Leather dust/putty

[Spence]

Okay, I've done the search thing and haven't been able to find what I really need to know.

I'm getting ready to clean up this hovel I call a shop and that means I'll be tossing a huge amount of scrap leather, mostly skived and beveled lace remnants and slivers of leather.

Before I toss it, is this what I need to make up some leather putty? If so, is there anything I need to do to chop it up into dust? What is "Leather Dust" ?

Thanks

[barra]

Okay, I've done the search thing and haven't been able to find what I really need to know.

I'm getting ready to clean up this hovel I call a shop and that means I'll be tossing a huge amount of scrap leather, mostly skived and beveled lace remnants and slivers of leather.

Before I toss it, is this what I need to make up some leather putty? If so, is there anything I need to do to chop it up into dust? What is "Leather Dust" ?

Thanks

Here's what I do. I save all my bits of skiving scraps and edging slivers in an old coffee can. When I have enough I put some into an old electric coffee grinder. When all ground up save the dust in another container for future use. When I want some I only mix up enough for use by adding a small amount onto a scrap of heavy cardboard. Make a well in the pile of dust and add PVA glue. I then mix it well together adding small amounts of PVA until I get the consistency I want (fairly thick).

Barra

[Spence]

Thank you, Barra. Just what I needed to know. I'll have enough leather dust to supply generations.

[Spence]

Okay. I bought an electric coffee grinder. Very common item, pretty much the same, regardless of the brand.

I put my slivers and bits in there and all it did was wrap around the blades. A minimal amount of dust and the motor jammed. Just in case, I put small, medium and large amounts into the thing. Same result.

Any other ideas?

Do they sell leather dust anywhere?

Edited October 5, 2009 by Spence

[whinewine]

Okay. I bought an electric coffee grinder. Very common item, pretty much the same, regardless of the brand. I put my slivers and bits in there and all it did was wrap around the blades. A minimal amount of dust and the motor jammed. Just in case, I put small, medium and large amounts into the thing. Same result.

Any other ideas?

Do they sell leather dust anywhere?

I know you're trying to make dust from your leather scraps, but... if you need dust to use as filler, use sawdust instead. That's what I was taught years ago & it's all that I use & it's a lot more inexpensive ($0.00 per pound).

Or, do like Rawhide does, use up the scraps to make handles for scalples (sp?). He's got a post somewhere on how to do it. All you need is scraps, not dust.

russ

Edited October 5, 2009 by whinewine

[Spence]

Thanks Russ.

I guess that's what I'm gonna have to do.

As luck? would have it, I own a radial arm saw and that monster is an expert at manufacturing sawdust.

And thanks for the idea about wrapping the scalpels. I probably have some lengths that would work for that. Although I've been making some pretty small flattened turksheads with that stuff too.(for appliques)

[whinewine]

Spence:

I'm sorry, I made a mistake- the post: Just for fun, Leather mache (under fabrication: leather tools), was made by Panther, not Rawhide (although that's how I found the original post- through his posts).

I stand corrected.

russ

Edited October 5, 2009 by whinewine

[joet]

Okay, I've done the search thing and haven't been able to find what I really need to know.

I'm getting ready to clean up this hovel I call a shop and that means I'll be tossing a huge amount of scrap leather, mostly skived and beveled lace remnants and slivers of leather.

Before I toss it, is this what I need to make up some leather putty? If so, is there anything I need to do to chop it up into dust? What is "Leather Dust" ?

Thanks

You have been given some excellant advice, and I don't want to duplicate any of it, but you might try using a blender (not your wife's) and see how that would work. Hide Crafters in Texas sells bags of leather dust just for their Robb Barr patterns.

[ClayB]

I tried an electric coffee grinder once, took the blades right off of it. Tried a blender too and that didn't work much better. For me, it's easier to just buy the stuff. I've heard that some shoe repair places sweep up piles of leather dust when they sand soles and things. You might be able to get it from a place like that. I don't know how clean it would be. If you're just using it on the backs of projects to fill in the embossing, it might not matter how fine it is, or how clean. If you are going to use it on the front of projects to fill in areas of an embossed carving, then you'd want it as fine and clean as you can get it. The stuff from Hide Crafter is good stuff. Leather dust mixed with rubber cement also stays a little bit flexible after it dries so you can still shape the muscles etc. on a carved project.I think that's why Robb and Jan went to it instead of saw dust.

[CitizenKate]

To me, the larger issue is finding a use for my leather crumbs. I used to have a large pile of fairly large leather pieces leftover from my game boards that I had to find uses for. I have expanded my product line to include smaller and smaller items in order to convert the remnants into some income. But now I've got a couple of bins full of pieces that are so small or skinny that there really is nothing else I could make with them, which is why I call them crumbs.

If I could find a good way to grind them up, then I would be able turn 100% of the leather I buy into something I can sell.

Kate

[Spence]

Thanks everyone. It sounds like I might be trying Hidecrafters. I've got sawdust leaking out of my shop too.

Kate, be sure to keep us updated on a grinder.

[CitizenKate]

Thanks everyone. It sounds like I might be trying Hidecrafters. I've got sawdust leaking out of my shop too.

Kate, be sure to keep us updated on a grinder.

If I find a way to do it, I'll shout it from the [expletive deleted] mountaintop!

Kate

[kevinhopkins]

Hi.... Actually, I think hidecrafters will give that stuff away if you ask.... I know I will! We have to empty out the collector bag on the shop finishers fairly often. But for what it's worth, I don't know why anyone would have to have leather dust, when sawdust is plentiful, and works great.... But if you need it, drop me a note, or email me, and when we empty the dumb bag, I'll send it to you for the cost of shipping.

Kevin@springfieldleather.com

[CitizenKate]

Hi.... Actually, I think hidecrafters will give that stuff away if you ask.... I know I will! We have to empty out the collector bag on the shop finishers fairly often. But for what it's worth, I don't know why anyone would have to have leather dust, when sawdust is plentiful, and works great.... But if you need it, drop me a note, or email me, and when we empty the dumb bag, I'll send it to you for the cost of shipping.

Kevin@springfieldleather.com

I might take you up on that, Kevin. but tell me, what do you do with your tiniest leather scraps?

Kate

[Windom Leather]

Ok I have just got to ask. What is the dust and putty for exactly? I havent heard of this before so you all got me curious now.

[ClayB]

Leather dust is just that, ground up leather. It is made into putty by mixing it with rubber cement, or in some cases contact cement. The main use for it that I know of is to fill in the back of embossed leather carvings. Back when Al Stohlman was doing embossed pictures, he made leather sculpted plugs to put on the back and when these were tooled around, they made the leather stand out on the front, giving it a 3-D effect. Robb Barr is usually given credit for the "extreme embossed" technique that many people use today. I was told that he wasn't the first to use leather dust/ putty, but I don't remember who was supposed to have told Robb about it (maybe Kathleen Bond?) Robb made a series of videos with George Hurst showing several projects that he made using the extreme embossing technique. With his technique, the leather is stretched from the backside creating a cavity. This cavity is then filled in with the leather putty mixture. There are times when even more stretch is wanted, and to do that, some parts of the leather is cut through on the front of a carving. Then that cut out part can also be filled in with putty. When it's done right, it's really hard to tell where the leather ends, and the putty starts. The putty can be shaped and textured just like the original leather. Jan Schoonover is a master at that. There are also times when leather putty can be applied to leather for a different texture altogether. Adding fairly realistic bark can be added to trees is one example. These are the most common uses I know of for leather putty. There are probably others. I'll add a few pictures to show some of these techniques.

Robb Barr Grizzly

Jan Schoonover Grizzly

Bark

More bark