With the rise in prices for proofgrade materials, have there been any thoughts about creating and offering unfinished plywood or hardwood proofgrade options? Perhaps that would decrease the manufacturing cost, and provide another revenue stream within the materials section. I would love an unfinished wood option so that paints and stains are more easily applied.
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Great suggestion, you should email it to support@glowforge.com or open a new thread in problems and support.
Glowforge staff won’t necessarily see it here, they only (reliably) read P&S and email.
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Also, welcome to the forum, there’s a ton to see here! Since this is your first post, you might like this:
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As few people actually realize the value of having finished, masked material, I think it’s also a great idea. It’s also a great idea in the sense of being able to make each piece your own – even though you may have lots of people making singular items from the catalog, having unfinished PG material would give you the benefits of PG (consistent sizing, sizing intended for catalog designs, the additional PG warranty, etc.) but also allow you to make each product your own by way of stains and paints.
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On the flip side, doing that basically puts a value on the finishing and masking. That might not matter. I know that’s an issue with selling prints vs puzzles — oh, so the puzzle of the print is this much and you want this much for just the print? I don’t feel comfortable assigning a difference, so I don’t do paper prints.
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Welcome to the forum, good idea!
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There are literally uncountable options for bare materials, both online, and (depending on location) locally. I get lightly-sanded Baltic Birch from my local Rockler but prices have risen dramatically. Same with most of the junk available from the big box stores. There are other suppliers but I don’t use enough to justify driving an hour, so I pay the premium or settle for the lower quality stuff. I have never sold anything, fwiw.
If you’ve ever spent the time to “finish” them to “Proofgrade” quality, you’ll realize just what value those materials are. It takes a long time, and many coats, to get raw BB even close to Proofgrade “Maple Ply” finish (just one example.) Only you can determine if that’s “affordable” to you, however.
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