Laser Engraving a Bamboo Recipe Box

Bamboo is quickly becoming a desirable material for many projects as it is a sustainable wood that is eco-friendly.

Here we engrave two bamboo recipe boxes - perfect for all the would-be culinary gurus out there. Featuring two different designs, these boxes are a great way to keep important recipes organized and easy-to-find. Read on to see how we did it!

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Materials Needed

Bamboo recipe boxes. We purchased ours from Bed, Bath and Beyond.
Level
An Epilog Laser System

We used a 50-watt Helix with the following settings: 40% speed, 100% power, 600 dpi.

Place the box at any position in the engraver with the top side facing up.
Reset the home position to the upper left hand corner of the recipe box.
Draw a vector line around the design and, with the lid open, run only the vector job with the Red Dot Pointer turned on. This will give you a visual reference as to where your design will end up.
Manually focus the machine and run the job.

Now it's time to engrave the front of the box. Place the box in the engraver with the front facing up. Reset the home position to the top left corner of the engraving area.

Because the top of the box slopes downward, you will need to place an item beneath it to make the surface flat. We used a tape measure approximately 1/2-inch thick. Use a level to make sure the front of the box is the same height.

Open your the file for your selected box front and change the name accordingly. Draw a vector line around the artwork and run with the lid open. This will ensure your design engraves exactly where you'd like it to.

When you're satisfied with the placement, run the job.