• Final test

    vincentmakes • 10/12/2020 at 12:12 • 0 comments

    I received the tips and its adapter. It screwed on perfectly but is a tad long. I could potentially shorten it but so far it work as is.

    I had very good result using a scrap piece of leather



  • All about the look

    vincentmakes • 09/28/2020 at 11:28 • 0 comments

    I hot glued a 6mm spring at the back of the handle to avoid too much bending of the wire. 

    I also etched a copper plate for the look (Regad sells those similar block of wood with 5 holes for 50$ which is insane)

    The copper plate etching was something I wanted to try anyways. To do so, I simply spray painted the plate then engraved it using a desktop laser.

    I had to gently clean the lines with a Q-tip and alcohol and then placed it into some ferric chloric.

    I cleaned up everything with acetone, highlighted the etched part with a marker and sanded smooth the surface with a high grit sandpaper.

  • First Tests

    vincentmakes • 09/24/2020 at 09:24 • 0 comments

    Here's a first test using the generic 1mm round tip. Note this is already an easy way to make a crease along a flat edge !

    Then I reduced the voltage and tried using the same tip with hot foil for a golden line

    Pretty pleased with the result overall!

  • Putting everything together

    vincentmakes • 09/24/2020 at 09:24 • 0 comments

    The handle itself is just an adapter that allows to screw on any compatible tip. There's no electronic control or temperature probe.

    I bought a single handle (spare part of a REGAD 200) in an art shop as well as an adjustable power supply 3-12V 5A on Banggood. 2Amps should be enough but I doubt that a cheap power supply rated at 2A will deliver that so I'm aiming higher hoping to get 2-3Amps out

    The different tips can be bought of Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/listing/831373388/tips-for-single-and-double-electric) for the leather specific ones and any French art shop (https://www.vaissiere-peintures.fr/vaissiere-peintures-produit-381.fr.html) for the generic one (round tip, flat tip). I spotted some shops in the UK who are selling those tips as well. Keep in mind that Regad is a french manufacturer, hence the easiest availability and popularity in France.

    The tips I could find on Etsy use a single heating element as a base and offer different tips which screws on it

    I then simply replaced the power plug on the handle to fit the one of the power supply. Added a bit of paint and a leather wrap for style.

    Here's a summary of the total cost for each part

    Item Cost ($)
    Handle Regad 200 10
    Adjustable Power supply 3V-12V 5A 20
    Tip 26 for hot foil 6
    Ball tip B21 6
    Ball tip B22 6
    Ball tip B23 6
    Spatula tip P20 for smoothing paint 6
    Base Tip for leathercraft 40
    Tip FNR 2.0 18
    Tip F2.0 18
    Total 136

    The specific tips for leather craft carries the bulk of the cost but at 136$, we're far from the 300$ (without the tips) from the ready to use version