https://youtu.be/lMFNOy5udEY. On this one he mentions some of the settings.
Great @bitta, thank you. Whatās interesting is most videos on youtube show mainly a sharp contrast between the etch and the leather. Iām hoping I can figure out setting to get a bit more graduation similar to http://glowforge.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/12.jpg
How long are you going to be at the space on the 11th? Iām going to be in church for most of the morning, but could meet you after lunch.
Iād like to incorporate this into the leather classes I teach in CA. One of the more time consuming tasks with leather is cutting the parts and engraving/tooling the leather. Using the laser makes perfect sense for expediting the production of hand made or at least individually designed leather objects.
If we canāt get together on Sunday perhaps we could meet up another day and you could just show me what youāve been able to accomplish. Iām at DMS almost every Monday, Wednesday and many times other days during the week.
Thanks
I will most likely be around the space somewhere from around 7am - 2:30pm.
Very cool. Iāll catch up with you in the early afternoon say 1:30ish. Thanks for the quick reply. Iām looking forward to using the laser for leather. Do I need to bring some leather?
Iām looking forward to seeing your results on the laser. If it works Iād like to try making the Plague Masks. May have to wear a DMD Amulet to ward off bad project karma.
Iāll be running by Tandy Leather tonight to grab some scrap leather of different weights to test with.
You will get the variations in color/tone from playing with the speed and power settings. You can also deliberately play with the focus point to soften the edges of the cutting beam, and to also weaken the strength of the beam at a given power and speed setting.
Just my completely unsolicited opinion as an experienced leather worker and teacher of monthly leather crafting classes through our guildā¦
@coloneldan cutting leather with the laser is going to burn and damage the exposed edges irreparably meaning you wonāt be able to properly burnish and finish them as you would with cut leather. I think teaching the novice leather crafter to use the laser to avoid learning proper cutting and edge finishing would be a diservice to them. From a quality product standpoint, I see using the laser for super intricate cutouts that wouldnāt be burnished anyway like internal fine lacey filigree mask cuts, etc or surface embossing. For a plague mask on the beak part, maybe blackened laser-fried edges would add to the look or for items where youāre going to completely cover the edges with lacing or something, but I personally wouldnāt want that hard burnt edge exposed on basic crafted goods unless there was a reason to do it other than just because the machine is there and itās really cool. I would hope in the basic classes, theyād be taught to walk before you put them on laser powered rocket skates.
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@Hardsuit can the leather be cased before trying to use the laser on it or would that damage the laser? I was just thinking about ways to minimize the damage and/or getting a better or more uniform burnish effect engraving with the laser as opposed to cooking through the surface of the grain.
@apparently weird I was under the impression the CA cmte bought a bunch of scrap from Tandy already when they went shopping. Might want to check with @ugly knees to verify thatā¦
No idea (never tried to use the laser on cased leather), but I would assume wet/moist leather = problems cutting. Since the laser is heat based, it would just have to dry out the leather before it could cut it. I would not be surprised to see it cause staining along the cuts due to the rapid drying from the localized heat of the laser.
Just experiment. Leather is safe to cut, so just get some scraps and go to town, and play with the settings to see what you end up with.
In general I agree completely with you Bitta. In fact, I try to teach the basics of traditional leather crafting as the way it has been done for centuries and the importance of a fine finish. I demonstrate the traditional method for working in leather and how to build a project using them. However, in every single class I have been asked about using the laser. I think the question needs to be answered and frankly I donāt know what the answer is right now since Iāve not done it. Iāve watched Youtube videos where the final product is pretty darn good though and Iām curious enough to try it. I think some people are simply interested exploring new ways to use leather as a material.
Thank you very much for your comments. I love working with leather, but I am also interested in exploring the effects of using the laser on it.
There two boxes of scrap in the brown cardboard TANDY Boxes on the top shelf in CA. Wednesday night Nicole consolidated all them from the white tub. So check that out first.
So I didnāt see the posts regarding scraps, so I did stop by Tandy. For those interested they do sell bags of scraps for $10 each. I picked up Latigo, Premium, and Suede.
Be careful using the Latigoā¦itās packed with oils and waxes for weatherproofing.
@coloneldan. My apologies, then. As weāve never talked about any of this and I was under the impression from Nicole that you were fairly new to leatherworking yourself. Iāll leave you to it, thenā¦
I am interested in picking up leatherworking for another trade have no experience in it but am willing and able to learn. If anyone could point me in the right direction it would be appreciated
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I teach an intro to leather class about ever other month now. Iām teaching a leather knife sheath class a week from Monday on the 9th. Just check on the event calendar for the next intro class.