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This article describes the method of surface hardening tool steels (X210Cr12 and 42CrMo4) by means of a high-power diode laser (HPDL) from the ROFIN-SINAR Laser GmbH company. The first part of the article presents and describes the results of studies on the effect of diode laser beam heat (on a single hardening line) on the structure and hardness of the studied materials. After hardening trials were performed, specimens were cut out and subjected to metallographic examinations. The obtained results of studies made it possible to determine process parameters, which were accepted for further research. The aim of this study was to determine the minimum distance of laser hardening lines from one another that would ensure the achievement of the greatest homogeneity of structure possible and hardness of the hardened layer above 500 HV0.1. This article investigates and describes the effect of interaction between successive lines obtained during laser hardening of the surface layer. To better illustrate the effect of laser beam heat on hardness distribution results, the results have been presented graphically. It was observed that, in the case of 42CrMo4 material, it is possible to obtain a martensitic structure in the line overlap area for a 1 mm overlap of hardening lines. Surface hardening studies were conducted on a test station for rotary forming of sheet products found at the Metal Forming Institute in Poznan, consisting of a coordinate table and diode laser with maximum power - 3.6 kW and 30x8 mm beam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]