That’s a video i’d like to see!
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That’s one of my issues, it states it can cut up to 1/4” but no matter the setting it won’t cut through 1/4” walnut even at 100% power and very slow it just burns it. Very frustrating
I’ve cut a LOT of 1/8" walnut with no issues whatsoever, I have not yet cut 1/4" so I don’t know the settings.
Give that thread a try and use the file / settings on the Walnut. Many times a test cut like that is needed. Thinking back, the only things I’ve cut at 1/4" is poplar and MDF. They both cut fine, but did get crispy a bit.
I’m sorry that you’re running into trouble when trying to cut a material from another vendor. Glowforge Proofgrade material includes several materials available in 1/4" thickness which can cut through reliably when using default settings. You may be able to use Proofgrade settings as a starting point for experimenting with your material.
If you’d like to see the settings we use for a piece of Proofgrade material, here’s how:
- Open app.glowforge.com
- Open a design
- Choose the material
- Click a step in the left-hand column of steps
- Choose Cut, Engrave or Score to determine which setting you’d like to see
- Then choose “Manual” and you’ll see the default settings for that operation.
Another excellent resource is our how-to guide about Working With Manual Mode.
Note that materials vary widely, and the settings we use for Proofgrade material might not be safe or effective for a material with a similar name.
Since we can’t support material from other manufacturers, I’ll move this thread to the Beyond the Manual section of our forum as other community members might be able to provide you with advice for the specific material you’re using. Note that advice in this section is unsupported and is not reviewed by Glowforge.
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Another vendor? It’s wood, God is the vendor. Oh and good luck getting 1/4” anything from the Glowforge website
Sounds like an upside down lens. think “cup side up”
I have done many projects using 1/4” walnut. I cut it single pass without any problem.
I dont recall the settings off the top of my head but i think it was about 135/full.
The walnut started as 4/4 rough that i resawed and planed to 1/4”.
Where are you shopping? 1/4" wood is available from tons of non-god, non GF vendors.
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ya no kidding. that is pretty baddass right there. 5 pound sledge is NOT a small hitting surface. 
There is always a steam hammer 
set the height and you can pound them all in in one blow,
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True! I don’t have one of those in my shop.
Yet…
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Works best with a real Glowing Forge 
You said “and I’m excited to try cutting 3/8” or even 1/2" with multiple passes, manually setting the focus deeper each pass".
How do you manually set the focus to go deeper with each pass? My software seems to only offer auto focus. I would appreciate any guidance.
You set this in the cut settings (side panel, where you adjust speed, power, etc.). You can manually tell it what height to focus that specific step on. So you could do a first pass with the auto height, then do another pass where it is focused at say .125" instead of auto.
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I am pretty sure I tried that and it still focuses after I click “PRINT”, but I will try again to just confirm
It will still do the autofocus in case any of the steps have the default ‘auto’ for the focus height (and it also uses this for a more accurate camera picture of the workspace. If the layer setting (in the side panel) is set to Auto for focus height, it will use the autofocus measurement. But, if you have manually typed in the focus height for that layer/step, it will use that to focus the beam for that layer/step only.
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Have to admit he has a point here. Every time I try to shop Proofgrade for a project, so much is out of stock that I just end up ordering what I need on Etsy.
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I agree that the PG stuff is often out of stock. But…I almost never use PG stuff-it’s certainly nice, but between the price and the stock issues, plus how many other options there are for good products, I just don’t ever really use it. And I would never rely on it for business purposes; I realize this conflicts with their general marketing, and it’s certainly a place Glowforge could improve, but it’s also not like proofgrade is the only option for materials.
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Ivan said materials.
We have all seen how ply (which is wood) will have voids in the interior ply filled with all sorts of things including Bondo which won’t cut, particularly with a 40w laser.
Ivan was just trying to help you, along with everyone else here.
Different solid woods are going to respond differently, Pine is going to behave differently than Walnut. There are workarounds for difficult situations. Between manipulating speed, power, and multiple passes, there are several avenues of attack. A lower power to reduce charring and making additional passes while lowering the focus between passes might be worth a shot. You could register the piece so you could flip it vertically and finish the cut fron the other side - or use a saw in the case of a hardwood like thick walnut. Consider the possibility that a 40w laser is ill-suited for the task you are asking of it. “The proper tool for the job.”
I have found mine to be quite capable. Across 2- 1/2 years It has paid for itself, and I don’t have any retail exposure.
We have all been frustrated with our results and failures at some time in this learning journey. After 50+ replies in this thread I get the feeling you are not going to be happy, I suggest you lose the angst and frustration in your life, carrying that around isn’t good for your phyche. Sell it and move on. 
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