On the cutter
How do I get this into LightBurn and glue it up?
The files are ordinary SVGs at real-world size, so any software that drives a laser will open them. These notes use LightBurn because most people reading this have it, but nothing here is specific to it.
Importing
- 1Open one sheet at a time
File, then Import, and choose the numbered SVG. Import one sheet per job — a sheet is a piece of wood.
- 2Check the size
The width should match the canvas width you set. If it does not, your software has scaled it on import; find that setting and turn it off rather than resizing by hand, or the sheets will stop matching each other.
- 3Set everything to cut
Every line in the file is meant to be cut through. There are no engrave layers and nothing decorative.
- 4Cut a test first
On a new material, cut the smallest sheet before committing a full board. It tells you whether your speed and power go cleanly through and whether the fine detail survives.
Gluing up
- Dry fit first. Stack all the sheets without glue and look into it. This is when you find out whether the depth reads the way you wanted.
- Line up the outer edges. They are identical on every sheet, so if the edges match, everything inside matches.
- Use glue sparingly. Squeeze-out into an opening is very hard to clean once it has set. A thin coat away from the edges of holes is plenty.
- Clamp flat. Thin ply cups as glue dries. Two flat boards and some weight are enough.
Finishing
Laser-cut edges are dark and slightly sooty. Wipe them with a barely damp cloth before glue-up if you want cleaner faces, and expect the char to show against pale wood — many people leave it, because it emphasises the steps.
Oil or wax after assembly rather than before. Finish on the mating faces stops glue sticking.
Questions
What laser do I need? Will my diode laser do it?
Any laser cutter whose software opens an SVG will take the files - LightBurn, xTool Creative Space, the Glowforge app and most others. The studio does not know or care which machine you have: it makes files at real-world size and leaves the cutting to you. What decides whether a piece works on your machine is whether it cuts cleanly through the sheet you use. A lower-powered diode laser usually needs slower speeds or more passes on the same plywood than a CO2 laser does, and a slower cut chars fine detail more. Cut a small test piece from one sheet first and set your speed and passes from that, and if delicate parts burn away, see the question below about fine details.
Does it work with a Glowforge or an xTool?
Yes. The files are ordinary SVGs at real size, and both open them, as does any laser software that takes SVG. Import each sheet at 100%: if the sheets come in at different sizes, the software scaled them on the way in, which is the next question. The Finished size presets include 279 mm, the width of a Glowforge bed, so a piece made at that size fits it.
The sheets do not line up when stacked.
Almost always an import scaling problem: one sheet came in at a different size. Check the width of each against the canvas width you set.
Fine details are burning away.
Too much power or too slow. Failing that, the detail is genuinely too fine for the material — raise the minimums in Build quality and rebuild.
Can I paint between layers?
Yes, and it looks striking. Paint each sheet before glue-up, and keep paint off the faces you are gluing.
Still stuck? Write to hello@mandalalayers.com — a person reads it, and a photograph of what came off your cutter helps more than a description.