Tag: laser cutter

Leather labels

On By CarynIn Craft

I wanted to add labels to my handmade items, so used the laser cutter to make some from thin leather. I added pairs of holes to the edges so they could be sewn on, my signature mark, and the primary material used for the item.

Photo description: labels cut from leather with a blue laser cutter, pencil for scale

I’m really pleased with how these came out. I’m getting better at estimating laser cutter and engraving settings; I had only one test cut before dialing in to settings that gave me my desired result. For the cut I had a speed and power of 100, and the fill engrave was power 30, speed 100, line density 100. The labels are 1cm by 5cm, which is just about as small as I can go and still sew them into a circle.

Dishwasher magnet

On By CarynIn Craft

The problem with multiple parallel projects is sometimes bits get buried and I forget I have a work in progress. That happened with the dishwasher signs that I made with my folks’ laser cutter. I brought the parts home then got distracted. It happens. I found the parts again, realized I had everything I needed to complete it, I just had to make the magnet hole a little larger.

Photo description: laser cut wood disc with roll of sandpaper. The center hole was slightly too small for the magnet, so it had to be sanded until the magnet could be pressed in.

After fixing the magnet to the middle of the center layer, I could then glue all three layers together: the sign, the magnet layer, and the laser cut felt. To make sure everything set tight, after brushing on the wood glue and assembling, I wrapped the magnet in wax paper and clamped it in a book press to dry.

Photo caption: two dishwasher magnets, one sign up, one felt up, sitting on two book presses

To finish and protect the wood, I used Howard’s Feed-n-Wax.

Photo description: dishwasher magnet in use with four labels on a rotating circle: Dirty, Delay, Washing, and Clean

Laser cutter

On By CarynIn Craft

I recently visited my folks, who have a new laser cutter, so I had to give it a go. I had sketched up a design before I visited of a new idea for a dishwasher magnet, then I got carried away filling the space with simple yarn shuttles, weaving needles, and even a drop spindle whorl.

Photo description: 1/8th inch plywood cutouts clockwise from top right: three yarn holders, two weaving needles, two 2-part dishwasher magnets, and a dragonfly spinning whorl on a wooden shaft (the shaft is from a different spindle)

The laser cutter is like a Cricut cutter, but on steroids. The cuts were smoother than I expected, and really don’t need clean up. The engraved dragonflies actually have some depth, which is neat. The dragonfly design is one of mine that I pulled from archives to test out (because I could). There is some learning curve, and experimentation with power and speed is necessary for the best results. It was overall a fun project. I do have some assembly and testing work ahead of me.