Laser cutting...char and ash..what to do?

[BDAZ]

U usually have no issues as most of my leathers are drum dyed vegtan and usually black or brown, but I am working on a project with some particularly tough natural veg tan that is particularly firm and seems to be tougher than plywood in terms of cutting. I'm using a 20 watt diode laser. 

The problem is that the char is really messy and the natural leather seems to be a charcoal magnet. I've tried packing tape, blue tack and crepe with some limited success. Any tips? One surprising aspect is that when I throw it on the cocobolo burnisher, I end up with a finish edge that looks like glass...I'm thinking maybe finish first but not a great idea because most of my products are wet formed.

Thanks!

Bob

[ArkieNewbie]

3 minutes ago, BDAZ said:

U usually have no issues as most of my leathers are drum dyed vegtan and usually black or brown, but I am working on a project with some particularly tough natural veg tan that is particularly firm and seems to be tougher than plywood in terms of cutting. I'm using a 20 watt diode laser. 

The problem is that the char is really messy and the natural leather seems to be a charcoal magnet. I've tried packing tape, blue tack and crepe with some limited success. Any tips? One surprising aspect is that when I throw it on the cocobolo burnisher, I end up with a finish edge that looks like glass...I'm thinking maybe finish first but not a great idea because most of my products are wet formed.

Thanks!

Bob

I've had issues with vegtan holding onto the char too when I cut my hat patches. I have resorted to cleaning each one with saddle soap and that usually does the trick. Some are more stubborn than others though. 

You could try covering the surface with blue painter's tape . In my experience the laser doesn't care that its there, it peels off cleanly with no residue left behind, and I haven't had any issues with char. The only place where the painter's tape messes me up is if I'm engraving at the same time. To engrave through the takes a little extra power. 

[BDAZ]

On this last job the laser only ct 5/8 through the leather and I had to follow the cut with a knife. This resulted in lots of small bits of char all over the bench and once it gets embedded in the unfinished grain side...

Try using the burnisher BEFORE you remove any of the char. It seems to turn it into a shiny glossy edge that won't rub off. 

Thanks!

Bob

[ThomG]

I've been using lasers since about 2009, I'm totally new to leather working. A trick to clean up the smoke or char on anything laser cut is, clean it with orange pumice hand cleaner. I tried it with leather and it doesn't seem to damage the leather and it does wash the char off the edges and smoke off the front, the only difference I see is it takes a little bit of the gloss off the front of the leather, but I'd be interested to see if anyone else has tried it or know if it's bad for leather or reasons to not use it.

[RudolfNL]

 Consider using a laser-friendly masking material that adheres to the surface of the leather before cutting.

or....

Try adjusting the laser settings to find the right balance between cutting through the leather and minimizing charring. Lowering the power and increasing the speed of the laser might help reduce charring while still achieving a clean cut.