Leather Tips For A Newbie

[shtglouie]

Hello everyone,

I'm new on your forum and I am definitely new in the leather world.

I decide to change life and to start working with different product and leather is part of it.

I want to use a laser machine to engrave designs of dog's collar on a square plate of leather.

The size of the plate would be 24 by 36 inches.

I would like to work with soft leather, 6 to 8 oz seems to be perfect for this job.

To work with square piece of leather what would be my best solution? To find a leather supplier that will cut it for me before or to find somebody that will cut it for me with a dye cut?

Do you know some furnisher that can do that?

If you can give me an advice I will be pleased.

Thank you

[DavidL]

I don't know much about laser machines, some of them can cut through vegetable tanned leather.

A clicking machine can cost somewhere from 300 - 1500 for a basic machine. Most basic being a shop press with a large cutting board on top and below the die.

Dies can be bought any where from 30-100+ depending on design. What they do not tell you is that the dies don't come out 90 degrees if they are bend by hand. They usually have a small curve around its corners. If you need the corners to be 90 degrees they have to be cut and welded. There are other dies available like forged dies, not all dies are made equal, the most basic being a steel rule die bent by hand. Most expensive (300+) is a die made 100 percent by machine CNC that is used for the highest precision (medical, automotive ect) .

Somewhere in-between is a company that uses machinery to check its accuracy. Usually this means a laser machine cuts out grooves in wood and the die is fitted into the groove cutting side down, if it fits then the die is ready to ship. Not all companies do this.. some just use a piece of paper and fold around it.. check first if accuracy is necessary.

[LLWork]

I use a laser quite a bit, and I use it to cut the leather as well as engrave. With something as thick as 6-8 oz, you'd have to make several passes to get through it, but it should be able to do the job. If you have a supplier cutting your pieces to size you're going to end up paying for the time to do so, so it's just going to make your materials more expensive.

[shtglouie]

OK, thank you for those informations,

What do you think is the best solution (considering the price) to have those 2 by 3 feet plates?

[LLWork]

I'm not sure what you're asking. I'm confused because you mention dog collars, but then you give the dimensions that are way too big for it. Are you wanting to put designs on a piece of leather that large so that you can cut it up into smaller pieces when it is done?

If you're just asking how to get a square piece of leather with those dimensions, I would buy a piece of leather, get a cutting mat and a rotary blade, and cut it myself.

Edited April 7, 2015 by LLWork

[shtglouie]

Sorry for not being clear the first time,

My question was:

-What is the best solution to have 2 by 3 feet square piece of leather, knowing that I need at least 85 of them.

I need those plate without holes and everything in it as I will engrave them after.

Should I do it myself or should I ask the supplier or somebody else?

Edited April 7, 2015 by shtglouie

[LLWork]

I think you are over-complicating it. It sounds to me like you are trying to fill the entire cutting area of the laser at one time, meaning you would need a piece of leather with those exact dimensions, but you can get those same dimensions out of an odd shaped piece of leather and still end up with the same amount(or even more) final products.

Not that cutting 85 at one time is less efficient, it's obviously more efficient, it's just a little less practical because there are usually some portions of the leather that are subjectively less desirable than others(brands, insect bites, scars...etc) If I were you, I'd buy a normal piece of leather, and cut them into 11" x 11" sections and just do 10 at a time(assuming you are making roughly a 1"x10" collar.)

With your current thought process, you will end up paying more for a smaller portion of leather (because someone will charge you for the work) when you could just buy an odd shaped piece, and then maybe even get more collars out of the parts you would have paid to have removed.

[shtglouie]

Yes I though about that.

The problem that I got is the size of the machine to engrave. That's why I was trying to get those size.