Vector Engraved Leather Wristband
1 pass @ 4mA @ 50mm/s - Orange 200gsm cardstock test cut
1 pass @ 4mA @ 20mm/s - Leather (~4-5mm) Vector Engrave
- 0.5mm rectangles, 0.25mm spacing
3 pass @ 10mA @ 20mm/s - Leather Edge Cut (accidentally had it on hairline border thickness)
10 pass @ 4mA @ 20mm/s - Leather Edge Cut (fixed to 0.01pt border thickness)
Observations:
- Vector engrave @ 20mm/s seems to work nicely
- Almost 0 vibration
- Minimal smoke when vector engraving
- 10mA edge cutting created a lot of smoke (hence the soot residue on cuts)
- 4mA edge cutting created minimal smoke but required a lot of passes to get through the leather
- Very clean edge cuts
- Could have done with 1-2 more passes (as the leather fibres were still attached at the bottom <1mm)
- Could have spaced the rectangles closer, as on leather the gap is noticeable (maybe 0.125mm spacing)
Leather Finishing
- Quick wipe with methylated spirits (to remove soot residue)
- Boiled beeswax wiped over both sides & edges
- Allowed to dry
- Heat gun applied to set beeswax into leather fibres
- Excess beeswax wiped off as soaking into leather
Where can you purchase leather like this from in Australia I tried looking on ebay but I am not sure what to type in for the search it all seem to be very thin leather I can fine
@Donna_Gray I purchase from a supplier in Capalaba (just south of Brisbane). There are a few places you can purchase it.
Online purchase, you want to go with TandyLeather (https://www.tandyleather.com.au/en/). Basically what you will be looking for is “Natural Vegetable Tanned Leather”. It is raw & uncoloured/finished. Starts off as a pink/cream kind of colour. Then you can dye/lacquer/beeswax (or other method) to finish it.
The supplier I go to is called MacLace (http://www.maclace.com.au/), located in Natasha St, Capalaba. Another one in the Brisbane region was in Wooloowin, over near the airport, but off the top of my head I can’t remember what they are called (as I barely shopped there). But they have some really cool stuff like Rainbow Perch leather, Croc leather, Snakeskin leather, etc.
edit: additionally, you have to be careful with leather as some is not actual leather. Some stuff is a combination of leather fibres (e.g. from smalls scraps) that has been mixed with a resin like stuff to hold it together. The good quality leather is known as “Full Grain”. You will be looking at around $100+ per square metre for high quality leather, just for reference point.
OK thanks for your help I will check it out
