I am wondering about the direction of the use of “Proof grade” verse non “Proof grade”. Is it the position of Glow forge that only “proof grade” should be used? If we use non-“Proof grade” will it invalidate warranty?
(I understand if food use is required that you must be careful on what materials you cut)
No, it will not invalidate your warranty.
If you use products from other companies (materials, air filters, etc), it’s up to you to make sure they work properly. If the 3rd party product has a failure that damages your Glowforge, that failure isn’t covered by the Glowforge’s warranty. But we will not invalidate your warranty as a result.
Example: if you once cut 3rd party acrylic and then your intake fan stops, the fan will be covered under warranty. But if you cut 3rd party acrylic and it turns out to actually be Lexan, which melts and goops up your crumb tray, that damage isn’t covered by your warranty.
At the moment there is a caution that appears when you choose non Proofgrade, visible but not interfering with operations. Clicking on the caution will allow you to read or remind you of the possible negative repercussions of using a material of your own choice, one of which is mislabeled or confused materials that not only don’t perform as expected but damage to Glowforge. One example would be chromium treated leather. You might not be able to tell how the leather was processed and think it is veg tanned. Included in the caution is a reminder of warranty boundaries.
and don’t forget the hot wire test:
https://community.glowforge.com/t/how-to-determine-if-plastic-x-is-safe-to-use/648?u=hansena&source_topic_id=6046
Is there a way to test how a leather is tanned?
i hope that can be turned off, but i suspect it won’t be.
Yeah. I think after the 1st or 2nd time I’ll get it. I don’t need to be reminded for every one of hundreds or thousands of projects.
Sounds like the ad version of the Kindle - irritating (which is why I always pay extra for the ad-free version…in this case ad-free comes only with buying Proofgrade) 
I’m not Morgan but if you put a thin strip of the leather into boiling water, veggie tanned will curl up right away, chrome tanned will stay flat and usually float.
Oh, and you can burn it too (but it smells 
) Chrome tanned leaves a blueish/green ash, veggie tanned is black or gray ash.
Thanks!
Another golden tip that justifies my constant checking of the forum all day long. Thanks for that!
That’s a good tip to keep in mind, bookmarked.
Thanks! 
@jamesdhatch, that’s a great tip! I didn’t know that one.
@ian, keep in mind that there are a lot of different tannages, not just chrome and veg. You might take a look at this thread for lots more information about buying and using leather. All about leather
I read that post when you first made it but somehow failed to bookmark it at the time, so thanks for the link!
I think as regards laser cutting, you need a scrap and try it. If it cuts well, then I say cut it. The better question is whether it is real leather or a synthetic. The just try cutting it approach, if it is a synthetic, may not be the best move.
Yeah, I played around a bit with brain-tanning when I was a bit younger. It was the way native Americans tanned their hides and I was trying to replicate a teepee 
(my family used to hunt so deer hides were available)
I tried this exactly once … or rather, I helped some friends who knew what they were doing. The process is labor intensive, not to mention smelly and gross. It attracted every critter for miles and miles.
These days, they have a mechanized (and presumably tidier) process that replicates the effect, but it’s just not the same. True/traditional brain tan is wonderful to work with - exceptionally soft, with a nice smoky smell. It’s relatively rare, and usually fairly expensive … but after trying it once, I’d rather pay a premium for someone else to do the tanning!
Yep - on both counts. Outstanding results but an awful process (by hand). It’s one of those things I’m more than happy to pay someone else to do
I hear that every animal comes with enough brains to tan its own hide.
