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Gulrok

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Posts posted by Gulrok

  1. Posted · Edited by Gulrok · Report reply

    35 minutes ago, 327fed said:

    What would you get for one of these in your area? Need to sell something. Thanks. 

    17645DE9-CB0B-426D-984C-6D34E02E8D01.jpeg

    I'm in NJ. Specifically in a very anti-firearm area. (big city)

    I likely couldn't give it away if I wanted. Its a nice piece in my opinion. We just don't have the market here. Neither do we have the market for cowboy boots and a small very negatable market for holsters. 

     

  3. Posted · Report reply

    On 6/5/2022 at 2:54 AM, chrisash said:

    My question is who is in charge

    Staff like doing funny things with company vans, like seeing how fast they can go in reverse, test out their drifting skills,  see how far they can go with the red warning lights for oil and water burning and so on

    I guarantee that's not an issue for us. Its just remembering when you switch between machines and around. 

  4. Posted · Report reply

    On 5/19/2022 at 5:38 AM, RockyAussie said:

    Good thing is generally most sewing machine oil does not leave any marks on leather after it dries out absorbs or whatever. To skip a good oiling practice is not a good idea especially if you think that 6 years between is alright :nono:.

    I do agree but I will add that to the best of my knowledge here in Australia the machines are checked and adjusted if need be before they go out to the customers. The shim for aiding in getting the back stitch length correct is more of a recent addition on these machines and I believe it is provided so as to make it easier for the customer to do it them selves if things move out of place over time. It is a fairly difficult procedure to explain and show all the steps involved to the average person and they can end up creating more of a problem if they do it wrongly. I do believe it would be a good idea to add into the dealers manuals and or video library an explanation on how to use the shim if ever needed so I think I will try and put something together for the dealers to use if they want. The dealers look after me pretty good over here so it will help me pay back some. (They sent me a new drop down guide and stainless steel flat table top attachment today for the CB4500 to test and try):thumbsup:


    I'm likely in the group that doesn't do oiling enough. I wonder if there's a way to develop a little device that puts a light on when you need to oil. (So many hours of power to the motor) ... doesn't seem like it would be that hard so I'm going to take a quick look if its possible.

    My staff members for certain don't oil as often as needed, I know that for certain. Its likely going to be cheaper for us over the years to look into a 100$ or less than to deal with maintenance. 

  5. Posted · Report reply

    20 hours ago, Dwight said:

    OK guys . . . I'm impressed as I can be . . . and about equally confused.

    Honestly I'm looking to laser engrave the back of billfolds . . . some belts . . . purses . . . etc.

    Would like also to be able to do some on metal . . . like initials on a belt buckle . . . etc .

    I'm thinkng looking at some of the models offered on Ebay . . . they do 400 by 500 mm or so . . . was thinking of doing the first 400 mm of the belt . . . move the leather and have the laser pick up where it left off by some imaginative designs.

    Thinking of deer hunting scenes . . . deer . .  trees . . . meadow . . . etc.

    How powerful a machine would I need to only do stuff like this?

    AND . . . will I have to buy special software . . . or can they take my "picture" or drawing and do it from there???

    Thanks, may God bless,

    Dwight

     

    13 hours ago, Bert03241 said:

    A 60 watt co2 laser will do all you want and more and do it much faster then a diode laser. You should be able to find a decent 60 watt for under 5k maybe a lot less then that even. It won't engrave bare metal but will mark bare metal with cermark. It will engrave most coated metals, painted, powder coated, anodized ect ect.


    I completely agree. A 60w CO2 laser is definitely a strong starting point. Its a good balance between power and speed.
     

  6. Posted · Report reply

    7 hours ago, RockyAussie said:

    So that means you are using only around 40Watts? The 4" lens gives you that sort of improvement? I was thinking awhile back on one of these 50watt fibre lasers that I think are getting better on price. One fella over here said he only paid about $7000 for one and another said he got one out of China for under $4000. I know they can cut metal to some degree (they make stamps) so now I am really starting to wonder if they could do leather as well as you can with yours.

    In theory yes. I don't know if 100% power is the peak or working rating of the laser. My tube has a 150W tube has a 150W working rating and 180W peak rating. Is 100% power peak rating or working rating - honestly no idea.That is something I could measure - with that being said, I haven't since I never go that high to begin with.

    The 4" lens absolutely makes that much difference. 

    Remember the you get bad charing and cutting when your laser is out of focus. 

  7. Posted · Report reply

    17 hours ago, Ferg said:

    You have to remember my laser is a 60/50W. I probably have issues and differences in abilities that you do not have with your laser.

    Thanks for your outlining some of your experiences much appreciated.

    Ferg

     

    On 5/25/2022 at 2:18 PM, Ferg said:

    I am convinced that most any absorbent material such as wood or leather would/does laser better and relieve the operator of 

    way too may hours of cleaning when the product is sealed and has a finish coat on it. My jigsaw puzzles prove that to me.

    My lasers, I have a 3W Diode laser also, provides some fantastic product. The possibilities are only diminished by your imagination.

    Ferg


    Understandable, I'm not trying to be argumentative. I just want to clarify that it was I disagreed with the blanket statement in bold.

    As for your laser. I think you'd be personally surprised what you can accomplish.

    For example our laser is cutting at 26% power and 10mm/s for 12/14oz leather. You'd likely be able to hit 50-60% power on your laser by slowing it down. Definitely possible. The only reason we have the powerful laser is because of the bed size. We could easily downgrade the tube and still cut everything at the same speed but more power. Just keep your mind open to the possibilities.

     

  8. Posted · Edited by Gulrok · Report reply

    44 minutes ago, RockyAussie said:

    Thanks for the video @Gulrok I would not have believed that possible without seeing it. Now I am starting to think of going bigger than my little 2.5 watt diode laser. How big a size cutting area can yours handle? Must be fairly big if you can cut belts. I assume there is some serious $$$$ to spend to get that far.

    So I don't do any handcutting or punching anymore. I've completely moved to lasering at this point. 

    As for investment, I'm probably in the neighborhood of $17,500 USD. It wasn't the cost of the laser, but merely the upgrades, a fume extraction system (in a commercial space ,got denied venting outside, it has to be vented/purified in house). The air compressor, lines run throughout the shop... 

    There was a lot to do to get it to cut so nicely.

    The laser tube in it is a 150 watt tube, it has a 60" x 40" bed on it. 

    --

    I have a 4" lens on the laser when I cut belts and 2" when I cut wallet weight stuff. 

    38.1mm_1.5_inchs_Focal_Length_large.png?50.8mm_2.0_inchs_Focal_Length_large.png?63.5mm_2.5_inchs_Focal_Length_large.png?76.2mm_3.0_inchs_Focal_Length_large.png?101.6mm_4.0_inchs_Focal_Length_large.png


    I have personally found that my cuts are the cleanest with a 4" lens. I hit that wide field of depth (they say the 4" lens can cut items up to 1"). Because we have that wide field of depth the laser does not create excessive soot since I'm in that perfect cutting depth band. The closer your material is to that - the better off you are. I've cut 3/4" plywood with 'light brown' charring and no soot. My personal experience is also that leather being tanned and so tough, is harder to cut cleanly than plywood. So there is some science to it.

    A belt takes me... 2 or 3 minutes to cut per belt. About a minute is spent engraving our logo on the back of buckle end that wraps around to the back. 

     

  11. Posted · Report reply

    2 hours ago, Ferg said:

    I am convinced that most any absorbent material such as wood or leather would/does laser better and relieve the operator of 

    way too may hours of cleaning when the product is sealed and has a finish coat on it. My jigsaw puzzles prove that to me.

    My lasers, I have a 3W Diode laser also, provides some fantastic product. The possibilities are only diminished by your imagination.

    Ferg

     I would have to disagree. See the video I just posted. 

    I have personally found that inexperienced laser operators tend to have struggles when dealing with materials. I run test cards when I get new leather (a 6"x6") on the leather. I then pick the best settings from my test card. Depends on what thickness I cut - but I usually use my 4" lens on any belt leather. I have my laser dialed in to be able to cut 3/4" plywood without problems.

    I cut 1/2" plywood boxes all the time. You can wipe your hand along the edges without soot. 

    Yes the edges have char - but it goes away with burnishing and my normal edge dying process. 

  14. Posted · Report reply

    150 W Laser here. 

    I laser cut belts at this point in my business.

    Some others have good experiences. I've been able to dial in the 'char' to the point that there is no soot leftover when I pull a belt off the laser bed. You're able to wipe your hard along the edge and have a clean hand afterwords.

    I replaced the mirrors with higher quality mirrors. The laser head was replaced as well. 

  16. Posted · Edited by Gulrok · Report reply

    57 minutes ago, Tio said:

    Well, I just bought a new Tippmann Boss!  I think it will be perfect for my needs.  I'll post pics when I get it setup.


    Hopefully you found a killer deal on it. I played with the Tippmann Boss for a few projects and founded out that I absolutely hated it. Your mileage may vary, and there are people who swear by those machines. So who knows. Their resale value also have a wide range. I see them from $450-$900, it really just depends.

    For your next machine, or if you also find that you're not into the Tippmann Boss - consider a powered machine. https://www.tolindsewmach.com/cb2500.html Is just a bit more and might be a better setup if you're looking to do more production work on a budget. 

     

  20. Posted · Report reply

    On 2/5/2022 at 12:28 PM, wildbill56 said:

    I'm a newby and my first belt I hand sewed with white Tiger thread but the thread was darker and dull looking when I finished.  I read somewhere that is due to passing the thread through every stitching hole.  If that is true does anyone have any advice on another type of thread that it won't happen to or other tips.

    I use exclusively black thread because I laser cut stuff - so the thread always looks soiled.

    With that being said, give yourself an extra 6-8 inches of thread on each side. Your first few inches of thread will be soiled but the other stuff should be fine. That works for most people. 

     

  21. Posted · Edited by Gulrok · Report reply

    The reality of the matter is there is so much information available for these machines with these forums, youtube videos by al-bane and others, along with facebook groups. 

    Tips and Tricks with Cobra Class Leather Working Equipment | Facebook
    Leather Machine Co Inc - YouTube
    Techsew Industrial Sewing Machines - YouTube
    HighTex Heavy sewing technology - YouTube (Cowboy)

    There isn't a big need for the distributors to produce lengthy videos as at this point theres so much information out there. You can get on the phone and get support quickly.  I'm sure there are distributors/manufactures out there who provide a higher level of service, but you're paying for it. 

    I own a laser cutter that costs 5-10x what these sewing machines cost. I get more support with my sewing machine than a laser cutter company so busy with orders and other customers that if there WAS an issue I would be out of production for days. If there is an issue I'm better off purchasing replacement parts myself than warranty a piece because of the time that it takes. Its an industrial machine. I could have spent another $10,000 to get someone to answer the phone faster, but I'm a crafty person and can diagnose and address issues.

    We just spent approximately 40,000$ on 2 Melco embroidery machines. Melco is flying people out to have a training session at our family business location. Melco has some of the support out there in the embroidery world, but you pay for it. 

  22. Posted · Report reply

    Personally speaking -

    I cried twice. Only because I learned later on that I really needed a heavier duty machine. I bought the techsew equivalent of a cobra 26 (2750 pro).

    Later on I learned that the majority of the work I do is in fact 10oz or more leather and 277/207 thread. So I have a few thousand in machines now. So first we should be asking - what thread are you using and leather thickness. Make sure you're not buying something too light duty for what you're using.

    As far as the Juki 341 and 441 clones - they do convert into a flatbed. Its not exactly the same because if you're sewing bags then you don't have the extra run on the table to hold your bag while you sew length wise. However it is absolutely versatile and not noticeable for small leather goods. As a shop who sells a lot of goods, I'd personally buy two machines a flatbed and a cylinder arm both great for two different things.

    However if you can only buy one machine - definitely the cobra 26/techsew 2750/cowboy's model.

     

  23. Posted · Report reply

    1 hour ago, Bert03241 said:

    If your mostly going to engrave and cut leather you really don't want anything over 80 watts in a co2. Over 80 watts dialing down the power to engrave becomes more difficult, especially engraving leather. you don't need a lot of power. and an 80 watt will cut most all your leather that you would be using.I have a 60 watt and and it does every thing I need with leather and cut 1/4" plywood no problem

    I can engrave at 10.8% power. I've successfully engraved as thin as 2 oz without any problem.

  25. Posted · Report reply

    1 minute ago, Hairic said:

    Oh dang, lol yeah now thats a laser hahah.  you only use it for leather?

     

    Well... not only for leather.

    I regularly cut 3/4 or 1/2" plywood for boxes and use a box joint. Here's a photo of the first one we did.  We've improved it since. 


    Been playing around with making custom drawers and boxes for our shop and other shops as we grow. People love custom crates and bins. 

     

    IMG_5958.jpeg

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