Obtaining precise and reliable test results requires specific tools on one hand, and at the same time, reliability of the results should not be questioned. One of the necessary steps to achieve this goal is the calibration of the measuring device before the test. This article describes an experiment involving calibration of the device by an independent method called cutting beam calibration carried out on the ultrasonic material tester UMT 01. The standard calibration of this device is carried out by using a dedicated metal disc as a template. Calibration of the tester consisted of determining the time delay of the measured signal. The obtained results were used to prepare charts and to determine of signal time delay, called correction, which also allowed determining the velocity of ultrasonic wave in the tested material in three ways. The experiment was conducted on samples of three species of wood: Norway spruce, Scots pine and sycamore. The velocity of ultrasonic wave from research was compared with literature data.