The Cut & Etch Blog
This is where I write up the real workshop — what it's actually like to run a laser for a small craft side-line. The first acrylic cut that failed. The watt-inflation lesson that cost me a sheet and a craft order. Setting up exhaust in a garage, diode versus CO2 for a craft line, and a year of craft runs. Honest first-hand experience, never spec rehash.
Dialling In Your First Project: How I Find Material Settings
There are no universal settings. Here's the repeatable method I use to dial in speed, power and passes for any new material on my first project.
Setting Up Fume Extraction in a Garage Workshop
How I went from a cracked window to proper fume extraction ducted outside in a converted garage — and the cheap mistakes I made on the way.
LightBurn Basics: What Clicked for Me in the First Week
LightBurn looks intimidating on day one. Here are the few concepts that made it click for me — layers, speed/power, line vs fill, and framing.
Engraving Wood, Acrylic, Metal and Leather: The Realities
Wood, acrylic, metal, leather — each behaves completely differently under a laser. Here's the honest reality of engraving each from my own bench.
Laser Safety Glasses and the Fire Watch: The Two Rules I Never Break
Two safety rules I never break: glasses rated for my machine's exact wavelength, and never leaving the laser running unattended. Here's why, factually.
Air Assist and Ventilation Aren't Optional — I Learned the Hard Way
Bad ventilation ruins more first projects — and more lungs — than bad optics do. Here's why air assist and extraction aren't optional, and how I set mine up.
What a 20W and 40W Diode Really Cuts (Optical, Not Box-Watts)
Forget the box number. Here's what each optical diode tier — 5W, 10W, 20W, 40W — actually cuts and engraves in real material.
Diode vs CO2: What Each Laser Actually Cuts
I run both a diode and a CO2 in my garage. Here's the plain-English material divide between them — and why the wavelength decides it.
Optical vs Input Wattage: The Box Number That Fooled Me
The big watt number on the box is usually the power the machine draws, not the power the beam delivers. Here's how to tell them apart.
The Underpowered First Laser That Nearly Made Me Quit
I bought my first laser on a huge 'watt' number on the box, tried to cut clear acrylic, and watched it fail. Here's what that weekend actually taught me.