60 Minutes & A Laser!

Posted by Ryan Posted onApr 29, 2025 at 8:24 PM and filed under Reviews & Features
Updated onUpdated on Apr 29, 2025 at 3:24 PM

Three weeks ago, I couldn’t have told you the difference between a CO2 laser and a fiber laser if my life depended on it. Lasers, in general, struck me as the kind of tool better suited to a converted craft room than a proper workshop. Cute machines that lightly scratch initials into coasters and cut questionable materials with precision.

Then XTool sent me the P2S—a 55W CO2 laser with a 600x305mm bed. It showed up on my doorstep, and within an hour of the UPS truck disappearing down the street, I had it unboxed, set up, and humming. A few YouTube tutorials, some scrap Baltic birch, and suddenly I’m out here pretending I know what the hell I’m doing.

And I’m not kidding—it’s quickly become one of the most productive tools in my shop. I’ve used it for silly little boxes, custom tools, one-off prototypes, leather working, engraving experiments—you name it. Every morning I wake up with a new idea, a new possibility, a new rabbit hole to chase.

It’s stupidly easy to use. It’s fast. It’s almost silent. It doesn’t throw dust everywhere. It doesn’t stink up the shop. It just works.

From what I’ve gathered, XTool is kind of the Apple of the desktop laser world. Their units are typically more expensive per watt, their ecosystem is typically less inclusive, and they have built their own world so to speak. But, it might also be the smoothest, most idiot-proof entry into a new tool I’ve ever experienced. So much so that I’ve already started looking for a fiber laser to park next to it.

Feels like I opened a damn portal, fellas… And I’m really excited to jump into it head first.

In any case, I made a little video of a Brillo Box “art” project I just finished up. I think this might be a part 1 of 2 as the P2S can also cut screens for screen printing and I’ve always wanted to make my own repro… But who knows, the projects are stacking up.

You can learn more about the XTool P2S here. And if you do get one, I highly recommend you spring for the riser kit as well. All of it comes extremely well packed and is made like a brick shit house…

Anyway, if you have any questions… fire away. I will answer em all to the best that my newbie abilities allow.

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Ryan

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cvairwerks said:
Was wondering if the laser would etch layout lines in a piece of metal that has had Dykem sprayed or painted on. If it does, without issue and much work, it would sure make some of my work easier in the shop.
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I don't see why it wouldn't... I'll see if I have any Dykem in the shop and give it a shot.
 
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cvairwerks

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Cool...Thanks Ryan. If it works, it would really simply things for me. I could load a file to the laser and let it mark out all the parts on a particular thickness of material and save hours on layout work. I've got a few parts for a project that would take me about 4 hours of intense work to do the hand layouts if I have to go that route.
 
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cvairwerks

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PTT49er: The layout work is for cut lines, fold lines, holes, alignment marks and machining reference. Anything beyond cut, machine and drill marking is not wanted as permanent. A proper etch would be removing material at depths close to engineering limits for a good part on some material thicknesses. Any defect deeper than 10% of the material thickness is an automatic reject for the part.
 
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Citation

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I'd love to have access to a CO2 laser again. It's great for clear acrylic. At my old lab we had a 150W Kern with a steel cutting tip and standard material cutting tip. Using O2 the kerf on some sheet steel cuts was around 0.010". I suspect that machine without O2 would still mark steel but we were warned against using ours with AL. Apparently it can melt then act like a mirror and reflect the laser energy back into the optics. I'm sure it could mark something like layout paints with low power. It could also be done with contact paper or through that cling plastic that is sometimes on aluminum sheet.

For a long time I rejected the notion of a 3D printer in favor of getting a laser cutter. They are great machines and If love to have one of I had the shop space.
 
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Innovate1

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Bennylava said:
Oh some of them are far from cute. Some of the big ones would carve up 3/8 steel plate like butter
Click to expand...
It has nothing to do with size. It has to do with the type of laser and power level. We have one at work that cuts out steel parts that has a bed at least 4' x 4' - not production but for prototypes that eventually may go into high volume production using other production methods. Very cool but not the machine mentioned here.
 
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niget2002

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Citation said:
I'd love to have access to a CO2 laser again. It's great for clear acrylic. At my old lab we had a 150W Kern with a steel cutting tip and standard material cutting tip. Using O2 the kerf on some sheet steel cuts was around 0.010". I suspect that machine without O2 would still mark steel but we were warned against using ours with AL. Apparently it can melt then act like a mirror and reflect the laser energy back into the optics. I'm sure it could mark something like layout paints with low power. It could also be done with contact paper or through that cling plastic that is sometimes on aluminum sheet.

For a long time I rejected the notion of a 3D printer in favor of getting a laser cutter. They are great machines and If love to have one of I had the shop space.
Click to expand...
There's always the cheaper diode lasers. They won't cut everything and they run a bit slower, but I still find mine very useful.
 
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Citation

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niget2002 said:
There's always the cheaper diode lasers. They won't cut everything and they run a bit slower, but I still find mine very useful.
Click to expand...
I was disappointed to learn they don't cut clear acrylic. However, they are quite affordable for someone who wants it just for tinkering around the house - not that they should be used in the house without proper ventilation.
 
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Ryan

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cvairwerks said:
Was wondering if the laser would etch layout lines in a piece of metal that has had Dykem sprayed or painted on. If it does, without issue and much work, it would sure make some of my work easier in the shop.
Click to expand...

No Dykem in the shop, but I will try to get some when I have a chance.

One thing I have done is hit both spray painted aluminum and steel. It cleanly removes the paint... Text is very clean and legible and lines can be quite thin...
 
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I was asked about leather… I cut 10oz and it’s as clean as a blade. Really impressive, but I haven’t had time to do much else.

I did, however, engrave a little wallet. Looks very similar to a heat stamp.

IMG_2566.jpeg
 
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KFBR392

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Small world! I just learned how to use a CO2 cutter this afternoon to build this basic enclosure after failing miserably at trying to make one by hand out of Baltic birch ply with a circular saw and trim router. This was very fast, very painless, and opens up a lot of possibilities for this specific kind of work. My only gripe is the barrier to entry for what is essentially a one trick pony (cutting shapes out of flat things). I cannot justify several thousand dollars for it. Makes much more sense to rent time to use one locally or to use Send Cut Send.
IMG_0469.jpeg
 
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infinkc

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Time to ask xtool for a metalfab. Been debating one. We have a p2s, awesome machine.
 
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Ryan

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infinkc said:
Time to ask xtool for a metalfab. Been debating one. We have a p2s, awesome machine.
Click to expand...

I’m working on it, but it looks grim… I’m not an influencer of any kind, so it’s hard for them to justify I think.
 
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slodat

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I bought a 150 watt 36” x 55” work envelope co2 tube laser eight years ago. I is used for something almost every day in the shop. The most common thing it’s used for is layout templates in 1/8” mdf.
IMG_9642.jpeg

The second most used thing is cutting foam for custom shipping cases for my product line and custom case foam for clients.

IMG_6742.jpeg

IMG_6738.jpeg

IMG_6885.jpeg

I’ve also used it for custom perforations on leather, cutting chipboard, custom packaging, all manner of shop stuff.. It takes a while to integrate into your thought processes and workflow.

In general I don’t do manual layout anymore. I make templates for any layout.

I highly recommend getting some 1/8” mdf. It’s cheap, and makes amazing templates. I cut it into thirds - about 32” x 48” for my machine. I use a spring center punch to mark hole locations.

Fiber galvanometer lasers are great for marking metals. I use them for makers mark on my tooling.
IMG_4176.jpeg

Larger fiber lasers are great for cutting metals. I just brought a 2kw online. Complete game changer compared to the plasma I had used the last couple of years.



Happy to help with laser stuff.
 
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Ryan

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slodat said:
I bought a 150 watt 36” x 55” work envelope co2 tube laser eight years ago. I is used for something almost every day in the shop. The most common thing it’s used for is layout templates in 1/8” mdf.
IMG_9642.jpeg

The second most used thing is cutting foam for custom shipping cases for my product line and custom case foam for clients.

IMG_6742.jpeg

IMG_6738.jpeg

IMG_6885.jpeg

I’ve also used it for custom perforations on leather, cutting chipboard, custom packaging, all manner of shop stuff.. It takes a while to integrate into your thought processes and workflow.

In general I don’t do manual layout anymore. I make templates for any layout.

I highly recommend getting some 1/8” mdf. It’s cheap, and makes amazing templates. I cut it into thirds - about 32” x 48” for my machine. I use a spring center punch to mark hole locations.

Fiber galvanometer lasers are great for marking metals. I use them for makers mark on my tooling.
IMG_4176.jpeg

Larger fiber lasers are great for cutting metals. I just brought a 2kw online. Complete game changer compared to the plasma I had used the last couple of years.



Happy to help with laser stuff.
Click to expand...

Holy ****. Foam? I never thought of that. You might have just ruined me.
 
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Ryan

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slodat said:
I bought a 150 watt 36” x 55” work envelope co2 tube laser eight years ago. I is used for something almost every day in the shop. The most common thing it’s used for is layout templates in 1/8” mdf.
IMG_9642.jpeg

The second most used thing is cutting foam for custom shipping cases for my product line and custom case foam for clients.

IMG_6742.jpeg

IMG_6738.jpeg

IMG_6885.jpeg

I’ve also used it for custom perforations on leather, cutting chipboard, custom packaging, all manner of shop stuff.. It takes a while to integrate into your thought processes and workflow.

In general I don’t do manual layout anymore. I make templates for any layout.

I highly recommend getting some 1/8” mdf. It’s cheap, and makes amazing templates. I cut it into thirds - about 32” x 48” for my machine. I use a spring center punch to mark hole locations.

Fiber galvanometer lasers are great for marking metals. I use them for makers mark on my tooling.
IMG_4176.jpeg

Larger fiber lasers are great for cutting metals. I just brought a 2kw online. Complete game changer compared to the plasma I had used the last couple of years.



Happy to help with laser stuff.
Click to expand...

I just watched the video... What would a decent fiber machine that can cut 14 gauge steel run for? Ballpark. I guess bed size would be important as well... I'd think something like 3' by 2' minimum.

I can't help but think about how much easier that would make my life. No physical layouts, no cutting wheels, no dust, no grime.... Man...
 
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slodat

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Ryan said:
Holy ****. Foam? I never thought of that. You might have just ruined me.
Click to expand...
I’ve cut about five pallets 4’ x 4’ x 6’ tall of foam. It works really well. I will say I have a LOT of time dialing in the process to get the results I wanted. It works great.

Ryan said:
I just watched the video... What would a decent fiber machine that can cut 14 gauge steel run for? Ballpark. I guess bed size would be important as well... I'd think something like 3' by 2' minimum.

I can't help but think about how much easier that would make my life. No physical layouts, no cutting wheels, no dust, no grime.... Man...
Click to expand...
There’s a lot to a metal cutting fiber laser. First is power. The machine I bought is single phase. About 60a for the control and source. That’s definitely oversized, but that’s what the manufacturer called out for the supply circuit. Next is air/gas. They cut with three options in order of how “cold” they are:

Nitrogen- this is expensive because it’s high pressure. 1.6 MPa in my case. And, you’ll use a lot of it The cut quality is insane. N2 is also required for some materials. Namely stainless steels. I have one bottle and we set the machine up to be able to run on N2 should the need arise.

Compressed air- this is the most economical long term. I rarely work with plate. Almost all of my work is 10ga carbon steel or thinner. I also only work in carbon steel. For my source (2kw), compressed air leaves very little burr. So, it’s perfect for my use case. If you can get the results you want with compressed air, I feel like that’s the way to go. The compressor is a purpose built screw compressor with all the trimmings for use with a laser. It’s 1.5MPa.. about 230 psi. It is only used for the laser. The call out is for a 100a single phase circuit. These cost around $10k for the units coming out of China. This price is prior to recent tariff stuff.

Oxygen- oxygen is an accelerant. The usage is very low, because it’s low pressure. The cut quality is beautiful. The cut speed is significantly slower all things considered. The oxygen leaves an oxide layer on the edge that needs to be removed prior to powder coating. Oxygen allows you to cut much thicker plate. I can cut 1/2” plate with good edge quality and significantly better hole quality compared to air plasma. I only use oxygen for plate - thicker than 10ga.

To be clear the edge and hole quality are essentially perfect. This laser is a minimum of 2x as fast as air plasma on the same parts and materials. I’m very happy to have the machine. This machine was $62k delivered with on-site setup and the compressor.

Laser cutting, and cutting metal in general, is a messy process. I have a downdraft blower as well as a 30” exhaust fan to keep the air moving. We don’t cut for 8 hours continuously a shift. I’m not seeing problems with smoke, fumes, or dust at this point. The next level of machine is enclosed, with a 25+ hp laser dust collector. In time this machine will be replaced with something like that. The price tag is in the $200k range pre-tariff stuff.

There are a lot of importers. I’m happy with the guy I went with. I know there are 4x4 and similar designs out there that would be great in a small shop. My honest advice though is to use a laser jobs shop. When something is outside of my capability/capacity I use Cort at Laser Bros and can’t recommend them enough! They are great to work with. I’m a small business and I like supporting him.

Again, happy to answer questions and share my experience. I had never seen any of this equipment or operated it prior to purchase. There’s not a lot of info out there.
 
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slodat said:
I’ve cut about five pallets 4’ x 4’ x 6’ tall of foam. It works really well. I will say I have a LOT of time dialing in the process to get the results I wanted. It works great.


There’s a lot to a metal cutting fiber laser. First is power. The machine I bought is single phase. About 60a for the control and source. That’s definitely oversized, but that’s what the manufacturer called out for the supply circuit. Next is air/gas. They cut with three options in order of how “cold” they are:

Nitrogen- this is expensive because it’s high pressure. 1.6 MPa in my case. And, you’ll use a lot of it The cut quality is insane. N2 is also required for some materials. Namely stainless steels. I have one bottle and we set the machine up to be able to run on N2 should the need arise.

Compressed air- this is the most economical long term. I rarely work with plate. Almost all of my work is 10ga carbon steel or thinner. I also only work in carbon steel. For my source (2kw), compressed air leaves very little burr. So, it’s perfect for my use case. If you can get the results you want with compressed air, I feel like that’s the way to go. The compressor is a purpose built screw compressor with all the trimmings for use with a laser. It’s 1.5MPa.. about 230 psi. It is only used for the laser. The call out is for a 100a single phase circuit. These cost around $10k for the units coming out of China. This price is prior to recent tariff stuff.

Oxygen- oxygen is an accelerant. The usage is very low, because it’s low pressure. The cut quality is beautiful. The cut speed is significantly slower all things considered. The oxygen leaves an oxide layer on the edge that needs to be removed prior to powder coating. Oxygen allows you to cut much thicker plate. I can cut 1/2” plate with good edge quality and significantly better hole quality compared to air plasma. I only use oxygen for plate - thicker than 10ga.

To be clear the edge and hole quality are essentially perfect. This laser is a minimum of 2x as fast as air plasma on the same parts and materials. I’m very happy to have the machine. This machine was $62k delivered with on-site setup and the compressor.

Laser cutting, and cutting metal in general, is a messy process. I have a downdraft blower as well as a 30” exhaust fan to keep the air moving. We don’t cut for 8 hours continuously a shift. I’m not seeing problems with smoke, fumes, or dust at this point. The next level of machine is enclosed, with a 25+ hp laser dust collector. In time this machine will be replaced with something like that. The price tag is in the $200k range pre-tariff stuff.

There are a lot of importers. I’m happy with the guy I went with. I know there are 4x4 and similar designs out there that would be great in a small shop. My honest advice though is to use a laser jobs shop. When something is outside of my capability/capacity I use Cort at Laser Bros and can’t recommend them enough! They are great to work with. I’m a small business and I like supporting him.

Again, happy to answer questions and share my experience. I had never seen any of this equipment or operated it prior to purchase. There’s not a lot of info out there.
Click to expand...

Man... $62k is a ton of coin, but I can totally see the value in it if you do a ton of sheet metal and/or plate cutting for a living. I can't imagine having that kind of power for my stupid little projects. So much fun...
 
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RonnieC

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Thanks for the post- I’ve been looking at the xTool f1 for marking woodworking with my brand name. At the Florida Woodworking Symposium I saw Phil Irons had his pieces engraved with laser and they were just perfect. So much better than marking by hand or using a heated branding iron.
 
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slodat

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Ryan said:
I engraved the top of the S/MC. I wanted it to be subtle, so I did low power at a pretty fast speed. Ended up about 1/32” deep.

IMG_2573.jpeg
Click to expand...
A hot trick is to do a 1-2mm border around that text (offset in your drawing software) and do it with more power/less speed to get a dark accent. If that's your thing.
 
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Ryan

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slodat said:
A hot trick is to do a 1-2mm border around that text (offset in your drawing software) and do it with more power/less speed to get a dark accent. If that's your thing.
Click to expand...

Yep... I've done some of that. I guess you can also soak the wood in baking soda, let it dry, then engrave... to get a black engraving...
 
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For my uses I like that it can engrave fine script writing in amazing resolution. I don’t have any plans of doing cutting or engraving in other materials so I think the F1 might work fine for me. I would agree with the analogy of xTool being like Apple.
 
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So… my laser came with a rotary attachment, but I’ve been too chicken to touch it. Looked overly complicated—too many moving parts, too much potential for frustration, too much everything... But today, I finally had a reason to give it a shot. The coil on my hot rod was due for a little makeover, and I figured I’d get a little cute with it.

To my surprise, the rotary was stupid simple to use. You just drop it in the machine, set your part on it, and let the software handle the rest. No measuring, no calculating circumference, no ritual sacrifices—just click and go. Kind of blew my mind.

coil.jpg
 
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The one thing I wish Glowforge would have included. I think their vision was very short sighted in that regard.
 
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Milton Shaw

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Ryan said:
No Dykem in the shop, but I will try to get some when I have a chance.

One thing I have done is hit both spray painted aluminum and steel. It cleanly removes the paint... Text is very clean and legible and lines can be quite thin...
Click to expand...
Just use a Sharpie to coat the areas you need layout lines on. Probably have several in shop already.
 
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cvairwerks

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Milton Shaw said:
Just use a Sharpie to coat the areas you need layout lines on. Probably have several in shop already.
Click to expand...
Milton: I'm the one that asked Ryan to try it. Trying to cover a 2'x4' piece of 4130 sheet with a Sharpie is an exercise in frustration and prohibitively expensive. Using Sharpie Magnums, it would take 12 of them at 6$ each to cover that piece of steel. Conversely, 4 ounces of Dykem is 12$ and will cover a couple of 4'x8' sheets.
 
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Innovate1 said:
It has nothing to do with size. It has to do with the type of laser and power level. We have one at work that cuts out steel parts that has a bed at least 4' x 4' - not production but for prototypes that eventually may go into high volume production using other production methods. Very cool but not the machine mentioned here.
Click to expand...

I was referring to the "size" of the power level. I thought everyone would know that already since most people here would have seen burning pen lasers on youtube by now
 
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