If I could share one tip with every new laser owner, it would be this:
"Run a test engraving before the real job."
I used to trust presets and vibes. That worked until it didn’t, and then I had smoky halos on maple and barely-there lines on walnut. After realizing how much material I was wasting with mistakes, I knew I had to change how I worked. Now, I drop a small piece of the material, spend a minute running a test file, and make decisions with my eyes, not by guessing.
Surprise, surprise! Every board behaves a little differently. Maple can swing from creamy and dense to slightly softer, walnut ranges from deep chocolate to espresso with streaks of sapwood, and don't even get me started on Oak. Moisture, grain, and finish of any wood can shift day to day. So, running a quick test engraving tells me contrast, edge quality, and depth on that exact wood.
Quick story: I was engraving a clients logo on hickory and was getting great results after dialing in settings. I ran out of material with only a few pieces left to make, so I ran to a local store for “the same” hickory. Same species, similar look, but was getting totally different results. The new board engraved much lighter. My guess is that the wood I purchased was either denser or had a higher moisture content. I didn't really have a way to test. All I had to do was adjust the power up a tiny bit, but that mistake could've been avoided by re-running a quick test engraving.
What’s on the test engraving
I keep one compact SVG in my dashboard. It has thin and medium strokes, a small block of fill, and two text sizes. I place it where the main design will sit, set focus at that location, and run three speed/power pairs across two LPIs. The whole thing takes less time than taping a board.
LPI (lines per inch) settings
Cranking LPI up high sounds like it'd product a better quality engraving, until you realize it just adds heat and time. Sometimes it helps, but in many cases it isn't necessary and it only makes the engraving last longer. For my artwork, I get my best balance at 300–350 LPI on both maple and walnut. Anything higher than that isn't really visible unless you pulled out a microscope and inspected the engraving.
Quick tip: two passes can sometimes beat one
Don't be afraid to run the same pass multiple times with a lower power or higher speed setting if you aren't getting the results you want. Wood fibers swell with heat. One heavy pass can bruise edges and make fills look mushy. Two lighter passes keep edges defined and surface fuzz to a minimum. It also gives you an off‑ramp: if the first pass already looks perfect, stop there.
Reading the test engraving
- Banding in fills: adjust LPI or add a second pass.
- Haloing on maple: improve masking or reduce power slightly.
- Washed-out walnut after oil: deepen the engrave a touch or use reverse engraving for stronger contrast.
- Tiny text failing first: thicken strokes by 0.1 mm before you nuke the settings.
Finishing matters
I always judge the tile with a realistic finish. A light wipe, then a small flood of food-safe mineral oil on the test area shows the true end state. Maple darkens the engraved lines and cleans up the look. Walnut deepens overall, which can make a shallow, subtle engrave disappear.
A small library pays off
In many cases, when I am stocking up on wood for engraving, I like to buy it in bulk. This works out in my favor, because I can use an offcut to run the test engraving and then tape the test engraving to the stack of wood. Sometimes, I even scribble notes like “Maple, medium-hard, spring batch” or “Walnut, open grain; likes 2-pass fills.” When an order comes in requesting that species of wood, I can confidently review those test engravings to know what my settings should be on the Glowforge. It’s a low-tech note system that saves time and keeps results consistent.
A few honest tips
- Regularly clean lenses. Dirty optics fake you out and make you chase settings that aren’t the problem.
- Lighting matters. Step away from the laser bed and look at the test tile under normal room light. That’s how a customer will see it.