Hi Bob,
What you say makes perfect sense. I guess I've just been too impatient to
get started carving and tooling. I'll try to slow down a little and use
your method and see if it works better for me. Thanks for sharing.
Diann
At 12:08 PM 8/14/2009 -0700, you wrote:
> Hi Diann, pretty wet piece of
>leather into the box and remove it next day and it would be ready to tool.
> 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. 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.
>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.
>><>><<
>>>>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
>>>>
>>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
>>
>>
>> No virus found in this incoming message.
>>Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.392 / Virus Database:
>>270.13.54/ 2300 - Release Date: 08/13/09 06:11:00
>
>
> No virus found in this incoming message.
>Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.392 / Virus Database:
>270.13.56/2302 - Release Date: 08/14/09 06:10:00
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment