40+ Woods and Boards, from Basswood Ply to Oiled MDF

Twenty-five MDF entries in colours and faux-walnut finish, basswood and birch plywood, walnut, oak, bamboo, rubberwood, plus wax-oil and paraffin-oil coated stock — each with a recorded recipe rather than a single number.

The coated entries matter more than they look. An oiled or varnished surface changes how the beam couples in, so a value recorded on raw basswood will scorch a wax-oiled board.

Browse tested wood

A lighthouse-shaped desk pen holder cut from plywood by an Atomm maker, with nautical detailing

Diode or CO2? The Community Ran Both on the Same Woods

Twenty-five community wood records: birch plywood, MDF at 3mm and 6mm, bamboo, rubberwood, painted pencils, veneer.

Sixteen were run on blue-light diodes and nine on CO2 — wood is the one family where both routes genuinely work, so the records let you compare what each actually produced on the same stock.

See this test grid

A maker's speed-and-power test grid engraved into 1.5mm basswood plywood on an xTool S1

Solid, Plywood, MDF or Coated — Each Cuts Differently

Four behaviours, not four price points. This is the split that decides your settings.

Plywood

Flat, cheap, cuts at 3mm on almost any machine. Void-free laser grade cuts predictably; construction ply hides glue pockets.

Solid hardwood

Walnut, oak, maple and cherry engrave beautifully with strong contrast. Past a few millimetres you are fighting grain density and resin.

MDF — Wood Materials for xTool Laser Machines

MDF

No grain to fight, so cuts are uniform — but noticeably more smoke and a heavier lens residue. Binder varies by supplier.

Bamboo and coated stock

Bamboo is dense and silica-rich, engraving unusually sharp. Oiled and varnished boards need their own recorded values.

Which xTool Machine Is Best for Wood?

Wood is the one family where diode and CO2 both genuinely work.

xTool S1

Enclosed diode, 20W or 40W. The most-used machine in our wood records: birch plywood, bamboo and rubberwood all at 220-325 mm/s.

xTool P2S

55W desktop CO2. Large flat sheets in one pass, and it handles painted and coated stock a diode struggles with.

xTool P3

80W flagship CO2. Thicker stock: one maker cut 6mm MDF at 14 mm/s and 95% power in a single pass.

xTool M2

Diode plus infrared and inkjet modules. Engrave and print on the same wooden part without moving it.

Wood Settings Tested by Real Makers

The machine each job was run on, and the numbers that produced the result.

3/16"(4.5mm) Birch Plywood

S1 (Blue light 40W) · Engrave Pass 1 · 300 mm/s · 50%

1/8"(3mm) MDF

M2 (Blue light 10W) · Engrave Pass 2 · 200 mm/s · 40%

Bamboo

S1 (Blue light 40W) · Engrave Pass 1 · 220 mm/s · 50%

1/4"(6mm) MDF

P3 (CO2 80W) · Cut Pass 1 · 14 mm/s · 95%

Rubberwood

S1 (Blue light 40W) · Engrave Pass 1 · 325 mm/s · 45%

yellow painted wood pencil

P2S (CO2 55W) · Engrave Pass 1 · 160 mm/s · 12%

Why Start From a Tested Setting

Plywood grade decides whether the cut finishes

A glue void stops the beam mid-pass and leaves a bridge you have to snap. Laser-grade void-free ply is the whole reason tested settings transfer.

Coated wood is a different material

Wax oil, paraffin oil and varnish all change how the beam couples in. The tested set records these separately for a reason.

MDF smoke is a lens problem, not just a smell

It leaves a heavier residue than plywood. Extraction and a lens wipe schedule matter more on MDF than on any other wood.

Grain telegraphs through a light engrave

On walnut and oak the figure competes with fine detail. A recorded value for that species is the fastest way to find the balance.

Explore the Materials Lab

Nine laser material families from the Atomm Materials Lab

All laser materials

Wood, acrylic, leather, metal, glass, stone and the rest — thirteen families with tested settings.

Nine acrylic finishes — dark red, glitter, mirror blue, cyan, cream, yellow, green glitter and gloss black

Acrylic and plastic

Thirty-one acrylic entries — frosted, mirror, glitter and two-tone — and why clear will not cut on a diode.

Packaging and display

Gift boxes, floating frames, jewelry displays and kraft bags — the part a customer sees before the work.

Nine laserable leather and PU items — a brown hide swatch, blue patch, bookmark, money clip wallet, watch box, MagSafe wallet, notebooks and a mouse pad

Leather and laserable PU

Top grain cowhide, crazy horse and two-tone PU. Low power and high speed is the rule.

Wood Engraving Guides & Ideas

Picking a grade, keeping scorch off the face, and which boards suit cutting rather than engraving.

Best Wood for Laser Cutting: Complete Guide for DIY Crafters

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50 Free Wooden Coaster Ideas

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44 Free Wood Sign & Engraving Ideas

44 free wood sign and engraving designs from the Atomm community: welcome signs, funny quote signs, animal engravings, and relief techniques to copy today.

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Explore 34 free wood ornament ideas celebrating natural grain, walnut, and rustic wood-slice designs you can laser cut and engrave at home. Preview them now.

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FAQs

What is the best wood for laser cutting?

Basswood and birch plywood at 3mm, for four reasons: they are flat, cheap, cut on every machine type, and take a legible engrave without masking. Walnut and cherry give darker engrave contrast but cut far more slowly.

Wood Materials for xTool Laser Machines