3 Must Have Tools You Can Make on your Glowforge | Glowforge Projects

On this episode of The Atlanta Maker we look at 3 “must have” tools that you can make with your glowforge.

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Since I’ve gotten my glowforge I’ve been making a lot of items and I find myself constantly using these three tools over and over again. All of these can be made using the medium draftboard that ships with your glowforge, so they are great early on projects for those that have just received their machines. Links to all of the files are in the description of the video.

The first must have tool are the draftboard risers by GrooveStranger on the Glowforge community forums. I have seen a bunch of 3D printed risers, but why not use your glowforge to make these instead as it’s much quicker. They are essential for doing any odd shaped or thicker than ½” items.

The file has three different sized risers, with one of them being essentially the same height as the honeycomb tray. I have yet to use this one, so maybe just cut the two smaller ones for now. I’ve used them in several of the projects you’ve seen on this channel including the Glass Plate and Father’s Day hammer.

I used the draftboard that was used to calibrate the camera to make these as you can tell by the glowforge logos on the risers.

There are other ways to bring your items within range of the laser such as stacking other materials below your item, but these just seem super easy and they nest for simple storage when not in use.

Number Two of the must have tools you can make on your glowforge is the Focus Height Ruler from eflyguy also on the Glowforge Community Forums.

This tool also is a must have for those who are doing non-sheet items such as hammers, plates, cutting boards, etc. It’s a shortcut tool for determining what material thickness to enter when using uncertified materials.

I show how to use this ruler in the Dollar Tree Glass Plate Engraving video which I’ve linked down below.

It’s as simple as finding the best fit, reading the number off the ruler, and entering that value as the material thickness.

It’s quite small so it can be made from scrap material and works with any material type or thickness for the most part.

The final item in our Three Must Have Tools that can be made with your glowforge are the Honeycomb Tray Pins by eljefe4 on the Glowforge Community Forums.

These work great for holding down items to the honeycomb tray to make sure they don’t blow away from the fans. It’s especially good for cardboard, paper, EVA foam, or even leatherette patches where you can see them in action in our previous video.

These are quite small and also work great for scrap medium draftboard you may have laying around. They can wear out or break over time, so you’ll find yourself making a few more every now and then, but they are a necessity for some materials.

There are some additional variations that others have offered up in the post, so if you find the original ones don’t work well for you, try one of the variations further down in the post.

Well, that does it for the 3 must have tools you can make on your glowforge. Let me know what other glowforge tools you can’t live without in the comments below.

As always, if this video was helpful to you, please smash the like button, comment on the video, and consider subscribing to our channel.

See you next time!

Link to the material thickness tool by eflyguy I used in this video: https://community.glowforge.com/t/presenting-the-focus-height-ruler-colonial-edition/63414

Link to the risers I used in this video: https://community.glowforge.com/t/material-risers-in-medium-draftboard/18997

Link to the honeycomb pins by eljefe4 I used in this video:
https://community.glowforge.com/t/honeycomb-bed-holdown-pins/18652

Timecodes
0:00 Intro
0:15 Overview
0:33 Material Risers
1:24 Focus Height Ruler
2:05 Honeycomb Holddown Pins
2:51 Conclusion

#glowforge
#lasercutting
#laserengraving

Видео 3 Must Have Tools You Can Make on your Glowforge | Glowforge Projects канала The Atlanta Maker