Hardwood Bookmarks

I added a laser cutter and engraver to my woodworking shop last year. I’ve used it on quite a few projects and the latest is making hardwood bookmarks. They’re fairly easy and fun to create and make nice gifts for the readers in your life.

I use tight, straight grained, quarter- or rift-sawn hardwood. White oak, ash, and walnut are my favorites. The bookmarks are 2mm thick (a little over 5/64”). I like this thickness. Thick enough so that the bookmark isn’t too fragile but still fits snuggly between the pages of the book. For width and length, the bookmarks are 2” x 7”.

My bookmark designs include a cutout silhouette. I select simple elements that are visually interesting and recognizable in silhouette.

The bookmarks start as rough lumber and the jointer, bandsaw, and drum sander are used to mill the rough boards to bookmark stock. The bookmarks are designed in Adobe Illustrator and created with an xTool S1 40W laser using xTool Creative Space (XCS) software. Once the bookmark is cut out, it’s given a final hand sanding with 220 grit sandpaper. I like to finish my bookmarks with a few coats of satin wipe-on polyurethane.

I offer these hardwood bookmarks for sale in my shop. Please take a look and see if there’s something you like!