Water cutter for leather

[ThoughtFission]

Hi,

Has anyone come across a high pressure water cutter that is suitable for leather? The only ones I've seen start around 40k but there would seem to be a lot of advantages to using water vs laser, not least of which would be the fumes the laser creates.

Thanks.

[CastleLeatherWorks]

idk about you but using a razor/utility knife works fine for me. lol

but all joking aside..what application would this be beneficial as i cant think of any myself..

im aware of water jets being used in the metal working industry but why would anyone want to cut leather with one.

if you could please explain.

 

[chuck123wapati]

40 k ? you will pound alot of leather to pay for that.

 

[ThoughtFission]

3 hours ago, CastleLeatherWorks said:

idk about you but using a razor/utility knife works fine for me. lol

but all joking aside..what application would this be beneficial as i cant think of any myself..

im aware of water jets being used in the metal working industry but why would anyone want to cut leather with one.

if you could please explain.

 

The first reason is the fumes that laser cutters produce with leather. None with water. The second reason is it can cut much thicker leather. This is a business for me so producing large numbers of items is important. Hand cutting won't cut it, excuse the pun.

[CastleLeatherWorks]

@ThoughtFission

i think most people use clickers and dies to save time although im not opposed to using automated machinery. how much volume are you trying to get out and also what kind of items are you making?

for some reason the thought of cutting leather on a waterjet seems strange to me. especially for higher end goods.

i dont think most consumers that buy the types of leather goods we make want mass produced items.

maybe im wrong but just because you can use an automated machine technology doesn't mean you should especially in the world of handmade leather goods.

 

[LatigoAmigo]

51 minutes ago, ThoughtFission said:

The first reason is the fumes that laser cutters produce with leather.

You can resolve that issue with a fume extractor. I picked one up about a year ago for about $2k and it has performed flawlessly. 

[chrisash]

We had a quality shoe factory near us that I visited some years ago, and they did multi layer cutting with a clicker press that was fast and efficient, somehow I cannot see many faster options

[ThoughtFission]

2k for an extractor!? I'm just starting out. 2k for the extractor and 5k for the cutter are waaaaaayyy beyond my budget for the time being. I was hoping to find a DIY option that I could build myself. Thanks for the advice though, I appreciate it.

[ThoughtFission]

12 hours ago, chrisash said:

We had a quality shoe factory near us that I visited some years ago, and they did multi layer cutting with a clicker press that was fast and efficient, somehow I cannot see many faster options

The issue there is the cost of the cutter (10 tonnes or above) and the cutting dies. But I have seen some tutorials on how to make your own dies. Makes it difficult to prototype though. Need a new die for each change. Maybe I will give this a second look until I can afford a more elegant solution.

[Bert03241]

I don't see any advantage to water cutting leather. First of its going to make the leather all mushy and then you have to dry it, that takes time.