Laser cutter

[wildhorsehans]

Folks,

My old hobby was R/C scale aircraft. I scratch built them and I bought a 50 watt Co2 CNC laser cutter on a 42"X28" table to cut out the balsa and lite-ply parts to build the planes.

I still have the laser and wondered if a 50 watt will cut leather. I was going to sell it, but if I can cut leather patterns out with it, I will keep it in the shop.

Thanks,

Hans

[Ian]

Dude, plug it in, throw a piece of leather under and check it out.

Those cutters are pretty expensive aren't they? Boy, the cool things I could do if I had one - conchos, belt buckles, stamps - the possiblities are endless. I'm very jealous.

[wildhorsehans]

Ian,

Yea they get up there. When I get into something I tend to overdo it just a bit. O.K. I overdo it alot!

I got lucky with the cutter as I found it used from a guy that was in a bind. It was a $20,000.00 laser and I got it for $4,000.00. I had to put a new tube on it that was $1,600.00.

I cut many a plane kit with it over the years. I guess I'll try it out on leather. I just heard that the burned edges get hard on leather.

Will let you all know how it does. It will be awhile as I have it stored in the far reaches of the shop. In fact I can't even see it back there right now it is so deep in the cave.

2 family members died and I ended up with everything from both houses somehow. All stored in the shop.

[K-Man]

If you can do this kind of stuff with it, then I'd say that absolutely you want to keep it:

All of those shown above were done on veg-tanned leather, mostly 6 oz range. Some were just engraved, if you will, while others were also cut out with the laser.

It's a phenominal tool that has nearly unlimited capabilities when it comes to leather work. Just think outside the box....

(P.S. For those who may wonder, I had the license at the time the SASS items were made/sold to put their trademarked logo on leather items. The NASCAR clock is my own.)

[wildhorsehans]

Thanks much K-man. It can do the engraving as well as cutting. It would cut lite ply up to 1/4" thick, so I imagine leather would cut better than plywood.

Am in the middle of gutting the shop and converting it from model planes over to reloading and leather work. It is going to take awhile as I can hardly walk around in there now.

If nothing else the cutter is one less thing I have to take out of the shop

[SCOUTER]

Hans- Great item to fool with! I have that same twisted DNA strand- Over-do-it! We are not alone! It's funny because I had just about all i could handle after Years of collecting and then, like you, people pass away and you aquire their stuff! I have a tough time throwing good stuff away but now I am tripping over it! My good friend told me a saying that stayed with me forever. "It's easier to buy then to sell" I should tattoo that on my arm! Good Luck!

P.S. It's always a few months after you get rid of someting that you NEED it.

[UKRay]

Hans- Great item to fool with! I have that same twisted DNA strand- Over-do-it! We are not alone! It's funny because I had just about all i could handle after Years of collecting and then, like you, people pass away and you aquire their stuff! I have a tough time throwing good stuff away but now I am tripping over it! My good friend told me a saying that stayed with me forever. "It's easier to buy then to sell" I should tattoo that on my arm! Good Luck!

P.S. It's always a few months after you get rid of someting that you NEED it.

I couldn't agree more, Scouter, I recently sold a box full of old taps and dies and now need an obscure BSF (British Standard Fine) nut and an equally obscure machine screw for one of my treasured collection of ancient leather working machines. I know the right sized tap and die was in the box of junk I sold... now if I could only remember who I sold it to...

[IanCantwell]

I couldn't agree more, Scouter, I recently sold a box full of old taps and dies and now need an obscure BSF (British Standard Fine) nut and an equally obscure machine screw for one of my treasured collection of ancient leather working machines. I know the right sized tap and die was in the box of junk I sold... now if I could only remember who I sold it to...

Ray,

I've an engineering business and workshop. What are you looking for, I might be able to help.

Ian

Edited June 27, 2008 by IanCantwell

[tuffcase]

I have a 25 watt CO2 laser and it marks veg tanned leather beautifully, the only downside is that some ash is left behind and if you don't blow it off with compressed air it will smudge when you finish or dye. Other tanned will mark but it's not as distinct a mark.

I can also easily cut up to about 8 ounce leather with what I consider to be a nice edge, thicker leather I have to go slower which leaves more (unacceptable to me) charring on the edges.

[wildhorsehans]

I have a 25 watt CO2 laser and it marks veg tanned leather beautifully, the only downside is that some ash is left behind and if you don't blow it off with compressed air it will smudge when you finish or dye. Other tanned will mark but it's not as distinct a mark.

I can also easily cut up to about 8 ounce leather with what I consider to be a nice edge, thicker leather I have to go slower which leaves more (unacceptable to me) charring on the edges.

Thanks much! If 25 can cut 8 oz my 50watt should be able to cut saddle skirting!!

Now to dig it out of the cave!

[tuffcase]

I'm sure it will cut it, you just may not be happy with the amount of charring at the cut. You can cut a hair oversize and sand off the charring. If you can adjust the PPI - pulses per inch - you should be able to tweak the settings to get acceptable results.

[JohnBarton]

Here is a trick for laser engraving on leather. Use soap scum to mask with. We get the soap bar a little slimy so that the surface is waxy. Then we smear that over the leather and engrave it. Then when it's done you just wash it off and it takes all the ash with it.

We also use masking tape and resist to wash out the engraved portions. I just did a piece where the engraved portion was painted white. So I masked the leather with tape, engraved it and then applied resist. After taking the tape off I swabbed the piece with resist to clean off the rest of the residue.

You have to be careful with tape however as it will raise the grain on some leather.

Another trick to mask with is wet newspaper. The newspaper clings to the leather.

For cutting I will often take more cuts at lower power - raising the bed each time to reduce the charring on the edges. Or I will make a shallow cut and use the razor to finish it. Not really possible with complex parts though. Generally if you play with the settings you can find an acceptable one that gives you great results.

Thanks for the suggestion to cut a little oversize and sand off the charred edge. I am gonna try that.

John