Bamboo is the material of cutting boards, coasters and gift objects: very dense, pale, and giving a warm brown engraving contrast that people love. It needs a little more power than ordinary wood.
Settings: what really matters
Bamboo is denser than most woods: expect 20 to 30 % more power than plywood of the same thickness for equivalent contrast.
Almost every shop-bought bamboo object is varnished or oiled. That film completely changes how the laser reacts: you often need less power than expected, and engraving can look grey and dirty. Lightly sanding the area first solves it.
Bamboo boards are glued from strips: cutting crosses glue joints that stall the cut and cause flare-ups. In practice, bamboo is engraved far more than it is cut.
Risks and finishing
Ordinary wood fumes, plus the glue between strips: extraction required. Bamboo is dense and ignites less easily than balsa or cork, but a slow cut still needs watching.
On a cutting board intended for food use, apply only a food-safe oil (mineral or fractionated coconut) after cleaning: it revives engraving contrast and protects the wood.
Soot comes off easily with an eraser or a soft brush and a little soapy water, as long as the wood has not been oiled yet.
Every figure on LaserSettings comes with the machine, the laser source, the material and the thickness it was tested on. A setting published for a 10 W diode says nothing about a 40 W CO2, and a setting for 3 mm says nothing about 6 mm: check those four things before you copy any number.
Settings are confirmed or disputed by the members who reproduce them, so reliability comes from cross-checking rather than popularity. Photos of the result — cut edges, engraving shades, scorching — tell you more than a single number found on a forum.
Whatever the material, treat a published setting as a starting point: run a small power/speed test grid on an offcut, clean the lens, redo the focus, work with fume extraction and air assist, wear glasses rated for your wavelength and never leave the machine unattended.