Punch holes in leather

[ronis10]

If possible I would like to use my cnc router to make a large leather sign. The holes are going to be 1/8 inch in size and there will be close to 1800 holes on a 48 x 96 inch surface. Can I use the spindle as a hole puncher without any rotation?

Thank you, Paul

[scottcox]

Paul,

I wouldn't put that type of load on your spindle bearings. You could rig up a bracket to your z plate and input an offset before you run your program.

Sounds very cool though. Please post a picture when you do it.

-Scott

[Gary Campbell]

Paul..
Do your homework or check with Tech Support to find how much pressure you can put on the Z before you get a motor fault. Another option could be to install an air operated punch.
Gary

[scottcox]

Paul,

Another thought to keep your z from faulting is add a sheet of stiff foam under the leather.

-Scott

[myxpykalix]

Another thought would be to make a jig out of mdf with holes slightly bigger right below where the hole in the leather will be punched to give it support but let the punch go thru the material but put no pressure on the spindle.

[gene]

Can you get a 1/8 brad point bit and try it on a scrap of leather at a slow speed

[mzettl]

Paul,

Will the leather be backed with anything? If it were glued down to a backing board, then I think you might be able to drill it with a very sharp, high quality brad point bit. If not, then you would most likely have to use a punch. I think a lot depends on the type of leather. A thick, stiff cowhide like the kind used for making belts would be much easier to drill than a thin, soft lambskin for instance.

The problem I would envision, in addition to those already mentioned, would be ejection of the "plugs" from the punch if were chucked in the spindle collet. I'm not that familiar with the types of punches available for this purpose, but you may be able to make up your own that had an ejection slot on one side to solve that problem.

I'll be interested to see this when it's done. Good luck.

-Matt

[stevem]

A punch like this, with side cleanout, would work well. I have used these for plastic, but with a hammer. http://www.bernalpunches.com/special_bevel_punches.htm

[grandpaspastime]

As a Leather worker, The only way you are going to punch the holes is leather successfully, is to mount a hollow leather punch in the router or spindel and have it running. You cannot get enough vertical force to do the job. The leather is going to have to be rubber cemented to the spoil board to prevent shifting as you punch. It will peel very nicely when you are done and leave little residue on the leather. That's what I do when tooling and I don't want the piece to move or stretch while I'm working. Run the RPM at the slowest you can. drill bits will only chew the leather and not give clean holes. I often use my dremel on thick knife sheaths to put the hoiles in for hand stitching but it leaves some jagged edges to be cleaned up later.. If I can help further contact me off line at grandpas@ix.netcom (mailto:grandpas@ix.netcom).
I have tried many things on my BOT with the leather in the past. results are mixed