Leathercraft Tool

----- Original Message -----

From: Bob Park

To: flasah@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Friday, August 14, 2009 2:08 PM

Subject: Re: [flasah] DAVID IS New to Leatherworking

 

Hi Diann,

 

Casing is a very important step in preparing you leather to be tooled. Years ago, saddle shops would have a "Casing box" which was usually a wooden box lined with galvinized steel sheets to prevent moisture from escaping the box. Needless to say these boxes were anything BUT airtight and you could put a pretty wet piece of leather into the box and remove it next day and it would be ready to tool.

 

Today, people use plastic trash bags, zip loc bags and ice chests, all which prevent ANY moisture from escaping....especially the plastic trash bags and zip loc bags. When you put your overly soaked leather in that sealed bag it did what it was meant to do....it preserved it....moisture and all! Your leather was not cased...it was just soaked!

 

When I wet my leather, I pull it through a pan of water. I want to see bubbles coming out as it passes through the water.....but waiting until all the bubbles are gone is way too long. Once you start casing you will learn how much is enough. The same holds with learning what the leather should look like when properly cased. Almost it's natural color.....a cool feel to it when touched to your cheek....you will get the hang of it quickly once you get started.

 

 If you are going to utilize plastic bags to case your leather, you need to allow much of the moisture to evaporate BEFORE you put it in a bag. I let my leather begin to turn back to it's natural color before bagging it. I want it a little wetter going into the bag than what I want to begin tooling. The idea is for the moisture to be evenly distributed through the leather. Not wetter on the top than on the bottom. Properly casing your leather will result in cleaner, crisper and better colored tooling. In addition, properly casing the leather will allow you to tool a little longer than than just wetting it with a sponge and starting to tool. Wetting the leather with a sponge IS NOT casing!

 

Additionally, the more you have to re-wet the leather, the more definition you lose in your tooling! The colors fade, beveling begins to raise and the piece doesn't look nice and crisp because it isn't any longer. If you can wet your leather once and get the whole thing tooled then that is fine. It will look nice. But you won't get the nice burnish produced when beveling and shading that properly casing your leather will give you. Nor will it cut as nicely! When I am tooling a piece that I know I can't finish without re-wetting several times, I break the tooling down to sections and keep everything I'm not tooling covered with plastic wrap until I am ready to move on to the next section. I am not saying you can't add moisture as you go...it's just that the more you do it, the more you will lose.

 

I do not know one single professional tooler who does not case his leather. Give it an honest try...once you get the hang of it I think you will be sold.

 

I hope this helps....

 

Bobby

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Diann Amberger

To: flasah@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Friday, August 14, 2009 5:45 AM

Subject: Re: [flasah] DAVID IS New to Leatherworking

 

I will tell you my experience with wetting/casing a belt like GB said. I
put it in the sink, left it till all the bubbles were gone, got it out, put
it in a plastic bag overnight in the fridge, got it out the next morning,
it was slimy, and wayyyyyyyyyyy to wet to do anything with. I had to let
it dry for hours before I could work it. I will never do that again.
Since then, I've made 2 belts and about to start on another one, and I like
David said, take a sponge and wet the leather, then I stamp, carve, or do
whatever I want to with it. This crap of having to put things in
containers overnight is just that. I'm sure I'll get lots of flak for
saying that, but that's my experience, and I'm sure GB will say because
I've only been doing this about 5 months that I don't know what I'm talking
about, but, that's what happened to mine. I would hate for you to have the
same experinece.
Diann

At 05:28 AM 8/14/2009 -0700, you wrote:
> David Said " For a sponge. The
>sponge is used for wetting the leather (also known as casing). "
>
>NO IT IS NOT .
>
> THAT IS CALLED WETTING THE LEATHER WITH A SPONGE.
>
> TO DETER EVAPORATION LONG ENOUGH FOR THE CELLS IN THE LEATHER TO GET
>EVENLY MOIST.
>
> Al Stohlman mentions for *** 24 HOURS *** in his Belts Galore book but
>overnight is just fine.
>
>Find a piece of marble to use instead of Granite unless you have a way to
>check for radioactivity in the Granite...' This Old House' PBS series
>talked about this lately for counter tops... and the contact distance and
>time touching a leather working stone is way higher than what would be for
>a kitchen counter top.
>
>Gregory B. Moody
>
>--- On Fri, 8/14/09, goldwings98se@sbcglobal.net <goldwings98se@sbcglobal.>
>wrote:
>
>From: goldwings98se@sbcglobal.<goldwings98se@sbcglobal.>
>Subject: Re: [flasah] Re: New to Leatherworking
>To: flasah@yahoogroups.com
>Date: Friday, August 14, 2009, 12:04 AM
>
> Ahhh. Ok so you got the 7 tools. Did you
>get a mallet also? For the granite slab I also have a rubber pad that
>I put under the slab to protect the table top your putting the slab on.
>Since you got the 7 tools and I assume a mallet, do not use a regular
>hammer, ever. You will destroy the tools and likely punch through most
>leather. As to the patters, I forgot to address that earlier. There are
>free patterns on the Tandy site and you will find a number of them around
>the internet. You mentioned a wristband and the pattern was to big. You
>might try going to kinkos and using a photo copier and reduce the pattern
>by say 5% each time until you get it to the right size. The books I
>mentioned also have a number of patterns. You might want to pick up some
>tracing film when your at Tandy. That will allow you to transfer the
>pattern from paper to the film that you can then transfer to the leather.
> Also a suggestion. Anytime you buy a project kit from Tandy make a
>outline of all the parts on some type of heavy bond paper or cardboard.
>That way you will always have the pattern and if, for example, a piece
>gets screwed up beyond repair you can get just the leather and re-cut the
>piece. Go to the grocery store and buy an ordinary cellulous sponge and
>cut it into 4 squares. Of course all of this is only suggestion and your
>true best bet is go to the Tandy store and talk to them. Do not be afraid
>to walk in and tell them you know nothing and need help. Think about
>taking a couple of their classes if your sons are really interested. If
>your ever unsure about an answer they gave you then don't hesitate to post
>the question on here. David Sawyer
>K1DRS -.- .---- -.. .-. ...
>1998 Pearl Chaparral Beige Goldwing SE
>http://www.davesgol dwing.com ----- Original Message ----- From:
>Mommyland@aol. com To: Flasah@yahoogroups. com Sent: Thursday, August
>13, 2009 7:19 PM Subject: [flasah] Re: New to Leatherworking
> I get the digest, so I'll try to reply to several of you in one
> post.
> > If you're reasonably near a Tandy store they have many options for
>you. A new book that is directed at kids is "Kidcraft Leathercraft
>Book," I recommend "Leather Crafting"
> offer classes, as well as all materials needed.
> < Thanks for the book recommendations. >><<
> #8170-00. >>Basic Leatherwork (part number 6008-00)
>Leather Crafting (part number 61891-01)
>Craftool Tech Tips (Part # 66056-00) by Al Stohlman. My opinion is most
>any book by Al Stohlman is worth it and helpful.
>
><< I'll have to go with just the boys so we can talk to the
>person at the store. >>
>If you have a granite countertop company nearby, you can ask for a kitchen
>sink cutout for a tooling surface. I have gotten some for boy scouts
free, I
>also got a couple larger ones for $1.00.
>
><< I'll have to check that out. Thanks!
>
>Kate
>
>
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