I’ve been trying to incorporate the GF into my leather work a little more as I get used to using it. For his birthday, my son-in-law asked for a small wallet he could carry in his front pocket. I drew the design in Illustrator and used the GF to cut and engrave the whole thing. It sure saves time using the GF to do all the work as opposed to punching holes, cutting patterns and stamping my makers mark by hand! Plus… a LOT more accurate!
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I used to do a lot of leather work, and know how time consuming punching those holes is! Isn’t having a Glowforge wonderful? So much it can do!!
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I cut leather parts for a friend of mine. He loves the holes vs having to punch them out by hand. lasers rock.
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Very nice and beautiful leather!
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Looks great! How did you keep the engrave from smearing when assembling?
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This is really nice, your stitching looks absolutely perfect!
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From my personal experience, I took the laser-cut pieces of my drop spindle whorls and soaked them in water before coloring or stitching. I found a lot of the laser soot was removed, and I could just wipe off any residue. It didn’t smear into the leather surface or engraved area; much cleaner than trying to wipe off with 91% iso alcohol.
Edit: my leather was a garage sale find; I think it was at least a few years old. After the laser operation, I soaked it since it felt stiff and dry. Once dripped out and press-dried with a towel (force, no heat), it responded to paint and modest tooling nicely.
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BEautiful! THe GF does leather so well! It is a great tool for this sort of stuff! Terrific work!
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After cutting out the pieces, I wiped off the edges and then applied a coat of leather finish to the edges and the engraved surfaces which seemed to seal the engraved portions as well as the edges. After it had soaked in and I had buffed it out, with a rag, I stitched it together. And thank you for the kind words!
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Thank you… I actually make an effort to keep my stitching lined up. To me, it is quite evident when the stitching looks wonky (that’s a leather working technical term… right? 
)
From my personal experience, I took the laser-cut pieces of my [drop spindle whorls ] and soaked them in water before coloring or stitching.
Very interesting! I might have to give that a shot… and your whorls are REALLY cool looking! Thanks for sharing!
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Thanks, I’m glad you like them. I think your stitching looks better than mine!
A friend of mine who does some leatherwork recommended a way to make sure the leather is not too wet: place the skin side against your cheek and it should feel faintly cool but not wet or cold. This way there’s enough dampness for the tooling energy to leave a lasting impression, but won’t cut through the surface.
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Very nice, love the design
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Stitching looks great. The engrave turned out well too.
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Beautiful leather and the stitching is perfection!!!
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He will enjoy this. Beautifully finished.