Ok folks, I need some help here. I had previously purchased some 8x12 Maple wood veneer and did some test engraving and cuts and everything was fine. Recently I went back to the same vendor and ordered larger pieces (12x24) which I would then cut down to the required 8x12 for the laser cutter. However, for some reason, the wood is different. They’re telling me there may have been a vendor switch which explains the difference. The bad news is, I can not cut through it. It’s the same thickness, same settings as the original test pieces I had, but with this new batch of wood, it barely gets to half way deep into the wood. Literally nothing has changed. I even put a previous piece back and tried cutting that and it worked without a problem. It’s the new batch of veneer that I got, it simply won’t cut through.
So at this point I’m looking for suggestions so I could still work with this wood because I need to get the job out the door. Cranking up the power results in the wood just burning up and charring. So what do I do? Run multiple cut passes? Slower passes?
It’s 0.105 in thick (just under 3mm) and it’s supposed to be Maple, however it looks different than what I had received before, it feels different, it has a shiny surface, all are characteristics that are different from what I had ordered before, even though on both orders, the wood was labeled ‘Maple Wood Veneer’ … The only explanation that their customer service had for me was that ‘there may have been a vendor change for the wood’ … gee, thanks.
I did not check moisture because I don’t have the means to do that. And I do have air assist on the machine. I’m about to try doing a multi-pass test cut, see if I can get through the thing.
It’s likely been treated or coated differently than your previous piece. Not much you can do except multi-pass cut it. Turning the power up will more than likely just burn the wood more and widen the cut kerf. You can try slowing it down a little but multiple passes will prob give the better results.
Likely as Marc G points out, they might have treated it differently. Also you can pick up a cheap moisture meter at Harbor Freight to test how much water is in the wood (just a handy tool to have) as I have better luck cutting dryer wood than wet wood. For grins and giggles, maybe try two things (1) attempt to dry it out and see what happens and (2) sand a piece and try it. Agin your milage might vary as I am only rambling aloud…