New style of belt buckle

[Tigweldor]

I have two other very good creative as well as easy metal projects - but I don´t know where to post them on this here website.

2 items made from stuff, that is in the abundance in the US - but has nothing to do with leather.

[madwilson]

Hi, I read your post with interest, in it you said

I am experimenting with lasering - allthough a budget friendly CO2 laser will not really work on shiny metal - you need a fibre laser for that (= mucho dinero) - alternative is a black laser engraving paint that washes off with plain water - not cheap either.

I Don't have a CO2 laser to try this but have done a little bit of engraving. An alternative to the black laser engraving paint could be a dark colour nail polish which washes off with acetone when you are finished. Would be interested to see how that works

Cheers Mark

[Tigweldor]

I have a bud across town who owns a fiber laser - but he is more into sinker EDM machining and has his order books full - so his time is scarce.

 I´m just in the process of building a quick release fixture to hold the buckles, so every one of them is in the same spot under the laser.

Then I have to get familiar with the laser´s programming.

That is actually not my world - I come from an era when phones still had a dial and the receiver was connected to the phone with a cord.

Never got into computers till late Win XP - when I have troubles with my I-phone, I call my daughter for help or go on a search on YouTube.

I can tear apart most sewing machines and put them back together so they work again much easier than operating/writing computer programs - so I have a steep learning curve ahead of me.

I actually don´t even know if I really want to do all that stuff - there is a legal gray zone here.

How do I know that the customers design does not infringe a copy right of somebody else ?

I will be the one who put it into metal - so one of my legs is just about in jail while doing so.

Any Joe out for a quick buck could set a trap - let me produce/laser "his" design and then have his buddy sue me for copy right infringement - you can´t make coin easier than that.

Will have to talk to someone with more legal skills than I possess on what the consequences could be or whether a written statement that the design is the customer´s own is enough.

 

Greetings

Hans

Edited March 26 by Tigweldor

[Dwight]

On 3/25/2025 at 7:28 PM, Tigweldor said:

 I´m just in the process of building a quick release fixture to hold the buckles, so every one of them is in the same spot under the laser.

Then I have to get familiar with the laser´s programming.

 

Actually you don't have to do that . . . there's a really MUCH easier way.

The program is Laser GRBL . . . and it is free.

If you can make a drawing . . . and I mean anything on paper with a pen, pencil, or crayon  . . . all you have to do it make a digital copy of it.

AND . . . if you take your time . . . and play with it a while . . . you can even take certain photographs . . . digitize them black and white . . . and if you have even a 300 dollar laser engraver . . . it'll pick up the shading . . . you can put a photo on leather.

I use cardboard as my test medium . . . when it is right . . . I cut a piece of the picture . . .  try it on scrap leather . . . if that works . . . I do it.

I do a lot with *.jpg pictures . . . they're easily scalable . . . and work great.

You set the laser on a platform that is checkerboarded and each line numbered . . . note on your first good copy that the top left corner was at 24 horizontal and 18 vertical . . . and you can produce a thousand . . . setting your blank at that point every time.

The enclosed pic is one taken from an army patch of a buddy . . . turned to *.jpg . . . one made is about 4 cm wide . . . the other was about 8 cm wide . . . he was tickled pink with both. . . . again . . . they were done with B&W *.jpg prints.

AND . . . if you go to an auto part store . . . or lumber store . . . buy the absolute cheapest . . . ugly dirt cheap . . . black or grey PRIMER . . . you can spray it on your metal . . . do the engraving trick . . . and clean the paint off with a strong paint thinner . . . or use a drill and steel wool pad to polish it off . . .

Yeah . . . it works.

May God bless,

Dwight