Laser Cutting Wood Settings for Glowforge, xTool & LightBurn - Beginner's Guide
LASER CUTINY
Machine Settings · Wood Guide · 9 min read
If you've ever pulled a project off the bed and found scorched edges, a cut that didn't quite go through, or a warped piece of plywood — it almost always comes back to settings. Speed, power, and passes are the three dials that decide whether your wood signs come out clean or ruined.
This guide breaks down laser cutting settings for wood on the three most common setups makers use: Glowforge, xTool, and LightBurn (the software that runs many diode and CO2 machines). Bookmark it, and treat every number here as a starting point — not gospel.
Why Your Settings Matter
Wood isn't a uniform material. Two sheets of "the same" birch plywood can cut differently depending on moisture content, glue layers, and grain density. Get your settings wrong and you'll usually see one of these:
- Charred, dark edges — power too high or speed too low
- Incomplete cuts — power too low, speed too high, or focus off
- Warping on thin plywood — too much heat built up from multiple slow passes
- Melted or gummy edges — common on resin-heavy woods like pine
None of this means you did something wrong as a beginner — it means your settings need dialing in for your machine and your material batch.
Know Your Machine's Scale First
This is the part that trips up almost every beginner, so it's worth slowing down on.
Glowforge uses its own proprietary 1–100 slider for Speed and Power, plus built-in Proofgrade material presets that auto-select settings for you. Its numbers don't convert directly to mm/s or percentages — if you're on a Glowforge, treat any numeric table (including the one below) as a relative starting reference, then lean on Proofgrade presets or the manual settings screen and adjust from there.
xTool actually covers two different machine types, and this is where a lot of confusion happens:
- xTool diode machines (D1, D1 Pro, S1) — lower wattage (10–40W), slower cutting speeds, usually need 2+ passes on wood
- xTool CO2 machines (P2, P2S) — higher wattage (40–55W), much faster single-pass cuts
LightBurn isn't a machine — it's control software that can drive diode lasers, CO2 lasers, and most non-Glowforge machines. Its settings use the same mm/s (or mm/min) speed + % power convention as xTool's own software, so anything below written for "xTool / LightBurn" applies whichever one you're running.
Quick Reference: Wood Cutting Settings
Ranges below assume clean, dry hardwood/plywood at normal humidity. Always run a small test cut on scrap before committing to your final piece.
Diode lasers (xTool D1 / D1 Pro / S1, via LightBurn)
| Material | Operation | Speed | Power | Passes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/8" (3mm) Birch Plywood | Cut | 8–12 mm/s | 100% | 2 | Air assist strongly recommended |
| 1/4" (6mm) Basswood | Cut | 5–8 mm/s | 100% | 2–3 | Slower, more passes than plywood |
| 3mm MDF | Cut | 10–14 mm/s | 90–100% | 1–2 | Produces more smoke — ventilate well |
| Any wood (engrave) | Engrave | 100–150 mm/s | 25–35% | 1 | Test on scrap — engrave darkens fast |
CO2 lasers (Glowforge, xTool P2/P2S, via LightBurn)
| Material | Operation | Speed | Power | Passes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/8" (3mm) Birch Plywood | Cut | Fast / near-max | 60–75% | 1 | Start with manufacturer material preset |
| 1/4" (6mm) Basswood | Cut | Medium-fast | 80–100% | 1 | Full power common at this thickness |
| 3mm MDF | Cut | Fast | 60–70% | 1 | Watch for excess char at high power |
| Any wood (engrave) | Engrave | Fast | 20–35% | 1 | Lower power avoids over-darkening |
⚠️ These are starting points, not fixed values. Wattage varies between individual machines, lenses age, and wood batches differ. Always test cut first.
5 Common Laser Cutting Mistakes (And How to Fix Them)
1. Skipping the test cut. A 30-second scrap test saves a ruined piece of good material almost every time. Cut a small "T" shape at your intended settings before running the full design.
2. Cutting too fast for the wattage. If your laser isn't cutting all the way through, the instinct is to slow down — that's usually right. But if edges are getting dark and charred without cutting cleanly, you may actually need to slow down and lower power slightly, or add a second pass instead of cranking power up.
3. No air assist on thin plywood. Air assist blows smoke and debris away from the cut line as it happens. Without it, soot re-deposits on the wood surface and darkens your edges even when the settings themselves are correct.
4. Ignoring wood moisture. Damp or humid wood cuts unevenly and can smoke more than expected. If you're storing sheet goods in a garage or basement, let them acclimate to room temperature for 24–48 hours before cutting.
5. Reusing settings across thicknesses. Settings dialed in for 1/8" plywood will not cleanly cut 1/4" basswood — thickness is one of the biggest variables in the whole equation, right alongside material type.
Safety Basics Before You Start
- Ventilation matters. Laser-cut wood releases smoke and fine particulates. Use an exhaust fan or air filter, especially in an enclosed room.
- Never leave your machine unattended while cutting. Even fully enclosed machines like Glowforge can flare up with resin-heavy woods like pine.
- Eye protection for open-bed machines. xTool diode machines are not fully enclosed — wear laser safety glasses rated for your machine's wavelength when the lid is open or during setup.
- Keep a fire extinguisher nearby. Rare, but wood is flammable and it's a five-second precaution.
- Clean your lens and mirrors regularly. A dirty lens loses cutting power over time, which can trick you into thinking your settings are wrong when the real issue is maintenance.
FAQ
Do Glowforge, xTool, and LightBurn settings translate directly between machines? No. Glowforge uses its own 1–100 scale with material presets; xTool and LightBurn both use mm/s (or mm/min) speed and % power. Use the tables above as a starting reference, then test cut on your specific setup.
Why are my edges coming out too dark? Usually power too high or speed too low for your wattage — try lowering power or increasing speed slightly, and make sure air assist is on if you have it.
Do I need multiple passes for every wood cut? Not always. Higher-wattage CO2 machines (Glowforge, xTool P2) often cut 1/8"–1/4" wood in a single pass. Lower-wattage diode machines usually need 2 or more passes at the same thickness.
What's the easiest wood to start with as a beginner? Basswood and birch plywood are both forgiving, cut cleanly, and are widely used in commercial SVG files — including most door signs and craft designs.
Is it normal for settings to change between two sheets of the "same" wood? Yes. Grain density, glue layers, and moisture content vary batch to batch, even from the same supplier. That's exactly why a test cut before every new sheet is worth the 30 seconds.
Ready to Put These Settings to Work?
Once your settings are dialed in, the fastest way to start cutting is with a ready-made SVG file — our door sign and bundle collections are built specifically for Glowforge, xTool, and LightBurn, with commercial use license included.