.

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Draftboard and baltic birch. :slight_smile:

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light maple ply, it cuts like butter.

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My guess is that varies over time and opportunity. I have certainly done that. Revolution Plywood is low-cost and relatively problem free, but has only one good face and is rather weak. Oak plywood is strong and has a decent surface, but there are more bad spots and need to be individually picked out at the store, plus more expensive than the Revolution. Baltic Birch works well, especially where strength is needed, but price and availability have been headed for the worst case.

I have been very against using anything with MDF so have not liked the medium plywood but since the light plywoods are now available, it has become my go-to where PG is required. I would love to find a decent market for relief engraved exotic woods, but while I have many favorites and far too much stock, I have been using less and less of it.

I have been looking for species on this list but have only found two of them. And others on that list include Blue Mahoe, which is supposed to age by getting increasingly blue is interesting, and the most horrible of trees known as poisonwood makes some of the nicest lumber with none of the “poison ivy on steroids” traits found only in the sap, and of course Koa, monkey pod, etc.

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I really love cutting and engraving acrylics on the GF.

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I’m fond of acrylic also.

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I like the purebond stuff and maple.

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I love free material. That’s the best. Next best is very cheap material. I scored a huge lot of 5-6mm acrylic. It is great to be able to make big LED reflectors. I still have a bit of stuff from when I got some free material when I was a pre-release tester.

Seriously. I am such a cheapskate on materials. I’ll blow thousands on tools and skimp on the materials.

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Free materials are hard to beat lol.

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A great place to get a good discount on clear plexiglass is at Lowe’s. It’s usually in the Hardward Department/glass cutting area, and they usually trash good sizeable scraps from pieces cut for customers, both thin and thick. If it’s not in the waste basket, many times it’s on the floor of the glass cutting area. Most Lowe’s are happy to let you have it for a small fee because they don’t give anything away, but if you know the associate, and many times they will even hold it for you. :grin:

And because it’s scrap (to them), you never know what sizes you’ll see. I take anything as narrow as 1-2" for such things as earrings, keychains, or other small cuts. And many pieces will have snapped crooked when it’s being cut, which, of course, is no bother to us. And it’s little cost to pay if you’re using it for testing designs and stuff.

I’ve paid as little as $10 for an armful of it, which is cheaper than even buying a regular 8x10" piece. You just have to be sure that they mark it as “Scrap,” and write the price on it . Also ask them to cross out any barcode, because otherwise the cashier will scan it and you’ll end up paying big bucks for it . Also have them initial it so that the cashier knows you didn’t do it yourself. You have to be sure the cashier knows that the price is for all you have, as they have to use a different code on the register, AND they will have to have an “override” by a manager. It’s also a good idea to get it right before you’re getting ready to check out so you can ask the associate to go with you to the register, as some cashiers just don’t seem to understand that you are getting ALL this scrap for one low price. So it takes a few more minutes, but it is well worth the cost.

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I LOVE the fluorescent pink acrylic from GF (or anywhere else), then the fluorescent green, then glass green. Those are my absolute favorites. They look so cool when scored or engraved and the light hits them. I love the fluorescents so much, i started buying them every time i see a good deal.

Not sure if it’ll make it into a long term favorite, but this iridescent material i bought is also super cool. Except that it’s impossible to take a good photo because it’s like a mirror. The only issue (besides not being cheap) is that the surface color is a film on acrylic, so it’s peeled a little after being rubbed the wrong way. These are all the same material, the key tag im just showing in different light/angles:



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I think 99% of my projects are acrylic or draftboard.

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Just put on Ride on Shooting Star while looking at your photos.

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That seems very appropriate. I might add that to my playlist. Last night it was Jim Croce while i was designing and cutting.

Finished these:


Need to adjust the pick holder file a bit. I think i made it too complicated when i was thinking about my stack of scraps that could be used.

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Wow. :roll_eyes:

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