Tips for Choosing the Right Wood for Laser Engraving
When done correctly, wooden residential signage can easily uplift the look of a home's front yard. As a DIY enthusiast, this is a business opportunity you should not overlook, particularly if you recently moved into one a new suburb. However, you need a laser-engraving machine to produce quality residential signage for your clients. The good news is that there is a variety of small and compact laser engraving machines that you can buy for a reasonable price. That said, it is one thing to purchase quality laser engraver and another to choose the right wood for laser engraving. Here is a helpful guide on factors to consider when selecting timber for laser engraving.
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Most laser engraving beginners think that the machine solely determines the quality of a wood engraving. While this is somewhat true, the machine's operation only partially contributes to the quality of any wood engraving project. The type of wood you choose for your signage project determines the overall aesthetic of signage. For instance, a client might want the engraved part of their residential sign to be darker than the non-engraved sign. For such a project, you need wood with a higher resin or sap content because it tends to turn darker. If you choose wood with low sap content, you will end up with a lighter burn; therefore, you might be forced to redo a project, thereby wasting time and money.
Wood Streaking
When you look at different wood pieces closely, you will notice areas that have different colouration from the rest of the piece. These are mineral streaks, and they are caused by mineral content in the wood. Whereas some carpenters cut around mineral streaks in their projects, others prefer to keep them since the marks add character to the final product. However, if you are planning to engrave wood signage with a laser, then it is best to avoid mineral streaks as much as possible. The reason is that streaking robs the engraving of vital details, thereby defeating the purpose of the signage. Wood, with minimal or no streaking, gives you room to determine where to engrave the characters.
Wood Colour
Woods have varying colour tones. Some are dark, while others are light. For instance, while mahogany is lighter than walnut, it is darker than maple. It is critical to make this distinction when choosing wood for laser engraving because you want the details of the signage to stand out. Although mahogany has a dark rich colour, it is the wrong type of wood for residential wood signage since the details will not be visible from far. You might choose to increase heat intensity on a laser machine, but you risk burning the edges of characters. Lighter woods such as maple work great because they produce a much better contrast with laser engraving.
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