Laser cutter

[tuffcase]

I'm sure it will cut it, you just may not be happy with the amount of charring at the cut. You can cut a hair oversize and sand off the charring. If you can adjust the PPI - pulses per inch - you should be able to tweak the settings to get acceptable results.

[JohnBarton]

Here is a trick for laser engraving on leather. Use soap scum to mask with. We get the soap bar a little slimy so that the surface is waxy. Then we smear that over the leather and engrave it. Then when it's done you just wash it off and it takes all the ash with it.

We also use masking tape and resist to wash out the engraved portions. I just did a piece where the engraved portion was painted white. So I masked the leather with tape, engraved it and then applied resist. After taking the tape off I swabbed the piece with resist to clean off the rest of the residue.

You have to be careful with tape however as it will raise the grain on some leather.

Another trick to mask with is wet newspaper. The newspaper clings to the leather.

For cutting I will often take more cuts at lower power - raising the bed each time to reduce the charring on the edges. Or I will make a shallow cut and use the razor to finish it. Not really possible with complex parts though. Generally if you play with the settings you can find an acceptable one that gives you great results.

Thanks for the suggestion to cut a little oversize and sand off the charred edge. I am gonna try that.

John