Layered topographic art is the project that made stacked map cutting famous: a mountain rendered as elevation contours, each contour cut from a separate thin sheet and glued up so the terrain rises off the wall in real, runnable-with-a-finger relief. This guide walks through designing one for free and cutting it cleanly.

The free Topography preset on MyLaserTools is the starting point - up to sixteen contour layers stepping through elevation. Prefer a flat engraved poster instead of a glued stack? The Topo Score Lines preset ships that way ready to go.

What You’ll Need

Item Notes
Thin sheet stock 1.5-2 mm laser ply, chipboard, or matboard so the stack doesn’t get too tall
Backplate sheet Dark stain or paint (charcoal in the preset)
Laser cutter CO2 or diode; a maker space works if you don’t own one
Glue or transfer tape Plus weights and patience

Canadian tip: Baltic birch ply and basswood are easy to find at Lee Valley, Windsor Plywood, or local hardwood suppliers. Many Canadian libraries and maker spaces (like the Edmonton Public Library or Vancouver Hack Space) have laser cutters you can book.

Step 1: Frame a Mountain and Match the Elevation Band

Open the Topography preset. It loads near Banff, a valley-to-summit window. Search your mountain and keep the zoom around 11.5-12.5 so the contour rings nest into satisfying terraces.

Critical: the preset’s elevation bands run 1400-2900 m. If your terrain sits lower or higher (the Rockies foothills vs. the Coast Mountains), retune the per-layer elevations or most layers come out empty. Check the on-screen preview - if big areas show no terracing, your band doesn’t bracket your terrain yet.

Step 2: Tune the Contour Layers

Layer Group What It Does
Topography (16 bands) Each renders terrain above its elevation as a plate. Delete empty layers; 8-10 well-chosen layers often look better than all 16
Water Mountain lakes and rivers sit in the valley floors
Backplate The lowest ground, the base of the stack

Step 3: Export for the Laser

  • Layered stack: per-layer SVG ZIP - one file per sheet. Hide empty elevation layers first.
  • Small-polygon cleanup is essential here: high elevations produce tiny islands that can’t be glued.
  • Flat version: set the layers to Score and export the combined SVG for a single engraved sheet.

Step 4: Cut, Label, and Glue

  1. Label everything. Write the elevation on the back of each sheet as it comes off the laser - this one habit saves the whole project.
  2. Cut the backplate, then water, then contours bottom-up: lowest elevation to summit.
  3. Dry-fit the whole stack before any glue. Nested rings only fit one way; check against the on-screen preview.
  4. Glue one layer at a time, aligning each ring to your reference. Transfer tape (3M 300LSE) skips drying time entirely.
  5. Finish with a light matte clear coat, or paint the top few layers white for snowcaps.

Make It Yours

  • Great Canadian subjects: Banff, Whistler, Mont-Tremblant, Gros Morne, your local ski hill.
  • Hypsometric palette: greens low, tans mid, white above the snow line.
  • Ski-run gift: add a route layer tracing a favourite descent over the contours.
  • Cut every layer from clear acrylic for a ghost mountain you can see through.

For the full step-by-step from the tool itself, see the MyLaserTools topography guide. Going underwater instead? Try our laser-cut bathymetric lake map guide.

All MyLaserTools exports are free for commercial use - layered topo art sells well at markets and makes a standout custom gift.