You know that feeling. You’ve spent twenty minutes getting the perfect file set up, the focus is dialed, the air assist is humming. You hit start, the beam fires, and then you see it — the corner of your plywood lifting off the honeycomb like it’s trying to escape. The cut line goes wavy, the engraving on that edge comes out blurry, and suddenly you’re holding a $15 piece of scrap that was supposed to be a gift for your mom.
I’ve been there more times than I want to admit. I’ve used tape (which burns), magnets (which don’t work on non-magnetic material), and heavy steel bars (which block the beam and ruin cuts). All of them are workarounds, not solutions. So when I saw these Thunder Laser Nova pins, I was skeptical as hell. Pins? For holding down material? That sounded like something that would either scratch my bed or fail under the first bit of heat.
Turns out, I was wrong. Annoyingly, pleasantly wrong.
What the Hell Are These Things Anyway?See Today’s Deal on Amazon
The listing calls them ‘for Thunder Laser Nova Pins, 4 Styles (8 Pcs) for Honeycomb Bed, Secure Hold-Down for Warped Material, Compatible with Nova 24 35 51 63 Models.’ That’s a mouthful but it’s accurate. You get eight pins total, split across four different styles. Each style does something slightly different, which I’ll get into.
The whole concept is simple: instead of trying to clamp down or tape over your material, you push these pins into the honeycomb cells. They sit flush with the top of the bed. Then you place your material on top. The pins grip the underside of the material and hold it flat against the honeycomb surface. No tape residue, no metal blocking the beam, no fancy vacuum systems that cost more than the laser itself.
I’ve got a Nova 24, so these were made for my machine. The listing says they work with the 35, 51, and 63 too. The honeycomb cell spacing is the same across those models, so I believe it. If you’ve got a different brand, you might be out of luck unless the cell size matches. Check your bed before you order.
The Four Styles, Broken Down Like a Human
Here’s where it gets interesting. The four styles aren’t just cosmetic variations. Each one solves a different problem you’ll run into when cutting or engraving.
Style One: The Standard Pins. These are your bread-and-butter. They’re basically small cylinders that push into the honeycomb cells. The top is slightly textured or shaped to grip the material without scratching the underside. These work great for flat material that just needs a little extra push down. I use these the most, honestly. When I’m cutting 3mm birch plywood and the sheet is mostly flat but has that one stubborn corner that wants to curl, these pins fix it instantly.
Style Two: The Low-Profile Pins. These sit even closer to the bed surface. The top is nearly flat. You’d use these when you’re engraving something thin — like 1.5mm basswood or even cardstock — and you need the material to sit as close to the honeycomb as possible. If you’ve ever tried to engrave thin material that has a slight warp, you know the pain. The beam hits the high spots and you get inconsistent depth. These pins solve that by forcing the whole sheet down flat.
Style Three: The Spring-Loaded Pins. This is the one that made me raise an eyebrow. There’s a little give in the mechanism. When you press the material down, the pin compresses slightly and then pushes back up, creating constant pressure. This is for material that’s actively trying to lift during the cut. You know, that stuff. The cheap plywood from the big box store that’s already curling before you even put it in the machine. I ran a batch of this garbage plywood through last week, and the difference was night and day. Without the pins, I had blowouts on the corners. With them, clean cuts edge to edge.
Style Four: The Extra-Grip Pins. These have a more aggressive texture on top. More bite. They’re for materials that like to shift — thin acrylic sheets, slippery plastic, that kind of thing. I tested these with 2mm acrylic and they held it in place better than double-sided tape. And no cleanup afterward. That alone is worth the price.
Real World Testing: What I Actually Did
I didn’t just unbox these and write a review after one pass. I ran them through two weeks of actual production work. Here’s what happened.
Test One: Warped Plywood. I had a sheet of 5mm plywood that had been sitting in my garage too long. The corners were lifting a good 3-4mm off the bed. This is the exact scenario the listing mentions. I pushed standard pins into the corners and a couple along the edges. The sheet went flat. Completely flat. I ran a cut job with intricate details, and every single piece came out clean. No waviness, no depth variation. The pins held the material down through the entire cut.
Test Two: Thin Material Engraving. I had a stack of 1.5mm basswood sheets that were slightly bowed from humidity. Low-profile pins in the corners and one in the middle. Engraved a detailed design, and the depth was consistent across the whole piece. That used to be impossible without clamping the edges, which would interfere with the design if it got too close to the border.
Test Three: The Nightmare Material. That cheap plywood I mentioned. It’s from a big box store, it’s got voids, it’s got inconsistent glue, and it warps the moment you look at it. This is the material that makes you question your life choices. I used the spring-loaded pins on this. The constant pressure kept the material flat even as the laser was cutting through sections and releasing internal tension. The cuts were passable — the material is still junk, no pin can fix that — but the warping issue was completely gone.
Test Four: Acrylic. The extra-grip pins held 2mm acrylic flat and steady. No sliding, no lifting. The cut edges were cleaner because the material didn’t shift mid-cut. This is a big deal if you’ve ever watched a piece of acrylic move a fraction of a millimeter halfway through a cut and ruin the whole job.
The Nitty Gritty: What It’s Like to Actually Use These
Installation is stupid simple. Push the pin into a honeycomb cell. That’s it. They fit snugly enough that they won’t fall out when you lift the bed, but they’re not so tight that you need tools to remove them. I just press down with my thumb and they pop in and out.
One thing I noticed right away — the pins are short enough that they don’t interfere with the beam path. The laser head passes right over them without any issues. The gap between the material and the honeycomb stays minimal, which is critical for engraving. If the material sits too high, you lose focus depth and the engraving gets soft.
Cleaning is also a non-issue. After a cut, there’s some soot on the tops of the pins, but it wipes right off. The material residue is minimal because the pins only touch the underside where the beam doesn’t hit.
Where the Pins Don’t Work
Let me be honest with you because that’s the point of this whole thing. These pins are not a miracle solution.
Thick material is still a problem. If you’re cutting 18mm or thicker wood, the pins don’t have enough reach to apply meaningful pressure. The material’s own weight and stiffness will overpower the pins. For thick stock, you still need heavy clamps or a vacuum system.
Material with severe cupping — like a 12mm board that’s been warped for months — won’t be saved by these. The pins work best on material that’s slightly warped or wants to lift during cutting. If your sheet looks like a potato chip, you need to flatten it first or buy better material.
Small pieces are hard to pin down. If you’re cutting pieces smaller than the pin spacing, you can’t get a pin under the middle of the piece. You’re limited to pinning the edges of the sheet before cutting. Once the pieces separate, they’re free. But honestly, small pieces rarely warp enough to be a problem, so this hasn’t bitten me yet.
They’re not for every bed. I mentioned this already, but it’s worth repeating. These are made for Thunder Laser honeycomb beds. If you’ve got a different machine, measure your honeycomb cells before you order. The pin diameter needs to match the cell size. I’ve seen people try to force these into tighter cells and they just tear the honeycomb. Don’t do that.
How These Stack Up Against My Old Methods
I’ve used every hold-down method in the book. Here’s the honest comparison.
Painter’s tape. Works but leaves residue, burns at high power, and is terrible for large sheets. The pins beat tape in every category except the fact that tape works on any flat surface. But tape also doesn’t hold warped material flat — it just holds it down at whatever angle it’s already at.
Double-sided tape. This is the one that actually competes. It holds material flat, it’s reliable, and it’s cheap. But it leaves a nasty residue on the underside of your material, it’s a pain to remove, and you go through rolls of the stuff. The pins are reusable, so after the initial $20, they cost nothing. Double-sided tape is an ongoing expense.
Magnets. Only work with magnetic materials or if you’ve glued steel plates to your bed. And magnets block the beam if they’re too close to the cut line. The pins don’t block anything.
Heavy steel bars. They work but they’re a pain in the ass. You’re constantly repositioning them, they interfere with the beam path, and they add weight to the bed. The pins are lighter, smaller, and easier to reposition. Also, the bars can’t grip the material — they just push down from gravity. A slight vibration or a piece of material that’s actively curling can still lift under a bar.
The Durability QuestionSee Today’s Deal on Amazon
I’ve been using these for a couple of weeks now, and they show no signs of wear. The spring-loaded ones still have plenty of tension. The texture on the extra-grip pins hasn’t worn down. The metal bodies haven’t bent or deformed.
That said, they’re not indestructible. If you hit a pin with the laser head during a job, you’ll probably bend it. I’ve learned to double-check that all pins are below the beam path before starting a run. The pins are also easy to lose — they’re small. I’ve already dropped two on the floor and spent way too long hunting for them. Buy a magnetic tray or keep them in a dedicated container. Trust me.
The price is $19.80. For eight pins in four styles, that’s under $2.50 per pin. If you lose a couple, it’s not the end of the world. If you buy a second set, you’ll have plenty for large sheets.
A Word About the Manufacturer
Thunder Laser isn’t a brand I’ve used much before, but these pins feel well-made. The machining is clean, no sharp edges, no burrs. The springs are consistent across all the pins. They’re not flimsy Chinese knockoffs. These feel like they’ll last.
That said, there’s no rating on the listing yet, even though there are 100+ reviews. That’s a little weird. Maybe Amazon’s review system is being weird, or maybe the listing is new. Either way, I’m telling you from personal experience that these work. Take that for what it’s worth.
While I was testing these, I had a flashback to the xTool M2 10W Laser Engraver I reviewed a while back. That machine had a similar honeycomb bed problem — no good hold-down solution out of the box. If I’d had these pins back then, I would have saved myself a lot of frustration with warped basswood. These pins would work on that bed too, assuming the cell size matches.
If you’re looking for a budget machine and wondering about hold-down options, these pins work with any honeycomb bed that uses the standard cell spacing. I’ve also seen people use them with the ACMER S1 Laser Engraver I checked out earlier this year. The cell size on that one is slightly different, so measure before you buy, but the concept transfers.
Who Should Buy These
If you’re cutting or engraving thin to medium material (1.5mm to 8mm or so) on a Thunder Laser Nova 24, 35, 51, or 63, and you’ve ever had a piece lift or warp mid-job — buy these. They’ll save you more money in wasted material in the first week than the $19.80 they cost.
If you’re doing mostly engraving on flat, thin material that sits perfectly on the bed, you might not need them. But even then, the low-profile pins are handy for keeping material from shifting during long engraving runs.
If you have a different laser brand, check your honeycomb cell size first. If it matches, these will work. If not, you’ll need to find pins designed for your specific bed.
The bottom line is that these pins are a cheap, reusable solution to a problem that has annoyed me for years. They’re not flashy, they’re not high-tech, and they’re not going to make your laser cut better on its own. But they fix the most common cause of bad cuts and bad engravings — material that won’t stay flat.
If you pick one up through the links here, I might get a small cut — doesn’t cost you extra and it helps keep the lights on.See Today’s Deal on Amazon
I’ve stopped reaching for tape entirely. I’ve stopped using magnets. I’ve stopped stacking weights on my material. I just push a few pins into the honeycomb and hit start. It’s boring and reliable, which is exactly what I want from a $20 accessory. No drama, no residue, no ruined pieces.
The pins are in the honeycomb bed right now. I’ve got a batch of 4mm cedar to cut for a project, and I know the corners aren’t going to lift because the pins are already holding them down. That’s all I need.