Hi everyone. I’m trying to determine the correct settings to use for this box I purchased from Joann. I want to engrave on the lid. Has anyone had any luck with these and know which settings would be appropriate? Thanks!!
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If you really want to be sure, sacrifice a box as a test and just start with basic medium-strength wood engraving settings, like 700/80/240 lpi. Engrave something small and fast, tweak, try again.
There is no “right” setting, it comes down to your preference, so there isn’t much we can tell you.
Don’t want to sacrifice a box? OK then pick a small makers mark or logo or date or something and engrave the bottom of the box. If it’s too dark or light you can tweak it for the main lid engrave. Nobody will notice the difference between the two.
You can also do tests on the inside of the lid, or the bottom inside of the box (especially if you’re going to cover the inside with a lining). There are lots of ways to dial yourself in. Post pics when you’re done! 
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Thank you. This is a very cheap, light wood - easy to break. The last time I tried to engrave on it, it actually made some holes in it lol. I can go back to that original box and use it as a test piece. I don’t know why I didn’t think of doing that.
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Yeah I worked with a similar box once, from michaels. The wood is really light, probably either basswood or maybe even paulownia, hard to say. It’s tougher than balsa, but not by much.
I used mine in this project:
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That came out great. Do you happen to recall what your settings were for engraving?
paulownia is definitely tougher than balsa, but similar in weight. i’ve engraved a few paulownia guitars.
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Heh, no way. That was about 4 years ago… and besides our boxes might not even be made of the same stuff. a couple of quick 0.5"x1" test engraves will get you exactly where you want to be.
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If it’s really fragile, you could always start with the cardboard settings. Then if it’s not dark enough you can run it again as long as you don’t move it. If you engrave too deep…well that just becomes a mess 
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If your setting chewed through the wood, I’d suggest cutting your power by half, and then adjust up by 5 from there until you find the sweet spot. And I wouldn’t go with a high LPI either either.
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I use the basswood presets.
They’re probably some Asian counterpart to basswood (which is a north American native species) but the texture and makeup seems pretty similar. The results seem to be pretty consistent with the known basswood I’ve used.
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