This page describes a laser engraving setting published for Teck at 5 mm, tested on a Glowforge Spark fitted with a Diode 6W source (445 nm blue diode, 6 W). It states the exact machine, source, material, thickness and operation of the test; power, speed and number of passes are shown with a Premium pass.
Why those four facts matter: a engraving setting that works on Teck at 5 mm does not transfer to another thickness, nor to another source. A 445 nm blue diode rated 6 W does not deposit the same energy as a stronger module, and the speed has to be adjusted accordingly. Copying a number without checking those four points is the first cause of a ruined part.
Published by LaserSettings (estimation). No other workshop has confirmed it yet: treat it as a starting point, and confirm it from your account if you reproduce it.
No photo comes with this setting yet. If you reproduce it, publish yours from your account: a picture of the result is worth more than a line of numbers.
Recommended routine before running the part: clean the lens, redo the focus, engrave a small test grid on an offcut of the same Teck, then adjust the speed rather than the power. Work with fume extraction and air assist, wear glasses rated for 445 nm blue diode, and never leave the machine unattended.
Glowforge is an enclosed CO2 machine driven from a browser, with a framing camera and automatic material recognition. Its software often expresses power and speed in its own units: before reusing a setting from elsewhere, check the conversion, otherwise the numbers do not mean the same thing.
Teak is the oiliest exotic wood in the workshop: it holds a natural oil that makes it rot-proof, and that completely changes how it behaves under a laser. Engraving looks superb and very contrasted, but the oil smokes, fouls the lens and demands serious extraction.
Teak's oil absorbs the beam very well: engraving marks at low power. Around 40 to 50% at 2,400 mm/min with a 20 W diode already gives a deep brown. Pushing the power does not darken it further — it digs in and releases a black resin that is hard to clean.
For cutting, teak resists: dense and oily, it wants a low speed (about 150 mm/min at full power with a 20 W diode on 3 mm) and two passes from 5 mm. With a 40 W CO2 or above, one slow pass gives a cleaner edge than two fast ones.
Air assist is essential here, not optional: without it the oily smoke settles straight onto the surface and the edge turns sticky and black.
Clean the lens more often than usual. On a teak run, a check every 30 to 40 minutes avoids losing power gradually without understanding why.
Teak is mostly worked in 3, 5, 8 and 10 mm: deck strips, trivets, serving boards, handles. Beyond 8 mm, leave cutting to a CO2; a diode spends an unreasonable amount of machine time there.
Classic pitfall: reclaimed teak. A deck strip or garden furniture has often been treated (commercial teak oil, saturator, sometimes varnish). Those products smoke differently and can release irritants: only laser wood whose treatment you know.
Second pitfall: the glue lines in laminated teak panels, harder than the wood, which stall a cut for a few millimetres. Keep a power margin or plan a knife finish.
Colour varies a lot from board to board, from honey to dark brown. A setting validated on one board gives a different contrast on the next: run a fresh test square with every new batch.