First and foremost, the Glowforge is amazing. You should buy a Glowforge.
What are the Top Glowforge Supplies to buy to get started?
- Masking material –
I use Vinyl Ease 12″ x 100 ft Roll Paper Transfer Tape for Cricut, Silhouette Cameo, Oracal Self Adhesive Vinyl for Decals, Signs, Walls and More with great success. https://amzn.to/2RwhiHH People will say it does not stick well… which is true if you don’t apply it well. Ironically, I use the edge of a roll of blue painter’s tape to press this 12″ mask on to make sure it sticks very well to the wood. It’s easier to apply that way too … instead of rubbing hard on the paper with your hand.
If you do use blue painter’s tape, make sure the pieces do not overlap nor have a gap between them… otherwise you’ll get a scorch mark that can be removed with 90% rubbing alcohol or a baby wipe. - GOOD duct tape
- Metal tape measure to affix to your crumb tray
- Material hold down pins (or make your own)
- Rubbing alcohol – to remove scorch marks on wood or clean up metal – get the 90% isopropyl alcohol
- https://community.glowforge.com/t/tools-supplies-to-accompany-the-glowforge/3276/3
- Calipers. You’ll want to measure the material thickness — but with the new auto-focus feature this is less important now.
Glowforge Crafting Materials
Some people like to paint or stain items before cutting with the Glowforge. Other crafters like to add color afterwards…and have laser-cut masking help with super clean lines. Here are some materials that others have used with success – and they can be lasered
Glowforge-able Materials and Gifts
Proofgrade is great but they don’t sell everything. Slate coasters, cutting boards, keychains, dog tags, and many other materials can be engraved, cut, and/or etched with the Glowforge. Here are several we’ve had success with.
Buying Non-Proofgrade Materials for Glowforge
First and foremost, to be very clear, we LOVE using Proofgrade materials. They work perfectly. They’re extremely consistent. They are very high quality. They will save you time. They’re guaranteed to work with the Glowforge.
However…… proofgrade is expensive and has to be shipped to you. So we present a list of places online and in real life where you can get materials.
Where to Buy Wood/Materials for the Glowforge Online
- Glowforge is the exclusive seller of Proofgrade wood and materials. It is amazing.
- Amazon (of course)
- Woodpeckers has some great products like
- 3 mm 1/8″x 12″x 24″Premium Baltic Birch Plywood
- Johnson Plastic (JPPlus.com)
- (you’ll need a commercial business license to get an account)
- Inventables.com is a great source for material, including both laser-friendly acrylic & wood.
Where to Buy Wood/Materials for the Glowforge In Real Life
Menards
Home Depot
Lowe’s
Some users report not having a good selection of laser-ready, thin materials. You can buy MDF and plywood there, but there are better options elsewhere. Am I wrong? Let me know.
Why buy a Glowforge?
- The Official Glowforge User Community is incredibly helpful and friendly.
- Save up to $500 when you use this Glowforge Referral Discount Code
Own a Glowforge and wonder ‘where is my Glowforge Referral Code’?
Short answer: Login to the site and go here: https://glowforge.com/referrals
Long Answer: Login at https://accounts.glowforge.com/users/sign_in, then click on your name in the upper right corner, then click on settings, then click your name again and click ‘referrals’.