Small laser engravers are perfect for little projects like jewelry making or scrapbooking. They’re also great for creating custom keychains, magnets, and more!
There are lots of laser cutters on the market. But, once you start looking at them you’ll have plenty of questions like “Do all laser engravers work on metal?”, “ Will it work with different materials?”, “ What kind of laser engraver do I need?” and “What the heck else can I make with this thing?”
In this post, I give you 10 ideas for laser engraving projects and the engraver to use to make them.
No time to read the whole post? Here are my top 3 picks.
1. Keychains made with a Glowforge Plus – Made in the United States
2. Party tumblers with xTool RA2 Pro for the xTool D1 Pro – Ships in 1-3 days
3. Jewelry pendants with a Laser Pecker 2 – Available with Amazon Prime
I get commissions for purchases made through some of the links in this post. There is no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.
10 ideas for laser engraving projects
1. Monogram Charm Pendants
Have you seen monogram pendants like the one below? They are simple, elegant, and easy to make with a Laser Pecker 2.
If you’ve ever wanted to make your own jewelry pieces, you’ll love using this small but high-powered laser beam on this cutter. It’s not the best choice for deep engraving but it’s able to mark metals.
The ease of use and quick assembly, allows you to get started faster. And the protective cover will make sure that you’re working safely.
Set up in seconds and start making your charms.
2. Create Custom Tumblers
If you’ve got a creative streak, you can make your own tumbler cups with a xTool RA2 Pro for D1 Pro laser engraver. It’s not as hard as you might think.
All you need to do is fasten the tumbler attachment to the D1 laser engraver, load your design to the software, and place the blank stainless steel tumbler into position.
3. Make Unique Keychains
If you’ve ever wanted to make your own keychain, then you’ll love these DIY engraving kits. This kit comes with everything you need to make a unique keychain, including a laser cutter, cutting mat, and instructions.
Although the Cricut Maker is not a laser engraver (it uses an engraving tip) but you can still get the diy laser marking effect.
4. Craft Magnets For Businesses
There’s no better way to promote your business than by giving away free gifts. And what better gift to give out than something that people will see every day?
Customized magnets are an excellent choice because they’re inexpensive, easy to customize, and highly visible.
Use the Glowforge Plus with a laser tube power of 40W. The Plus offers upgraded components and a top engraving speed that’s up to twice as fast as the Glowforge Basic
5. Christmas Tree Decorations
You know those colorful ball ornaments that we decorate the Christmas tree with? Well, you can engrave your family name and the year on one to remember this special holiday.
It’ll be perfect for your baby’s first Christmas.
The xTool RA2 Pro has a sphere attachment that’s made exactly for projects like this.
6. Add Personalized Touches To Birthday Gifts
Laser cutters are great tools for personalizing gifts. Whether you’re giving a gift for an upcoming birthday, anniversary, or holiday, you can add some extra flair by adding a name, favorite song, or line from a poem to the design with the Ortur laser master 3.
The Ortur laser is a high-power laser engraver for metal and wood. It comes with an air assist nozzle, which allows the laser to blow away the smoke and debris that accumulates while you work. This helps to keep your work area and the metal surface clean.
7. Baseball bats
If you’ve ever worked in an office then you’ve probably been part of the company baseball or softball team.
It’s a great team-building game and you can expand your activity by approaching local small businesses to engrave bats for their teams. They’ll be happy to help a fellow small business instead of going the mass production route.
The laser module on the xTool RA2 is adjustable so you’ll have plenty of room to engrave a bat on it.
8. Engraved dog tags
If you’re a beginner then start with a DIY laser engraving kit. Kits come with a variety of materials, both metal, and non-metal materials, that are ready to be engraved. You’ll find some that have dog tags, plywood, metal business Cards, wooden cubes, and hang tags.
9. Tablet stand
A brushed aluminum tablet stand is sleek and has a smooth surface that’s ready to be engraved. How about putting your favorite motivational quote on it with the laserpecker l 2.
It’s a portable laser engraver but it doesn’t produce high heat.
At present, the maximum laser power of this model is only 5W, because a higher output may cause the laser etching to catch fire.
Can the LP2 Laser Engraver engrave metal?
LP2 can engrave various materials such as Lacquered Metal, Anodised Aluminium, and 304 Stainless Steel (non-reflective).
Different metals such as pure gold, pure silver, pure copper are difficult to engrave due to wavelength. If you want to engrave pure metal, you’re better off upgrading to the LP3.
The compresed spot cnc of the LaserPecker L2 engraving machine is about 0.05mm. This small laser focal point and double lens focus allow you to create more details with your artwork.
Cleaning a Laser Engraver
There are a few simple ways to clean a laser engraver. First, you can wipe it down with a damp cloth or try these two other methods.
10. Engagement Rings
Couples getting engaged are looking for something to help remember this special event. Getting engagement rings engraved with an inscription inside is a perfect way to do this. Use the ring rotary of the xTool RA to hold and engrave the rings.
Which one of these 10 laser cutting ideas do you like best? Out of the different types of laser engraving machines which one will you use for your DIY craft projects?
