Engraved Coaster on the xTool P2

What you'll make

A personalised engraved wooden coaster using the xTool P2 laser cutter. Good first project for getting comfortable with the xTool software, material settings, and safe operation.

What you'll need

• 4mm birch plywood or a blank wooden coaster (available in the materials bin)
• A design — text, a simple logo, or a pattern
• xTool Creative Space software (installed on the laser cutter PC)

Step 1 — Prepare your design

You can design directly in xTool Creative Space or import an SVG from Inkscape or Illustrator.

For a simple text coaster:
1. Open xTool Creative Space
2. Use the Text tool — pick a font, type your text
3. Resize to fit within a 90mm × 90mm area (standard coaster size)
4. If adding a border, draw a circle or rounded rectangle as a separate layer

Step 2 — Set up the machine

1. Check the laser bed is clear and the honeycomb tray is in place
2. Place your material on the bed and use the camera preview to position your design over it
3. Set the processing mode for each layer:
4. Text/design: Engrave — 60% power, 300mm/s speed (for 4mm birch)
5. Outer cut line (if cutting to shape): Cut — 100% power, 8mm/s speed

Always do a framing pass first (the laser traces the outline without firing) to confirm your design fits the material.

Step 3 — Engrave

Put on your laser safety glasses, close the lid, and press start. A typical coaster takes 5–10 minutes to engrave.

Step 4 — Finish

Lightly sand the engraved surface with 240-grit sandpaper to remove any charring. A coat of Danish oil or beeswax finish brings out the wood grain beautifully.

Tips

• Darker woods like walnut give more contrast than light birch
• If your engraving looks patchy, slow down the speed by 20%
• Always check the extraction fan is running before starting — the laser produces fumes

Safety reminder

The xTool P2 requires a Laser Cutter induction before unsupervised use. Ask a member of staff if you haven't been inducted yet.