Learning To engrave/cut leather on a 90 watt laser any tips

[Ray Roberson]

426108I have just received my Laser and I have made my first piece.
It seems that it stiffened the side up because of the burn. I am going to try a thinner vector cut and see how that helps.
But I am also going to raster some items any pointers?

[Bruce Volden]

From my experience you are burning organic matter and there is little that can be done to make it "pliable" again.
Neatsfoot oil after engraved and cleaned up will help somewhat.

Bruce

[Chris DeGerolamo]

Use an 80% black instead of 100% when rastering, it will yield a better result.

[Julian Ashcroft]

I engrave a lot of leather, different thicknesses and different colours. I find that different colours require different settings. Last night I was engraving some gloss white leather on my 60w machine, it required a slow speed of 150mm/second and power of 70%, the brown leather I was also engraving was done at 300mm speed and 70 power. Natural tan leather I can do at a high speed and low power.

I don’t use the laser to cut the leather, I find the burnt edges a pain to clean and as I’m often doing dozens and sometimes hundreds of the same item, time is a factor too. I use cutting dies and an 8 tonne hydraulic press to cut my leather.

[Kev Williams]

Use an 80% black instead of 100% when rastering, it will yield a better result.
Chris, *most* chinese lasers don't know what 80% black is- Western lasers with photo capability can dither solid colors automatically, Chinese laser programs can dither bitmaps, but not solid vector colors...

That said, it could be that FS software is able to dither solid colors, but I'm thinking not -?

[Bert Kemp]

I engrave lots of Veg tan leather, It pliable after engraving and you can always work it a little to loosen it up if you like. I always coat it with sheen before engraving and quick wipe with a damp cloth cleans all the smoke residue off.

[Martin James]

Wash with soap and water. If you are going to put finish on, do that first, then laser, then wash, then finish again. We us a dehydrator. Run some settings tests. If the project will hold still you can cut 2 times. If the leather is curling, then it is too wet to cut, so dry it more. I wear a mask - chromium is not good for you. They recommend you increase the air pressure.

Can you please put your laser specs.

Cheers Marty

[Martin James]

Hi Burt, is sheen an acrylic. we have been using resolene(tandy) which is acrylic. thx marty

[Bert Kemp]

Hi Burt, is sheen an acrylic. we have been using resolene(tandy) which is acrylic. thx marty


Eco-Flo Satin Shene is a water based, low V.O.C., durable, water repellent, acrylic non-glossy satin top finish for natural veg-tanned tooling leather. ... Apply a light even coat of Satin Shene
I use resolene sometimes but it makes the leather much stiffer then sheen.