Hello,
I am trying to figure out ways to keep the whole piece of leather flat while cutting and I was wondering if anyone used double sided tap underneath a whole piece of leather?
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Wet your entire piece of leather with some water. Use a sponge
Then place a heavy object on the leather for 30 minutes. Also place honeycomb pins around the entire piece of leather.
Watch the first 18 seconds of this video for another way to put water on your leather. The video past 18 seconds does not pertain to the laser—- so do not do it.
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I use the honeycomb hold down pins. There’s also a pattern for a vacuum table on here. The downside of tape is that it may mar the finish on that side - but if that’s not an issue, have at 
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Okay thank you! I will definitely try it.
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Hey,
Great video!
The issue is when the laser is making the cut the leather lifts up after part of the cut (and the design isn’t finished) if that makes sense.
I’ve also used small magnets sold for using as bag closures–keeping them about 1/2" away from the cut path (closer or stronger magnets can affect the laser!).
The wetting technique is a great option for natural veg tanned, since it does absorb the water–but if you’re using a factory tanned/dyed leather, the hold down pins, magnets, and tape or a sticky mat may be better option. A lot depends on the thickness of the leather you’re using, too.
I don’t do much cutting with the GF on leather–lots of etching though.
One reason is there is just so much soot, cleaning all that off can take as long or longer than cutting by hand (rotary blade or craft knife). Scoring is great to mark the cutting lines to finish cut with a knife, but a complex shape is nice to cut, but then I’m doing that with thinner leathers (<3 oz), and pins/magnets work for me to hold the leather down.
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Sticky mats or double sided tap maybe the best solution for what I am doing. Also trying to speed up production but I may have to still purchase a clicker press and buy dies if this method doesn’t work.
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In addition to the great tips here, there’s a FB forum for lasering leather. I think it’s Awl Things Leather and Laser, or very similar. They might have additional tips.
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Thanks for the suggestions all! The hold-down pins are definitely a crowd favorite to hold down your material while printing. I’m going to close this thread - if another question arises, go ahead and post a new topic.