Experimenting - Leather Laser Cutting Techniques - Mini How To Tutorial

[@bdmvy]

I am a custom commercial leather maker and I just came across or vid. I have been using a smaller NEJE for a year to fulfill an ongoing contract for leather coasters for a spirits manufacturer. I have carked out thousands to date. I 3D print a stamp for the grain side using a resin printer, using the clients original art work. I purchased the engraver for the flesh side which is already smoothed down and the NEJE does a brilliant job of adding Made in Arizona and notes about the product and artist. I recently acquired an Atomstack but discovered the laser is shrouded on 3 sides with aluminum and a small glass window making impossible to get accurate alignment on completed leather goods. I have ordered a replacement which solves the issue. I intend to cut my standard items with the laser instead of the dies I use. The laser is more accurate and doesn't need sharpening! Another application is for Western Carving and Tooling. Instead of tracing onto damp leather with a stylus, I use the laser at a very low setting to give me a faint fine line for carving the pattern with a swivel knife. A big time saver, repeatable and time is money! A tip would be to finish the item PRIOR to engraving, using an acrylic sealer like Resolene and any dyes and oils you with to use and THEN engrave. You will find that the engraving is more prominent and if it's well sealed, the soot marks will come off much easier. A final coat of resolene will seal the engraving and make it pop. Trying to nail your accent..a trace of Southern Africa and a touch of Scotland? Cheers, Bob

[@prototypeeight9503]

You can wet veg tan leather before etching. it will lay down nicely and stay perfectly flat and will dry just fine with no ill effects.

[@ladouceurduneplume2148]

@Maker Tales Also when you wet it, wet it all over, because if you only wet section you might end up with water 'stains' a sort of halo around the parts that were wet ;)

[@dg6278]

So just on your comment about leather going to the bin after getting wet...you ever seen a cow standing in the rain? The easiest way to laser engrave leather is to wet it just until it is pliable enough to lay flat on its own. If you do get a lot of smoke on it, take a baby wipe and give a good rub. You’re spot on though about not using anything but veg tanned leather. There’s so much you can do with leather and lasers so good to see you experiment.

[@Keep-Making]

Hi D G, Very interesting! I'm going to have to test that out and see the results that your talk of.

[@sincerelym11]

I've struggled with leather for quite some time and found your video at the perfect time. Thanks so much!

[@Keep-Making]

Marie, I would also suggest that you take a look at the comments and there seem to be some very enlightened laser leather crafters that are giving some extra pointers.

[@diytherapy2644]

Great ideas, i have some difficulties with what kind of rivets, and pressing tool

[@ladouceurduneplume2148]

If you want nicer edges you can use an edge beveler (size 1 or maybe 2 would be good for the thickness of leather you have, you can find some on tandy leather or on the internet) also to smooth them out you can use a wood burnisher. You use the edge beveler before the dye and you burnish after the dye. This will get rif of all the fluff that can come out the sides and leave you with super smooth anre professional edges :D it is a lot of elbow grease tho, but it can really make a difference in the quality! A varnish like resoline would help keep your pieces nice for a really long time. Also for the dye you can use small makup sponges they works well for small pieces like those. you will have more control than a papertowel ^.^ plus invest in some gloves xD its a lot less messier haha The eco-flow is water base so you can dilute it if you want to have a uniform coverage without having it too dark. If you don't put enough dye the leather won't be saturated and when it will dry it can be patchy ;)

[@Jlayism]

Concerning the loose fibers of the flesh side, the area of the hide from which the leather comes, and the quality of leather lays a huge role. Cuts from the belly (sides of a hide) are normally spongy, and if the quality of the hide is very low, the fibers will be loose and terrible to work with. Cuts from the shoulder (aka single or double shoulder cuts) or spine area (aka 'bend') have very dense and tight fibers. Hermann Oak and Wickett and Craig reputable tanneries for good vegetable tanned leather.

[@rusticagenerica]

Really hich quality video recording, and editing. God bless you for showing the way.

[@nobilismaximus]

Use food coloring as a stain. Also buy large marker pen blanks (Amazon) one for each color you use and the. You can the just color in between the lines. 👍

[@mingmac]

Pressed letter is amazing one

[@Keep-Making]

Ya it's one of my favourite ones too!

[@iandykes5411]

Where did you get the leather from and what type of leather is it and what thickness thanks)

[@CoyoteRoseCreations]

As a leather worker here, if you wet leather (which is something we do all the time when forming and stamping it) you must wet basically the whole piece, and let it dry flat, ive been known to dry it underneath a sheet of plywood of I want it flat.

[@darknessfierce4209]

I agree, I wash my leather shoes in the machine daily - they dry and good as new.

[@rayskinner5274]

You can find scales for the laser for what strength and speed and focus for what oz leather you are using

[@laurieinjapan]

Thanks for the information! I really like the design for the phone stand. I think I might try to make a bigger one for a tablet

[@bdmvy]

One technique is to use a standard waterproof carpenter glue and a glass slicker. Works a treat! and Inexpensive

[@RajkumarSingh-IND]

Please let us know your laser machine configuration, what is the power of your CO2 machine ?

[@Reftravun]

Excellent work! The pressed leather one does look very classy. Keep making!

[@Keep-Making]

Thank you oh so very much Andrew!

[@oddproductions]

Compressed air takes the smoke right off. Its actually super fine particulate matter and if you blast it with a shot of air it will blow right off.

[@Keep-Making]

Hmmmm, Is there anymore information you can tell me about your leather? Is it raw hide lather. I tried doing this after reading your comment and unfortunately nothing came from it. I was shooting 6 bar compressed air at it.

[@oddproductions]

@@Keep-Making I use vegtan leather, usually 3-4 oz weight.

[@ruftime]

I put the paper mask on the leather Before engraving.......just like any delicate finishes i engrave with CO2.

[@benikraljevic3258]

Excellent tips and advices !

[@Keep-Making]

Thanks Beni, I'm happy I could help!

[@Mrs_1508]

What power % and speed are you using on the engraving? I feel like my current settings cut too deep

[@tinekebaas2134]

10% power / speed 1000 / dpi 256 is what he said in this clip.

[@richness1644]

For $20 you can but some Tokonole and a glass “slicker.” Apply THIN layer of Tokonole and use the edge of the glass slicker to smooth the fibers. Much better than wax.

[@SuperSR101]

What model is ur cutter engraver

[@zoeysdiyideas]

Hi guys, I heard that ortur launched a new portable diode laser machine called Aufero, the official sub-brand of Ortur Laser Engraver, Do you think it worth to buy? I'm new to the laser, I heard that Aufero is easily to get started. I really want to buy one.

[@3larsons]

Helpful! Thx!

[@Keep-Making]

Glad it helped!

[@angelpiti99]

I just tried to laser engrave a leather wallet and the result is perfect, but after a few days using it, the black engrave came out and now looks bad. Any thoughts on this? Thanks

[@pittbullcustomleather6509]

Try wetting your leather after engraving, then use the softest bristle toothbrush you can find to wash out the debris. After you dye your leather, you can use an antique that will darken the engraved area more than the surrounding leather, just wipe off quickly. You can also just use the antique to stain the leather. Just keep in mind that it’s water based, so when you apply a finish (like Resolene), watch the color. It lightens the antique, on the top grain, but the engraved portion is lower, so stays darker. The only finish I’ve found that doesn’t mess up antique gel/paste is Saddle Lac, but it’s $15-16 per can of spray (Tandy Leather). The other option is to use acrylic leather paint to carefully apply paint to the engraved area. You could try a darker dye if you want black, but it’s not as forgiving as acrylic paint, which can be wiped away with a damp paper towel/cloth, if some gets on your surface grain. I recommend trying it on sample/scrap leather to get the look you want & technique you prefer.

[@angelpiti99]

@@pittbullcustomleather6509 Thank you George for sharing your knowledge. After trying everything I’ve got at home, I came to a good result aplying dark leather dye. After days using it it doesn’t remove. Anyways, I’ll try the antique and the finish you’ve mentioned. Again, thanks a lot. 🤲🏼✌🏼

[@Keep-Making]

Thanks a lot for the tips. I'll have to give them a go myself.

[@charlinesmith8970]

What magnets were you using please? Thanks for the video!

[@Keep-Making]

Hey Charline, I'm just using some 2.5cm / 1inniodinium magnet I found on amazon.

[@armandoportillo9834]

Great video and very informative. One question where do you get your thin stock leather. We have been trying to find good consistent think leather. Hopefully you can help me out.

[@Keep-Making]

Hmmm well it might be different for you but I get mine in the UK from called Economy Grade Natural Veg Tan Shoulders (NAT-ECO-SHO-1.2/1.6MM) from a place called j wood leathers . I hope that helps. Also keep in mind that leather will NEVER be consistent. Unless you have a specials machine to shave it done and then you put it right into your laser.

[@alep.5517]

If instead of bees wax I use Gum tragacanth or Tokonole to smooth the fuzzy back of the leather before I cut it, is it safe? Does anyone know if these two products are safe to laser?

[@saucejason]

What kind of leather are you using?

[@michaelerman8580]

Hi! Can you please tell me what kind of leather do you use? Thickness?

[@Keep-Making]

I get mine in the UK from called Economy Grade Natural Veg Tan Shoulders (NAT-ECO-SHO-1.2/1.6MM) from a place called j wood leathers

[@Pens-and-morez]

Where did you find the template?

[@DirkDooms]

Thank you so much for video! One question though: how did you laser engrave the stamp? I assume you burned a piece of the wood away but there are no black laser markering... So slightly confused on how you did that.

[@Keep-Making]

Hey Dirk, Well it's just a normal engraving really. Just inverted so that the part that would "normaly" be black is white and what is white is black to be engraved. Apart form that, you can lightly clean engravings to get all the residue off. In this video here you see it in action: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i2G5nYiboc-Fg6s

[@DirkDooms]

@@Keep-Making Nice! Thank you for your response. Going to have to try that this weekend!

[@marshalltjones]

Gum Trag works better than beeswax for back slicking

[@alanowa123]

can you 3D print engraving presses or are they too weak/unprecise?

[@Keep-Making]

Hey PiEn, Honestly, I think that if you used 100% infill it should work just fine... Do expect them to have an amount of used tho. My wood ones, due to the small bits have about 10 ish uses before they are misshapen.

[@alanowa123]

@@Keep-Making i tought that they will be good for X ammount of uses as wood ones. The ones made of metal will still be the best ones, but for them you need cnc router. Thanks for reply :)

[@tricksyhobbitses1695]

I made one with 40% infill 3/16 thick plate with .090 design height, seems to be holding up fine

[@austenhenry-biskup838]

I've tried to cut leather on my glow forge and it does work, but I end up with edges that smear burnt leather all over everything! I'm not cutting with too much power or too slow cause it is just barely getting through the leather. I've tried doing more than one pass so there isn't so much heat on the leather at one time time, but no matter what I get this burnt residue that won't go anywhere unless you really rub it off which is very arduous. it is veg tan leather, but it is also kinda thick roughly 2mm thickness, which I think means I really can't avoid this issue considering how thick the material is, I'm curious if anyone has any ideas though?

[@Jlayism]

Have you tried masking the leather?

[@bdmvy]

I would think an air assist would help. Also not unusal to run your edges on a drum sander in normal leather work, especially glued seams

[@jonrambousek5081]

Air assist, high power and fairly fast.

[@piotrkozowski4230]

love your vids but could u pls record with at least 30 fps ?

[@Keep-Making]

Well Angry G.... You would be supprised to know that 98% of this video is at normal speed. Just smoothed out, But on top of that i'm sorry to say but I'm in love with slow-mo, and i'll probably be adding more of it in the future once I upgrade my camera... sorry...😂

[@piotrkozowski4230]

@@Keep-Making nothing against good slowmo brolls I just noticed that part of the vid choppy lol

[@Keep-Making]

hmmm that's intresting... well I shot everything at frame rate of 24 and edit in 24 due to my history of film work... I like to strive a little bit more cinematic plus it means I have more light to play with...

[@Emmetgriffin9]

❤❤❤

[@Bobster986]

Did you try wetting the leather?

[@Keep-Making]

Unfortunately, I did not and i've been told that I should try that next time.

[@jeannestucker7618]

Wet the leather to lay it flat

[@aaronacj]

200 speed? you mean 20? mms?

[@Keep-Making]

Unfortunately I don't think the glowforge works on mm/s. It's quite a pity.

[@ToplessTattoo]

Also called sex rivets!

[@chaimadechaima6044]

You're very cute😍😘

[@drewkim2]

You talk way tio much.

[@marwentrabelsi2983]

Less talks and more result showing instead

[@SingTodayi]

No offence. But straight forward here. Your keyholders's designs look like trash man. You need to redesign them.