Bathymetry is the underwater half of a map - the shape of a lake bed, drawn as depth contours the same way a topographic map draws elevation. Cut on a laser, those contours become the layered depth chart you see in cottages and lake houses: a shore plate on top, a ramp of teal bands stepping down through the water column, and a deep navy floor at the very bottom. It’s one of the most giftable projects you can make.

This guide uses the free Lake Depth Chart preset on MyLaserTools. For oceans and coastlines, see our ocean floor relief map guide instead.

What You’ll Need

Item Notes
6 sheets of 3 mm laser ply Shore plate + 5 depth bands
1 backplate sheet Stained or painted deep navy
Or 5 shades of blue acrylic Let the colour read the depth - no painting
Glue / transfer tape, weights 300LSE for wood, 467/468 for acrylic

Canadian lakes shine here: Lake Louise, Okanagan, Muskoka lakes, Lake Winnipeg bays, and the Great Lakes all have charted depth data.

Step 1: Pick a Lake With Real Depth Data

Open the Lake Depth Chart preset. It loads on Lake Tahoe with the whole lake in a square frame. Search your water body and zoom so the entire shoreline fits with a margin (zoom 9-10 for big lakes, 11-13 for small ones).

When you add the depth layer you can choose Simplified (a modelled approximation, available almost everywhere) or Advanced (real charted surveys for major lakes). Deep lakes carve best. If the preview shows a flat lake with no rings, there’s no usable data there - pick a better-surveyed basin.

Step 2: Understand the Three Layer Groups

Group Role Colour
Shore plate The land around the lake, water cut out Pale #DDF3F1
Lake depth (5 bands) Each a plate with deeper water removed, so the bed steps down Teal ramp, shallow to deep
Backplate The deepest point Deep navy

Step 3: Export for the Laser

  • Export the per-layer SVG ZIP - one file per plate, in order.
  • Keep the inversion / holes toggle ON so bands export as stepped plates, not solid water shapes.
  • Turn on small-polygon cleanup (depth contours throw slivers along steep shores).
  • Add a hanger hole if it’ll hang from a hook.

Step 4: Cut and Assemble the Stack

  1. Cut the backplate from your darkest material first.
  2. Cut the five depth plates, deepest (smallest hole) to shallowest. Pencil the band number on the back of each - they nest and are easy to mix up.
  3. Cut the shore plate last from your cleanest sheet; it’s the face everyone sees.
  4. Dry-fit bottom-up: backplate -> band 5 -> 4 -> 3 -> 2 -> 1 -> shore plate.
  5. Glue bottom-up, weight flat, then sand the outer edges flush so it reads as a solid carved block.
  6. Engrave the lake name, max depth, and elevation into the shore plate before assembly for a pro finish.

Make It Yours

  • Swap the teal ramp for navy-to-ice blues for a colder northern-lake feel.
  • Stain the shore plate walnut and leave the bands natural birch for the classic cottage contrast.
  • Add a heart icon over the family beach, cabin, or marina.
  • Pour clear epoxy over the assembled basin for a glassy, bar-top finish.
  • Ornament version: switch to a 100 mm circle export shape with a hanger ring.

For the tool’s own walkthrough, see the MyLaserTools bathymetry guide. Want mountains and water in one piece? The Land and Sea Relief preset combines both.

Free for commercial use - personalized lake depth charts are a top seller for cottage-country markets.