I am a professional leather worker and purchased my Plus for cutting out detailed parts. For the life of me I can not get a clean cut. I am working with 6 oz veg tanned leather.
Any help on settings would be welcome.
Thank you
Ron
What settings are you using?
I believe the thick Proofgrade leather is right around 6oz. The PG settings for that are 168 speed/100 power.
I’m going to bump this over to #beyond-the-manual since Support won’t be able to offer advice on settings for non-Proofgrade material.
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Is it finished in any way? Dyed, etc…
I’ve always wondered if the caution against chrome-tanned leather is the chemicals left over from the tanning solution or that it is nearly always sold dyed and it’s the dyes fighting the laser. I have a hard time believing the process changes the leather itself from something that cuts beautifully to a total mess.
I have been running in every possible combination. Tried about 300 test cuts yesterday. Even with Proofgrade leather it is not cutting clean thru and I have to use a razor knife to finish the cut. The leather is not dyed and does not have any finishes.
I have adjusted power from 30-100. I have tried multiple passes and the full range of speeds. I have also tried adjusting the focus. Nothing has made a clean cut.
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I really don’t see what the issue is. So long as you are properly venting I see no reason not to use it. I have seen a lot of nice work done on chrome tan. I don’t use it much myself since it will harm metal finishes and I make holsters so it is a no go for me.
Are you pinning it down perfectly flat? We’re getting great results using these:
You can try two passes if the first one isn’t cutting all the way through.
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I am using rare earth magnets as hold downs.
Have you had any luck cutting anything (other materials, something from the sample pack)?
The problem is that a lot of chrome tanned cuts poorly on a CO2 laser. Not just the glowforge. What I have never seen is an explanation why. I can only think of three reasons, the chemicals left over from the tanning process, the dyes, or the tanning process alters the chemical structure of the leather in a way pretty different from a veg tan process. If you’re cutting pre-dyed, veg tanned leather and it is not the settings that points to the aniline dyes commonly used with chrome tanned leather.
Owner
July 6
I really don’t see what the issue is. So long as you are properly venting I see no reason not to use it. I have seen a lot of nice work done on chrome tan. I don’t use it much myself since it will harm metal finishes and I make holsters so it is a no go for me.
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Plywood, Hardwood, Cast acrylic and Delrin all performed perfect.
Got ya. I was thinking it was a health issue. LOL
A lot of people will warn you about that. I’m not one of them. I looked up the OSHA standard and did the math. I plan on experimenting with stuff from different tanneries. I just need to find the time, maybe ???
Owner
July 6
Got ya. I was thinking it was a health issue. LOL
Never forget all the people doing pyrography with wood burners on leather. Seen a lot of folks doing it on chrome tanned leather. No one bats an eye at it and you have no choice but to inhale it.
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So I am getting full cuts at 150/100. Will have to see if it continues.
Thanks all
Ron
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Hey Ron,
I use my GF exclusively for leather but my items are mostly made from 3-4 oz… I have yet to have issues unless the leather it is not laying flat in the bed. That is really important. Also, my leather is veg tanned. Not sure what difference that would make vs chrome tan?
As a holster maker, I do not use Chrome tan either. Every thing I do is veg tanned except for exotics but those are cut by hand. What settings are you using for the 4-5. I do a lot of wallets etal in that weight. 150/100 seems to be getting it done on 6/7.
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I noticed that you mentioned focus as well as different power settings. When I read your initial message, my immediate thought was focus issues. One suggestion that I would make is a simple series of tests with a 1” or so cut line and run it at very low power. ( I will generally make 5 or more short parallel lines at different power steps) I would expect to see a perfect line that just barely scores the surface of the material . If focus is off, the line will NOT be crisp. To often, we try to blast through material and don’t see the subtle tell tale of offset focus (or dirty lens). Low power testing is the trick. Post pix of your fine lines to validate.
I used to do some very critical metal marking with precision optics on another unit (with very fine but short focal length) I would do my tests at 5-10 lines , each at a slight z offset step in a 1”square. Then choose the setting with the crispest line. This is my go to calibration for new or troublesome materials.
I do the same for grayscale raster steps with 10 step chart black——white to tweak power settings once I have my focus optimized…
I do notice gf sometimes doesn’t get the auto focus perfect. My other laser is all manual and it’s tedious sometimes but Being forced to solve my critical focus issues has opened my awareness of this critical setting.
Perhaps you have already done this step but I wanted to throw this out there.
Just my 3 cents
Good luck.
JJ
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A lot more than 3 cents worth !
Thanks for that. It has universal applications.
John 
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I’ve found out that different leathers of the same weight require different settings. Glad you found something that worked for this. 6 oz. has always required lots of testing for me.
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I’m not surprised by this – not all cows are “standard,” much like the variability in hardwoods of the same species.
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