My findings with PureBond… I got a box of cedar that was supposed to be brown… turns out cedar can also be PURPLE… I have no idea what to do with this purple wood… ideas?
This product also only had one side finished, the back side is birch… which surprised me, because of course i’m used to ProofGrade quality…
I’m running some test cuts today and will make a different post show the quality of this product for others to reference.
I call this wood “smurf wood”… 
Personally I like the purple but if you do not just wait bit as cedar does not hold its color well and will be brown just as you are growing to like the purple.
That looks like Aromatic Cedar. If it is it is quite valuable.
Perhaps, it’s one of the top results when I googled it. But it doesnt mention that in the description
Used to line moth resistant clothing storage boxes and closets. Could be Port Orford cedar also.
Ugh, after this weekend I’m 100% sure I will be returning all of this PureBond wood and directing my search elsewhere. Inconsistent, poor quality (it even had weird glitter flakes in the Mdf…), and not flat. I had high hopes for this product, but in the end you get what you pay for. 
Compared to Proofgrade, the lumber store woods are going to come in a distant second. I have some Maple Purebond plywood that is acceptable. I use it for more utility type of work because it costs about 1/5th of the cost pf Proofgrade. I have not explored Baltic Birch yet, but speculate that it should perform well once I find a friendly glue product.
My Purebond plywood is also not very flat 
I have had excellent results with some Baltic Birch that I bought on ebay. (Not all BB is equal - best to make sure it is laser-compatible.)
I got a bunch of 1/8" x 12" x 12" panels from one seller that I’ve been cutting for the last couple years. Very flat, nice clean grain, doesn’t seem to warp, and it cuts great. This is a current listing from the same seller:
Cora, I am loving all the info on your testing you are sharing, up top!
Did you poly before you cut it?
Does any lacquer of finishing of the wood posts any fire hazards when cutting or etching?
Moved to BtM because of settings discussion.
Hi Juliana,
Welcome to the forum! 
I also use poly after I cut & sand
Poly is flammable, i would not put it under the laser!
Not if it’s dry 
It’s no more flammable than the wood you’re cutting.
You’ll see that PG is prefinished. For a lot of stuff having it prefinished is helpful - it makes it easier to clean off the smoke stains if you’re not masking the material. Alcohol or Windex will make it wipe right off.
Thank you so much for this info, I thought if you did not want the smoke stains you HAD to mask.
the smoke stain (soot) sometimes will seep through the edges, even if you mask.
You can wash it off with a damp rag sometimes, but now I have a orbital sander with fine grit that I use on all my wood projects
you can search the forum and find other methods, trial and error is your best bet
Oh, THAT smoke stain! I thought they meant from cigarettes,cigars,etc. I am such a noob.
This topic was automatically closed 32 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.
