Hello everyone, I am wondering if anyone has any advice on cutting veneers with a laser cutter? I can handle the software very easily (I use coreldraw). My problem is keeping the veneer perfectly flat and not letting it fly away with my blower taking a suction on the machine. Anyone have any good advice? The two techniques I’ve used thus far are as follows: 1.) Take a thin sheet of aluminum. Roughen up one surface for the pieces to be glued on. Apply hide glue to the veneer and press it to the aluminum plate. Cut the veneers and then heat the plate to pry the veneers off. It’s a bit messy with the glue, but its sooo easy to ruin the pieces when you pry them off the glue on the aluminum plate. Clean up is easy on the plate but not on the pieces. 2.) Use double sided tape to hold the veneer down. Cut the pieces and remove them from the tape by using nail polish remover to soften things up before prying them off. The pieces clean up easily, but it makes a mess with whatever the tape was sticking to. Can anyone provide some good advice? It would really help.
I think company is still in business, it’s called Multi Mat. It’s a sticky mat that you can vector on just enough to cut your material and keeps your veneer stuck to the mat. I have two and they are great! I have even cut paper with the mats. Good Luck.
How long does the Multi-Mat hold up burning into it with the laser? I have not tried it because I assumed it wouldn’t hold up and they’re not exactly cheap.
I’d try a can of repositionable spray mount and a sheet of metal. Spray the metal with the spray mount, then press the wood onto the metal. “in theory” the wood should pull off the metal. Then all you need to do is find a solvent to clean off the metal.
So, where do you get this “repositionable spray mount”?
Art stores and craft stores, home depot or a drug store might even have it.
What I do when I have lightweight things I want to cut, or thin materials that don’t like to sit flat… I have a sheet of 1.5mm aluminum the same size of the laser bed, I’ve coated one side of the aluminum with spray on adhesive, the type used for craft which is low tack or temporary adhesion. I press the troublesome item to the glued surface and laser away. Because the glue is low tack the item comes away clean and easily afterwards. I just apply more glue to the aluminum when it starts to lose is grip.