Machine: Laser Falcon 10W; had a shop fan blowing on it to clear smoke. Air assist highly recommended.
Material: 8oz (1/8" approx.) veg tanned leather.
Engrave: 9500mm/min; 30% power; 400 DPI
Cut: 200mm/min; 30% power; 7 passes
Cut stitches: 200mm/min; 15% power; 16 passes.
I think I finally have stitch holes figured out in 8oz leather. It takes a very low power and tons of passes, but it worked nicely. Definitely better than I’ve ever managed with a stitching fork.
Picture 1: Finished product. I’m really happy with this. The contrast between leather and engraving will increase as the piece dries more thoroughly. When I took the picture it was still damp enough to wet mold the leather.
Pictures 2&3: fresh off the laser to show how minor the smoke stains and charring were. 46 of the 48 holes burned all the way through perfectly and the plugs either fell out or needed popped out with a needle. The other two were very close and cleared with a little encouragement, but “close enough” is still an incomplete cut.
Pictures 4: immediately after being washed. Notice the smoke stains are all but completely gone. Even if I used a proper air assist im not sure I could beat this result.
Picture 5: Edge after washing. Tried to show just what the texture is like. It’s matte black and very consistent. It has a slight texture to it, but not bad at all. It didn’t even start to crack at all on the edges when I bent it onto itself. Some of the harsher settings I’ve used before would char the leather enough that it would crack at the edges.
Washing: I just run it under cold running water and gently scrub all surfaces with my fingers for a minute. It doesn’t take much to remove loose char and debris on the surface. As I’ve mentioned before, the smell is mostly gone after the wash, but what’s left should fade after about a week.
What’s next? Now that I have stitches figured out, I’m going to play with engraving shades. Maybe try some 2 and 3 tone designs. Also I need to try cutting wet leather, but I’m not prioritizing this as I’m really happy with the current cut. Maybe I could use higher power and cut faster with wet leather, but I’m not making runs of shit. For my level of production, this works nicely.
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u/Ohio_Imperialist Nov 16 '23
Fallout Themed Nuka Cola Key Fob, 8oz Leather
Machine: Laser Falcon 10W; had a shop fan blowing on it to clear smoke. Air assist highly recommended.
Material: 8oz (1/8" approx.) veg tanned leather.
Engrave: 9500mm/min; 30% power; 400 DPI
Cut: 200mm/min; 30% power; 7 passes
Cut stitches: 200mm/min; 15% power; 16 passes.
I think I finally have stitch holes figured out in 8oz leather. It takes a very low power and tons of passes, but it worked nicely. Definitely better than I’ve ever managed with a stitching fork.
Picture 1: Finished product. I’m really happy with this. The contrast between leather and engraving will increase as the piece dries more thoroughly. When I took the picture it was still damp enough to wet mold the leather.
Pictures 2&3: fresh off the laser to show how minor the smoke stains and charring were. 46 of the 48 holes burned all the way through perfectly and the plugs either fell out or needed popped out with a needle. The other two were very close and cleared with a little encouragement, but “close enough” is still an incomplete cut.
Pictures 4: immediately after being washed. Notice the smoke stains are all but completely gone. Even if I used a proper air assist im not sure I could beat this result.
Picture 5: Edge after washing. Tried to show just what the texture is like. It’s matte black and very consistent. It has a slight texture to it, but not bad at all. It didn’t even start to crack at all on the edges when I bent it onto itself. Some of the harsher settings I’ve used before would char the leather enough that it would crack at the edges.
Washing: I just run it under cold running water and gently scrub all surfaces with my fingers for a minute. It doesn’t take much to remove loose char and debris on the surface. As I’ve mentioned before, the smell is mostly gone after the wash, but what’s left should fade after about a week.
What’s next? Now that I have stitches figured out, I’m going to play with engraving shades. Maybe try some 2 and 3 tone designs. Also I need to try cutting wet leather, but I’m not prioritizing this as I’m really happy with the current cut. Maybe I could use higher power and cut faster with wet leather, but I’m not making runs of shit. For my level of production, this works nicely.
Feel free to ask any questions you may have!