Getting Started with the Glowforge

Disclosure: I may include my affiliate links, which means that I get a small commission while you are not charged any extra. Thanks for supporting The Fable Tree by purchasing with my links!

This post is for anyone considering purchasing a Glowforge, which is the machine I use to bring my designs to life.

First, I want to let you know that I have a 5 week file design course that walks you through learning to design your own files for the Glowforge without the overwhelm! Find out more here.

Using your Glowforge can seem intimidating at first, and there’s a lot you should know before you buy one.

I mentor and tutor people who own Glowforges, so I decided to put this post together so all my resources are in one spot.

What is a Glowforge?

First things first: what is a Glowforge? They brand themselves as a 3D laser printer, but that’s confusing and not actually accurate—the Glowforge is a laser cutter/engraver. It doesn’t 3D print.

You can cut and engrave many materials, but most of us use wood and acrylic and occasionally leather. The Glowforge cuts up to 1/4” thick materials without too much trouble, and up to 1/2” if you want to work hard enough for it (I do not).

Tell me about software.

You have a couple options when it comes to designing for the Glowforge.
1) You can make your own designs using Adobe Illustrator (this is what I use and have tutorials for), Inkscape (free!), or Silhouette Business Edition.

2) You can purchase designs from other people (I sell designs and many others do as well!).

Don’t be intimidated by design!

I have video tutorials to help you learn skills and techniques by actually creating projects. Tutorials are all based on student requests, and the techniques transfer so you can make just about anything you want after you’ve gone through them.

What’s the difference between the models?

So here’s the deal: the Glowforge comes in three levels (and price points): the Basic, the Plus, and the Pro.

The Basic is what I have. It takes about a month to ship and has a 6 month warranty. It has about a 12”x20” cutting space, so you can do any project that fits within those dimensions. Full disclosure: I made my money back in about 2 months, though you may have different results.

The Plus is not worth discussing, but let’s do it anyway. For almost $2,000 extra, you get a 12 month warranty and it ships in a few days, but it is essentially THE SAME MACHINE as the Basic. It used to have a slightly more powerful laser, but not anymore! For most people, the Plus is not worth the extra cost.

The Pro is a little faster and more powerful than the Basic, ships quickly, and has the 12 month warranty, and ALSO has the Pass Through Slot—this means that instead of a 12”x20” cut space, you can cut 20”x infinitely long pieces. This is great for those large gorgeous cutout name signs! But it also comes with a much higher cost.

Considering that there are hacks you can use to make larger projects with a Basic, the Pro wasn’t worth it for me—but if you plan on doing lots of large projects, then get it! Save yourself the splitting design/glueing/wood filling/sanding/painting struggle.

What other supplies do I need?

The Glowforge comes with a small stock of what are called Proofgrade materials—these are guaranteed by Glowforge to cut perfectly. They’re lovely to get started, but most of us do not use them regularly because they are expensive and often sold out.

I use Smokey Hill Designs for gorgeous, high quality wood and Cerulean Tides for amazing acrylic (including mirrored—ugh, so beautiful). Both companies have sample packs so you can figure out what you like to work with.

You’ll also want a couple of things to make life easier (all linked): masking to protect your material from char, a plastic razor to scrape the masking off tiny intricate pieces afterward, a digital caliper if you’ll want to measure your materials thickness (I just use the Set Focus feature instead), and wood glue and acrylic glue if you want to attach pieces. If you plan to make lots of signs with lettering, invest in 3M backing (or here) so you aren’t wasting your life gluing 1 million tiny pieces. Attach it before you cut, then peel off the backing and plop it in place. Consider getting some denatured alcohol from Home Depot or Lowe’s to rub off any char that escapes your masking.

If you are making large name signs, consider clamps and Gorilla wood glue so you can glue multiple layers together.

Do you have any pro tips I should know?

Of course I do!

1) Use a credit card to rub your masking onto your wood really well. I use an old gift card that has zero balance so it can just live by my Glowforge.

2) Check the specific wood or acrylic page for cut and engrave settings, and then experiment if you want different results. It’s always a good idea to cut a small test shape on any new material (full disclosure: I don’t do this).

3) Use some 1/8” acrylic to cut about a million honeycomb pins to hold your wood down flat to the crumb tray for best cutting results.

4) Use honeycomb pins and Set Focus every time you cut.

5) Clean your lenses if your cuts start turning out strangely.

6) Join the Glowforge User Group on Facebook—it’s so helpful, and there are so many tips, tricks, and tutorials there.

7) Install an inline fan if you want to cut down the noise and smell from the Glowforge (and trust me, you do). The Glowforge FB group from tip 6 has so many excellent tutorials on getting set up.

8) Don’t forget to enroll in File Makers Academy so you can start designing your own files ASAP!

Let me know if you have any questions! I’m here to help.