Die for Leather Work

A friend of mine makes these really nice looking wallets by hand.  He and I were talking and I asked what could make that easier?

He talked about how he wanted some template dies to make cutting the pieces out easier.

So using a vector file for the drawing, some plexiglass, and laster cutter I make them for him.

I made this at TechShop. www.techshop.ws
 

Step 1: Draw Up Your Design

I used inkscape to draw up the design and then imported it into CorelDraw to print directly to the Laser cutter. I added some text and I was ready to go.
Some cutters have different requirement for line cuting and etching. Be sure you consult your manual.

Step 2: Material Set Up

I was using some .075" thick plexiglass I found in the scrap bin. I placed it in the cutter bay and was ready to print.

Step 3: Print to Cut

So after hitting print in CorelDraw and sending the design to the printers control panel I double check my desing placement, moved it arround as need and hit the go button to let the laser do all the work.*not is your adding text or a rastered image you will want to take off 1 side of film that it will etch on.

Step 4: Finish Product (die)

Here is the finish product to the spec he required and check out these wallet made using the template die.

This was quick, easy, and really benifited a friend.