Laser Engraving Wooden Whisky Barrels

Materials Needed

• Wooden whisky barrel - we purchased ours through Thousand Oaks Barrel Company.
• An Epilog Laser System

Keep these helpful tips in mind when performing this project:

• Makes sure to check the dimensions of your barrel to ensure it will fit in your machine. The Helix has a z-stroke of 11 inches, and the barrel is 6.5 inches tall so we did not run into any issues while engraving.
• The barrel arrives with the spout unattached. We accounted for the spout in our design, but if you choose a different pattern, make sure it won't conflict with the placement of the spout.

We used a 50-watt Helix with the following settings: 70% speed, 100% power, 600 dpi.

Begin by moving your table down enough to accommodate the barrel.

Because this is an irregularly-shaped item, we'll use the center-center engraving feature. To do this, place the barrel anywhere on the table, disable your X/Y axis and move the laser head to the area you want to engrave. Press the "Set Home" button, and this will be your new home position.

If you want to ensure the pattern engraves in your desired location, draw a vector circle around the design and send ONLY that job to the laser with the lid open. Run it with the red dot pointer on and you'll see exactly where the engraving will end up.

When you're satisfied with the look and placement of the design, send the job to the laser and that's all there is to it! Remember to insert the spout after you've engraved the barrel.