Basswood is the favourite wood of model makers and beginner engravers: soft, light, without pronounced grain and inexpensive. It cuts fast and engraves cleanly, which makes it the best wood to learn on.
Settings: what really matters
Basswood needs little power: 30% at 3,200 mm/min with a 20 W diode already gives a legible engraving. Too strong a setting digs into the surface instead of darkening it, a very visible flaw on a soft wood.
For cutting, one pass is enough up to 4 mm with a 20 W diode, and up to 6 mm with a 40 W CO2. Do not slow down too much: heat builds up and burns widely around the line.
Common thicknesses and pitfalls
Common thicknesses: 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 mm, often as modelling sheets. Those sheets are frequently warped: hold them down before engraving, otherwise focus varies from edge to edge.
Pitfall: its softness makes basswood sensitive to mechanical marks. A clamp, a badly placed magnet or tape pulled off too fast leaves a permanent imprint.
Risks and finishing
Soft and light, basswood ignites easily, especially on a slow cut or a second pass. Air assist, extraction and constant supervision: after balsa, it is the wood that catches fire fastest.
For finishing, it soaks up a lot: two coats of primer before painting, or wax for a raw look. Sanding to 240 grit before engraving clearly improves line sharpness.
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.