electrathon

I got the bench finished that the laser will reside on today. On to the next step.

I have been rearranging the shop and building a table as a permanent location. Once that is done I will address the operation of the unit.

I had the time to get the unit out of the box. I did find that two of the four caster wheels on the bottom were knocked off during shipping. Also the final mirror was knocked off of its mount, with the mount bent. I had time to reinstall the wheels, hope to straighten the bent mount tonight.

My laser arrived today! Whoop Whoop! In a few days I hope to post a few pics of work from it.

I agree with JLS, I use Herman Oak and the awesomeness of the back of the leather is one of the reasons.

Interesting video. That was a 80 watt laser, very powerful. Also I think it is rare to get your eyes in the line of the laser. I believe most of the machines are going to make you shut the door in order for it to run, just to be safe from being stupid with it.

I am going to order one. I will post after it is up and running to good and the bad that I find.

A flat grind will work just fine. I have a jig to hold my Landis blade at the correct angle and then sharpen it on a surface grinder. With a hollow grind it will be little easier to do blade touch ups later on, but the splitter will not really be affected.

Need to make sure the unit is grounded properly. This is true with all modern electronics. TV, stereos, washing machines. Not sure why this is singled out. It has been shown that some of these unit will shock you and you need to ground it. Not something I usually deal with except in my old guitar amps. If it is shocking you there is something seriously wrong. A ground wire will make the circuit breaker blow by taking the circuit to ground, but that is not the cure for the issue, That is the band-aid. If the housing is plastic, there is nothing to ground, if it is metal, then a ground wire is usually included. Provided water pump could be dangerous. Again, why? Dangerous to use like a dishwasher, fish tank, water heater? Some of the provided pumps allow electricity to seep into the water and users have received a shock when checking water temp. Be aware. Same response as above. If this is a true issue, the fish tank pump is the issue, not the laser. Software is dicey. No real answer here but is runs on Corel Draw. Massively popular software. I'm a Mac guy. I do have a PC and some of these come with Corel and some don't. Only runs on Windows machines. I've read that cutting leather is really smelly. Very. Use the exhaust fan and vent outside. This is one of my main concerns since everyone in the house might have an issue with it. I fix things all the time. if burning flesh was the worst smell I created I think people would be happy. Lasers can blind you. If you could get your head into the machine and look at it as it runs you would be in a bad way. I don't think this is possible. I'm not too concerned but I saw a guy on Youtube using a mirror on a stick to see if the laser was cutting through. All I could think was, "STOP!!" Moron. I suspect if you pee in wall plug it may make your penis hurt, but it would never make me recommend that you remove the electricity from your house. My main concern with the machine is really only long term durability and the learning curve on how to draw. I'm a user of Photoshop and pretty good with Illustrator. I'm hoping I can do the majority of work on my Mac and then import it into Corel. Far better issue to deal with than if they had propriety software. I will watch the videos and see what is being said.

I'll jump in with what I know, it is admittedly limited. CONS Wiring usually needs to be gone through. I do not understand this statement. What wiring? Are you assuming it will not be wired properly out of the box? Need to make sure the unit is grounded properly. This is true with all modern electronics. TV, stereos, washing machines. Not sure why this is singled out. Provided water pump could be dangerous. Again, why? Dangerous to use like a dishwasher, fish tank, water heater? Software is dicey. No real answer here but is runs on Corel Draw. Massively popular software. Only runs on Windows machines. I've read that cutting leather is really smelly. Very. Use the exhaust fan and vent outside. Lasers can blind you. If you could get your head into the machine and look at it as it runs you would be in a bad way. I don't think this is possible. My main concern with the machine is really only long term durability and the learning curve on how to draw.

1 oz is very little to split off. Try starting with a 10 oz piece and see if you can split it to 6.

Maybe someone else will speak up here but the 1 watt one listed earlier will barely draw a line. The 40 watt one I put the link to should do most thinner stuff no problem. I believe the one I use at the school is 50 watts, it will cut plastic up to about 3/8" but by then it is deflecting and no longer cutting straight. I am very much a beginner on much of the laser stuff, so don't quote me on it.

A laser is on my short list too. The only reason I have not bought one yet is I have access to one that I can use when I need to cut something. My main use is to cut patterns out of plastic.

Use a lacing chisel.

Wallets are way bigger than 3.5". And 1.5 watts is barely going to draw a line. Need more power.

That one is very small and low intensity. Remember the first LED light bulbs that saves tons of energy but didn't make much light? Lasers are like that. Bigger and more power unless you just want a toy. Try this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/40W-CO2-Laser-Engraving-Cutting-Machine-Engraver-Cutter-USB-Port-High-Precise-/142243645892?hash=item211e61c9c4:g:oBIAAOSwZQRYekgJ 40 times more power

Lasers are everyplace now. If someone wants much over $25 for that look around more. It will take a few minutes to import, about one minute to burn. Easy to do all three in a half hour or so. If they are not familiar with leather: Have the surface very slightly damp. Do a test run on scrap to get the intensity proper. If done right it will be as crisp as if you drew it on with a pen, but will last a long time.

You have the image, have someone burn it on with a laser. It will look perfect when it is done, the build the wallet around the image.

Where did you get the hides from? Goat is the staple in the bookbinding industry. I can't imagine foul smell being accepted ever on a high end hand bound book. I personally have never ran into the issue.

Tubular rivets with a cap on the backside. Not near as strong as sewing. Poor way of dog collar.

I want to add in here that Brian knows a lot more about this stuff than I do. I am very much a beginner, 4 pairs of shoes so far. Currently on pair #5. Lasts are harder to get correct as a beginner than the shoe is, so be cautious and read as much as you can find. Few people alter them as far as you are, that adds a level of difficulty that is tough for a beginner. By the looks of your feet, you must be at least a EE width, that will make proper lasts tough to find too.

I see your last has no provision for folding in the middle. This may be an issue depending on your shoe design. Do not forget about the ankle diameter too.

Use a forstner drill bit. Set the stop on your drill press. A lot easier and faster to order longer posts on the snaps.

A last is not the shape of a foot. Some bones need compression and support and some need space to float. Few lasts are foot shaped (think clunky orthopedic shoes for foot shaped lasts). The top of the last is never foot shaped, that has to do with removing the last from the shoe. I would recommend that you do reading online on measuring of the foot, that will help, but does not address many of the reasons why lasts are shaped like they are.

Body filler is at best a bad choice. It will not handle the stress of lasting. leather is a better choice, it may be glued on and will not crack and flake. Changing the size of a last can be tricky. You need to measure in multiple directions. Length, width, girth, etc. are all involved. Changing one measurement can alter another. You need to find lasts that are almost correct and then alter from there. Last making is actually pretty advanced, sort of like collage level shoemaking.