What is the best material for a laser jig?

MDF or plywood that is flat and stable. Avoid thin cardboard for permanent jigs because it burns easily.

How do I align a jig with my software?

Set a user origin at the corner of the jig pocket, or keep the jig at a fixed position and use absolute coordinates. Always frame the job first.

How much clearance should the pocket have?

About 0.2 to 0.5 mm for hard blanks, adjusted by testing. Blanks vary, so test with several.

Can I use a camera instead of a jig?

Yes, if your software and hardware support it, but a jig is faster and more reliable for identical blanks.

Do I need a jig for cutting ornaments from a sheet?

Usually no, because the sheet is the blank. A jig helps when you start with pre-cut items to engrave.

How to Make a Laser Jig for Repeatable Cuts and Engraving

Picture batch number thirty. Your fingers are tired, the playlist has looped twice, and the engraving on the last three coasters sits a few millimetres to the left. The customer will not notice, but you will. A laser jig is the quiet fix: a simple board that makes every blank land in exactly the same place, so the thirty-first coaster looks like the first.

A jig is also the secret behind many craft fair bestsellers. When you can load a blank, press start and unload in under a minute, personalised gifts become a real business instead of a hobby.

What is a laser jig?

A laser jig is a fixture that holds the workpiece in a known position on the laser bed. It can be as basic as two scrap strips forming a corner, or a sheet of MDF or plywood with a pocket cut exactly to the shape of your blank. The idea is simple: the machine knows where the jig is, and the jig knows where the blank is.

Jig type	How it works	Best for	Weakness
Corner stop	Two strips glued at a right angle	Squares and rectangles: coasters, tags, cutting boards	Round parts can drift
Pocket jig	A cut-out that matches the blank's outline	Any shape, many identical blanks	Needs a good first measurement
Pin jig	Dowel pins or small pegs	Odd shapes, double-sided engraving	Pins can snag
Clamp jig	Stops with a clamp or magnet	Thicker or heavier items	Take care near the beam path
Camera alignment	Software camera overlay	Items that vary in position	Needs setup and a camera

Materials for the jig

Use a stable board of MDF, plywood or acrylic, thicker than the blank if you want the blank to sit inside it. Avoid loose cardboard as a permanent jig; cardboard burns easily, and a jig is something the beam may graze. Keep the jig flat on the bed, ideally on a honeycomb or on a thin sacrificial sheet.

Step-by-step: build a pocket jig

Measure a real blank. Use calipers on length, width and any rounded corners. See what is kerf because the pocket will be cut with a beam that removes a little material.
Draw the pocket. Make it 0.2 to 0.5 mm larger than the blank so it drops in without force. For soft wood you can make it snugger. Test one first.
Cut the jig. Use cut layer settings for your board material. Cut the outer shape as well, so the jig has the same footprint every time.
Mark the origin. Use the corner of the pocket as the job origin. In LightBurn you can set the start position to a user origin or the current position; other software has similar controls.
Place the jig on the bed and fix it. Use tape or pins to stop it from moving, and mark its position on the bed.
Load a blank and frame the job. Frame without firing to confirm the design sits where it should.
Engrave, remove, repeat.

Pro tip: Cut a small notch or finger relief on one side of the pocket so you can lift the blank out easily.

Origin and alignment tips

Setting	What it does	When to use it
Absolute coordinates	Positions the job on the machine's fixed grid	When the jig always sits in the same spot
User origin	Sets your own zero point	When you move the jig sometimes
Current position	Starts at the head's current location	Quick setups, less repeatable
Frame	Traces the job outline without firing	Always before the first piece

Learn the names in your own software; they differ between programs. If you are new, LightBurn for beginners explains the essentials.

Using a jig for production

Imagine you are making 40 name coasters for a wedding, with the names changing and the border the same. Build a jig for your coaster size, cut one test with a spare blank, then queue the jobs. Every blank goes in the same place, so you only change the name layer. If the engraving is a fixed design, you can even run the engraving first and cut the shape later, using the jig to hold the sheet.

For cut parts like our reindeer ornament (90 x 124 mm), a jig is less useful, because you will cut the shape from a sheet. A pocket jig shines when you start with pre-cut blanks, such as coasters, wooden tags or keychain blanks. For layout tricks that waste less plywood, read reduce plywood waste in laser cutting.

Double-sided engraving

A jig can also help you flip a blank and engrave the other side accurately. Cut a pocket symmetrical around the centreline, and engrave a tiny mark on each side of the jig as alignment guides. The blank sits in the pocket in both orientations, and the second side lines up with the first.

Common mistake: Making the pocket exactly the blank's size. Blanks vary by a fraction of a millimetre, so a no-clearance pocket either jams or rattles. Add a small clearance and test with three blanks from different batches.

Common problems and fixes

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
Engraving drifts	Jig moves on the bed	Tape, pins or clamps; mark the bed
First piece fine, later ones off	Blanks vary in size	Make the pocket slightly looser; add a corner stop
Pocket edges burn	Air assist or long dwell	Adjust speed and power; clean the jig
Jig warps	Thin or damp board	Use thicker, dry stock; store flat
Software origin shifts	Wrong start-from setting	Check origin mode before each session

A jig for odd shapes

Not every blank is a rectangle. For a heart, a star or an irregular keychain, trace the blank on paper, scan or photograph it, import the outline into your software, and offset it outward by your clearance. That outline becomes the pocket. If the blank is thick, cut the pocket in a board thicker than half the blank so it cannot tip. For a free practice shape, try the zebra stripe heart, cutting a blank first and then a pocket from its outline.

Blank shape	Easiest jig	Tip
Square or rectangle	Corner stop	Add a second stop on the other axis
Circle	Pocket with a notch	Notch lets you lift it out
Heart or star	Pocket from an offset outline	Test the offset on scrap
Tumbler or cylinder	Special rotary hardware	A flat jig will not work
Very small pieces	Pocket plate with many pockets	Engrave a whole tray in one run

Safety and care

A jig is part of the fire hazard if it is made from burnable material and left under the beam. Do not run jobs where the beam crosses the jig edge. Keep the jig clean of resin and dust, and replace it if it chars. See laser cutter safety.

Next step

Choose the one blank you cut most often, measure ten of them, and cut a pocket jig for the average plus 0.3 mm of clearance. Mark its position on your bed with a pencil. Your next batch will go twice as fast.