A 900mm belt in 3.5mm veg tan with a basketweave pattern engraved rather than stamped. The challenge was the seam — a repeating pattern that doesn't line up looks worse than no pattern.
Method
Drew the pattern as a tile whose left and right edges match exactly, then arrayed it along the length and checked the joins at 400% zoom before cutting anything. Two of the joins were a fraction out; fixing them in the file took ten minutes and saved a belt.
Settings
45% power, 3000mm/min, 1 pass, 800 DPI, air assist on. Surface dampened with a barely-wet sponge immediately before engraving — leather takes a crisper, darker mark slightly damp, and the fuzzy halo mostly disappears.
Wiped with a damp cloth afterwards to lift soot from the grain, then neatsfoot oil and a day to rest.
Material warning
Veg tan only. Chrome-tanned releases chromium compounds, PVC-backed leatherette releases chlorine. If the supplier won't state the tannage, don't.
