I have lots of credit given to me by Glowforge but I am unable to use any of it as they don’t yet ship outside the US. I’m really struggling to find suitable materials here in the UK and would love to purchase some Proof Grade so I can actually use my machine!
Due to the lack of materials I haven’t been lurking around the forums much, has anyone seen any info about when users outside the US will be able to purchase from the store?
never. I’m sure it will not happen. Curious about what happens to the credit.
For acrylic try Hobart’s. I use their Perspex which can be supplied in 600mm X 300mm sheets. They have an amazing selection of colours and will deliver anywhere in Britain including the Highlands & Islands. For instance a Rainbow Pack of 3mm Perspex is priced at £21.13 (exc. VAT & carriage.) It comes with a plastic masking which survived the copper and blowtorch test! Tried cutting with the masking left on which leaves an interesting raised edge. If you want a completely flat piece after cutting I use a paper mask, after removing the plastic one first.
Plywood can be sourced on Amazon or Fleabay.
I hope this is of use to you.
Thank you, this is very useful! Have you managed to source any hardwood?
You should not wait for proofgrade. I’m in the same boat, since I’m in Canada. I found a local source for Baltic Birch plywood, and it’s working very well for me. I’ve tried other materials as well (Acrylic, MDF, etc). Your GF will work well with non-proofgrade stuff.
The only thing I hate, is that each time I use it, I have to enter in my settings in the UI. They really need to add “custom materials” in the UI. So that you can enter your settings once for materials you use often.
I tell it I’m using PG equivalents. Acrylic and MDF seem to translate without any issues. For Baltic Birch I use Med Maple Ply.
Sell your credits to US based GF users - I sold mine at a little discount - but US users are happy to help. It’s fiddly because you have to buy it for them and get it shipped to them, but do-able.
Amazon also do a really nice MDF from laserply which I use all the time - I treat it as medium draftboard
Hobarts lovely acrylics, would recommend them, they feel pricey, but then all acrylic feels pricey to me 
There are other suppliers in the UK, there has been a list posted before. If you can’t find it I’ll dig my list out and post it.
Plywood I’ve also bought off amazon, not sure I like plywood - the stuff I bought looked very like the sample from GF
Hardwoods - I’ve bought some small bits from UK suppliers - can’t recall at the moment who from, not amazon, but a laser materials supplier
It’s a good start. I use the same Med Maple Ply PG equivalent.
But I’ve found settings that work a little better/faster for me. So instead of cutting at 168 speed, I like to cut at 180. It’s not a huge change, but it saves me a few minutes per cut.
I also have some engrave speeds that I prefer over the PG ones.
Each time I use the GF, I have to repeat those settings (sometimes 10-20 times per day). It frustrates me each time. Especially when I have not used it in a few days, and I have to look up the settings that worked best last time.
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