wow, can you do a test quick engrave on some draft board? If that’s right, then this would be some weird high focus setting, vs. if that doesn’t work I’d assume something is off (dirty lens, lens knocked out of place…)
I would be interested to know why you chose those settings. Seems to me the speed is way too slow, but as others said you might have your lens upside down or your focus is way off. Did you use the set focus tool?
i just cleaned all of the lenses and it already looks better. thank you
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ok ill try an engrave on a draft board. i just cleaned all of my lenses and its already starting to look better.
I don’t know good settings. Do you know any that would be good? I didn’t use the set focus tool but i will now. But i Just cleaned all of my lenses and it look way better already. Thanks for the tip.
The search function is your second best resource (testing yourself is the first). Here is one thread that may be helpful to you, but there are plenty of others in the Beyond the Manual category. Help with Power/Speed on Bamboo Cutting Board
Also, read this if you haven’t already: https://support.glowforge.com/hc/en-us/articles/360033633574-Working-With-Manual-Mode
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Ok ill check those things out thank you very much.
That’s a very short-sighted position to take.
There are norms on the forum that help keep things organized. The next time it comes up it would be better for everyone if you consider what eflyguy suggests – staying on topic is better for us in general as it helps keep the relevant information collected together and better for you specifically because you can get more specific advice from people who have done it before.
Besides, like any situation when you’re participating in a community, you should try to play by the community’s norms, anything else is inconsiderate.
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That’s the best test to be honest. Because if that doesn’t work, that’s very important to know (versus the settings you chose) I’ve certainly done bamboo cutting boards without a problem (it worked relatively well although since they are butcher block style you do have different boards in the same piece which can react differently…
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Yes, your speed was too slow and I’m not surprised the board was a little fried. (But there may have been other issues too.) These are two setting I have good luck with and you can find a bunch of others if you search. And something to keep in mind is each strand of bamboo burns a little differently and it’s normal to get uneven results on the same engraving.
And FWIW, I’ll agree with the category selection suggestion because it was just luck that I happen to click on the wrong thread and notice your question. Of course you can do what you want and ignore the suggestion, but I was going to scroll on by when I saw your reply because @eflyguy was just trying to help. I’m only mentioning it because maybe you’re just a little frustrated and deserve the benefit of doubt.
If I want it deeper/darker I do
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I just checked out this website and I will be ordering some birch…Good prices for my wallet at the moment!
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I’m going to order some of the Baltic Birch from Amazon now, as I just came back from Home Depot and they had none of the Columbia Forest products I was hoping to get! Likewise, the birch they said was Columbia Forest noted Formaldehyde on the back and I was NOT going to take a chance!
Since I am an Amazon Prime member I will order some BB and see how it goes. I’m waiting to make some projects and will also get some CF cherry from Home Depot website.
Cheers,
Beth
Do you remember what you specified in the sample request boxes as far as product category, quantity, sheet sizes, etc? I don’t know what specifics to put in but would just be glad to receive whatever samples they’ll send for testing.
Hey Ya’ll! No clue if this is where I put this question, but I’m going for it. I have been reading these forums for weeks now and I’m still feeling unsettled and nervous about choosing materials. I know proofgrade is safe, but I also want to use gifting things too like I see on JDS Industries, JPPLus, and other places that say the items are “laserable.” Am I safe to say that if I’m getting from a site that says it is laserable that it won’t have toxic ingredients like formaldehyde, glues, etc…? And it’s safe for engraving/lasering with the Glowforge?
I’m trying to stay away from picking stuff up at say Homegoods or TJMaxx because I worry I have no idea if their bamboo boards and wood boards etc…have harmful things in them.
I’ve read so much, but any tips or mind-settling bits would be helpful as I’m driving my husband crazy with my worries LOL!
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In general I would say, yes. Items from suppliers such as JDS and JPP that state laser safe are, indeed, laser safe. Almost any wood is safe. Acrylic is safe. Bamboo is grass, not wood, and is laser safe. Things unsafe include vinyl and anything with vinyl in it.
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Thanks for the response! I’ll keep searching the community for more wholesalers like JDS and JPP!!
There are so many resources for wood and acrylic. These two vendors have lots of engraveable objects/gift items. Look through the Glowforge gallery and the forum Made on a Glowforge sectio and you will have years worth of inspiration.
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Sounds beautiful! I too have been given some Cypress to engrave as a gift but I’ve only recently purchased the GF Pro and haven’t learned how to find settings for Non-Proofgrade materials. Would you be able to share what settings might work best for a dark but shallow engraving or etched pattern on Cypress? Thank you!!
Testing is the only way to be sure, not all cypress is the same. Here’s some more info, check out #6:
It includes a link to a spreadsheet with suggestions, but that’s all they are… suggestions. Have fun and play around with it!
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Thank you!
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