On this episode of The Atlanta Maker we save some time by using combination WhiteBoard/Blackboard from Home Depot.
If you make items with your Glowforge that need to be painted black or white, you can save yourself some time and use some of these project panels from Home Depot.
They are 3/16” thick and come in 4’x2’ panels with a black chalkboard on one side and a white marker board on the other with an MDF core.
If you are lucky enough to have a willing Home Depot and you are there when it’s not too busy, they may be able to cut it down into glowforge sized sheets for you.
I chose to have them cut down into four 12 x 18 inch sheets and two 12×12 inch sheets per project panel.
I had them stack several panels together so they could cut multiple panels in a single pass, and that made quick work of the 5 sheets I bought. If you cut the horizontal cut first, you can cut a set of boards with just 3 cuts.
That means for right around $25 I got this stack of glowforge sized material which contained 20 12×18 inch sheets and 10 12×12 inch sheets.
Some have had success cutting this material without masking and just using a baby wipe to wipe off the scorch marks, but I generally still mask at least the presentation side just to make cleanup easier.
These work great for items such as these Customizable Name Rounds or even holiday items like this Christmas Candle display. I also use this material in an upcoming project video where I make a dry erase board to keep track of various things around the house.
As with any new material, you’ll want to run a quick test circle or square to check these settings, but here is what I found that worked well for me on my Glowforge Plus 40W machine.
Cutting: Speed 135, Full Power
Brown Engraving: Speed 1000, Power 60, LPI 270
Black Engraving: Speed 1000, Power 80, LPI 270
Well, that’s it for today. Let me know in the comments what you would use this material to make with your Glowforge. And if you enjoyed this video please give it a like and consider subscribing.
See you next time!
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