brettra Report post Posted October 11, 2015 Not quite leather but I'm pretty pleased with this creation from my new 3D printer. Created a Jig that allows me to lay this and lock it on the edge of a 1 1/2 inch belt. Although only 4 holes you can side it up and down the belt to get the 5-7 holes most people seem to prefer for belts. The end was rounded to allow to either cut or draw the guide lines for cutting the end of the belt. Jig is 5 mm thick and the two sides extend another 2 mm past to allow the belt to sit cleanly in the jig. Already thinking about how this could assist with stamping and spacing repeat patterns. Any other ideas where this would prove useful in leather work? Love to hear any thoughts. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RavenAus Report post Posted October 11, 2015 Good idea I'd probably do the end as an English point instead of round, of you could model it, but yeah, nice idea Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cgleathercraft Report post Posted October 12, 2015 Cell phone molds. Just make a ring of plastic and fill the ring with epoxy or resin. If you can make print high enough resolution tap offs would be easy to make. Wish I had a 3d printer Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brettra Report post Posted October 12, 2015 Still becoming familiar with 3D modelling. I was also thinking block and outer rings for things like box molding (wet molding). I like the idea of just the outer ring. Save a lot of filament this way. Very useful tip. I feel like the kid in a candy store right now. A lot of ideas coming to mind, it's almost overwhelming. Need to make sure I'm still working on my leather though. I feel your pain Cole.... I wish I had your leather work talent! Some really nice items you have on your site Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cgleathercraft Report post Posted October 13, 2015 My website is in dire need of updating. And my workbench is calling my name. Life has a way of getting between the bench and I. Just added another repair project to the list this week. Hopefully I'll get some stuff whipped out soon. Thank you for the compliment! I am my own worst critic lol. 3d printing is a whole different world that can help any hobby or profession. the possibilities are endless! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dabdab Report post Posted October 15, 2015 What 3d printer are you using to do this? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dan28 Report post Posted October 16, 2015 I've almost bought a low end 3d printer a couple times. I thought I could use it to make my own leather stamps that I would use with my arbor press. I don't know how long they would last or if the detail would be fine enough though. I've also thought about getting a CNC machine and using brass for this, as I know that would work. I really would like a laser cutter/engraver too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brettra Report post Posted October 17, 2015 (edited) I purchased a Dremel Idea Maker. So far a nice little unit. I'm working on a jig right now for use on wet molding a multi tool case. I'll report back on how it works and some pics of it (maybe in action). The unit prints to 1/10th of a mm. Fairly fine detail. I think a press type stamp would work fairly well I'm impressed with how strong the plastic is at a 40% fill of line material. I use 4 layers for wall construction on the 3D prints. I may try a simple stamp and see how it works. Test it with the stamp press as well as with a maul. Will report back on the success of that as well when I get the chance. Edited October 17, 2015 by brettra Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brettra Report post Posted October 18, 2015 Ok, tried creating a jig for wet molding leather for a multitool case. The block is hollow core but 5 mm thick for the sides and face. The outter shell is 5mm bigger than the core on the inside diameter to allow for 3-4 oz leather to fit between. I used a scrap piece of leather and simply placed the leather on the block and pressed in the outter cover. I did not really form the leather around the block. This is the main reason I think I had the leather pucker around the bottom side. I could not really pull the sides as they were too short. I did cut a few pieces of leather for the bottom to allow the leather to form around the bottom of the block a bit better. I would take a bit more time to better form the leather for an actual project so I think I could get rid of most of the puckering on the leather if I really tried. All in all I think this will be a useful tool to assist with jigs and templates. Word of caution. It takes quite some time to do up these jigs. I'm getting a bit better on the 3D software for creating the virtual jigs. That was probablly about 2 hours and the print took 4 1/2 hours to print. Also, don't play with the prints while they are on the platform (fully applies to me) as you can (and will) knock of the precision of the prints by moving it slightly out of alignment. Some lines were noted on my jigs that I had to sand out because I tried removing the block portion of this jig while the outter part was still in print. Had to hand sand out some lines that formed by the print going slightly out of alignment. :/ Anyway, a fun process. I will be using this jig to make an actual multitool case as I do think it will be effective. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
