I want to make mini charcuterie boards. But I’m not sure what material to use. I’d like to cut the shape myself with my glowforge. Yes I’ve spent hours googling, searching the forum, insta, you tube. So any help would be greatly appreciated. Can I only use hardwood? Acrylic?
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The Glowforge struggles to cut 1/4" material, and is poorly suited to cut anything a thick as 1/2". I suggest purchasing the boards and using the Glowforge for embellishing them.
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Bamboo or hardwood is typically used, but technically speaking, you could use anything that is food safe and can be cleaned. You could cut your own boards if you want unique shapes, but at the bare minimum the user needs to be able to wipe them down with a damp cloth, and using material that is thin enough for you to cut with the GF (like proofgrade) probably would not hold up well to regular cleaning. And you wouldn’t have to worry about warping from moisture with acrylic, but it may get pretty scratched up from cleaning, and I think the thickness you could reasonably cut with the GF would be a too thin. (But matte acrylic may look OK as far as scratches goes.
) So I agree with @dklgood that your best bet is to buy premade cutting boards/charcuterie boards that you can embellish. If I wanted some unique shape that I couldn’t find online, I’d reach out to my local social media groups/marketplace looking for someone to cut 1/2" boards to shape for me.
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Thank you very much.
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Thank you so much.
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Hobby Lobby and Target both have mini boards that you can buy and engrave. (I’ve purchased some from both but haven’t done them yet. lol Guess I’m waiting for the fad to fade? Haha Just kidding. I need to do it.)
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As far as material that is good safe, bamboo, acrylic, and any hardwood that cones from a tree that produces edible fruit or nuts is safe to use. I cut 1/4” Walnut hardwood all the time, and I’ve cut 3/8” white oak in two passes, so the Glowforge is capable of cutting thicker material, although it may take some playing around with your settings to achieve success.
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