dikman

I played around with my el-cheapo little laser engraver today (until it got too hot in the shed!) with an experimental maker's mark. A friend of ours used to have a leather business many years ago and gave me the stuff that he had left over just before he died. There are a lot of these pre-cut key ring things (?) so I experimented with them. They're pre-coloured leather, some stamped some plain, and I don't know what else to use them for (I also have the steel dies to cut more!). Cleaning the burnt leather is an issue, I used methylated spirits which seemed to work ok.

Thanks SUP, not being a wearer of earrings I wasn't sure exactly what you were referring to. Might be worth me getting a few, I think.

$20? What a tightwad, I would have offered at least $40. Seriously though, $20??? People never cease to amaze me.

Personally I wouldn't want to drill holes in those cases unless it was a last resort, but it is probably the only way of making a permanent attachment. Gluing pp-type plastics is a real pain as not much will stick to it, you would normally have to use some sort of solvent-type glue but that doesn't tend to work too well with leather (other than contact cement). Barge cement will work, but the question is how long will it stay attached.

That is very nice. Are the oak leaves freehand or do you have a pattern?

SUP, can you post a couple of photos of exactly what you're using? Sounds like a better idea than using stitching needles at intervals!

The first one is definitely the best, it looks "right". The one with Lucy might look better with some antiquing to bring out the details. The arches do nothing for me, my eyes don't like looking at it and the bottom one just looks too busy. Very impressive detail, though, in the stamps.

Are you sure you need a needle positioner? I fitted mine (came with the motor) tried it and didn't like it, I much prefer a slower speed sewing leather and that means I can stop/start the needle where I want it. If you want to get the maximum torque and slowest controllable speed then fit a servo (brush/brushless won't matter) and a "standard" reducer. Answering your question regarding the difference between the two motors either of them will be more than adequate to handle anything you can fit under the feet. Be careful not to overthink things, if the two motors are nearly the same price then get the bigger one but if not then the 550 watt motor will work fine.

TomE, that's a good idea using a piece of heavy leather and coating the bevelled edges with polishing compound!

Any of the various "generic" servos available on ebay/Amazon/Aliexpress will work with your 563, it doesn't need anything special. If possible try and get one with a 45mm/1 3/4" pulley and try it first without a speed reducer, it might be all you need.

I had to look up Crazy Horse Leather, according to their site (Yukon Bags) it is cowhide that is treated with some sort of wax to make it water repellant. That might make it difficult to wet mold if it repels water!

Frodo, you're............weird!

Sounds like a great deal for a 4500! If he's a saddlemaker I reckon he would have looked after it so I say grab it quick.

At least in the US you can take steps to protect/defend yourself, here in Oz it's illegal to do so. Neat job, Walter (better than using duct tape under the table ).

Just found this, interesting examination of these things.

Not withstanding Wiz's reply a clutch motor is not for the fainthearted! As a newbie you will have enough to worry about without trying to master a clutch motor too! $195 sounds like a good deal to replace the motor with a servo, it is something you would do eventually and it will be easier to get the dealer to do it before you take delivery.

Looks very practical and considering it's probably going to get the stuffing knocked out of it in use should be more than adequate.

I haven't used it for a long time, in fact my mix is so old it probably won't work any more (could be an interesting experiment to try it), but I recall it wasn't quite the black I expected but oiling it darkened it more and it seemed to "age" a little bit. The fact it wasn't quite like a commercial black dye didn't bother me because it had a unique colour to it. The smell did slowly disappear, just took a little while.

Sup, by starting this thread (and the ensuing discussion from others) you have made me re-think my attitude towards using mineral oil on leather - I'm referring to the pharmaceutical/medicinal grade/baby oil of course. Up until now I've been fixated on only using natural products on leather but this thread has given me cause to have a re-think. You've done well.

Father and son!

Excellent work on the knife, it has a Medieval look about it.

I've only ever used tallow in combination with beeswax, it never occurred to me to try it just with some sort of oil so I have no idea if it would work. Maybe it will work with some oils and not others?

Over-engineered? Yes. Unnecessarily complicated? Yes. You did a great job on it, though, and the design is unlike any other I've seen.

The simplest way to use a 3-phase motor from single phase is to use a VFD (Variable Frequency Device) this also allows the speed to be varied, very useful way to add speed control to shop equipment. BUT I don't know if a VFD will work on an Efka unit as there are electronics involved within the Efka, you're not just controlling a motor. The Efka unit may not like the 3-phase signal coming out of a VFD. I suspect that the most cost effective way of using the machine is to replace the motor/control unit with a servo, but you will lose any fancy options the Efka may have.

You misunderstand, I didn't say I don't like it, just that it saves a lot of work doing any decorations. It's actually quite clever using leather like that.