I want to laser cut a wooden iPhone case and I’m seeing a lot of “real wood” cases on eBay but I’m a bit reluctant to take their word for it. How can I test to make sure it’s a suitable material without damaging my laser cutter? Sorry I’m a noob, I just wanna make sure I don’t set my house on fire or something.
1 Like
If they’re inexpensive, buy two and sacrifice one as a tester. You should be able to tell if it’s really wood pretty easily once it’s in your hand. Do they say which kind of wood?
2 Likes
I was looking at this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Shockproof-Real-Wood-Protective-Hard-Case-Cover-For-iPhone-XS-Max-XR-7-8-6-Plus/202333426257
It has cherry wood, walnut, bamboo, rosewood.
I’m just worried that if I test one and it turns out not to be real wood or has some kind of coating on it, my Glowforge will be ruined. Would I know pretty easily before it gets to that point?
That’s wood glued to polycarbonate. PC has different recommendations - most suggest not trying to cut through it. You might want to stick with engraving the wood part.
(Or you might be able to remove the wood and just cut through that part.)
Or you can cut your own using Proofgrade veneers. They come with a very strong adhesive and work extremely well. (I did an inlay on my phone cover with two of them. It’s going to outlast the phone.)
10 Likes
I like my MOUS case, I practiced on some bamboo ply first. But I started with Glowforge veneer. I measured the otter box case I had and cut and engraved the veneer. I sell these custom to order.
7 Likes
Well done, that paint on the owl.
2 Likes
Thanks, just a little paint with paint pens.
Cool! Did you have to get veneer with a certain depth or the default depth worked?
I used the GF proof grade settings.
This topic was automatically closed 32 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.