Where Do I Start?

[LukeA]

Hi,

I live in the Monterey, CA area. I have some artistic skill and ride a bike (motorcycle) and have always wanted to create custom leather items for it like a tool bag, lever covers and smaller simple things and I would love to work up to creating a seat, a tank and fender bid (or cover) and saddle bags. Well I just don't where to start. Are there classes in the area or online any of you might know about? Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Luke

[BillB]

LukeA,

There are several ways to get started:

1. Do it yourself

A. In the Leatherworker Board section titled "How do I do That?" there are a number of postings pinned at the very top that explain how to do things like:

How to Case Leather which it the process of prepping leather for tooling;

or how to make Chaps.

B. There are also other postings in various section of the board that deal with specifics of that subject area. The section on "Getting Started" for example.

C. Ask lots of questions here.

D. Get a starter kit from Tandy and have at it.

2. Do it yourself with some teaching;

If there is a Tandy shop near by, then you can go to them and get some lessons or go to www.TandyLeatherfactory.com and look through their kits, projects and at the bottom of the main page is a section on Leathercraft ABC and Videos.

3. Instruction - I have only seen a few courses on Leathercraft and only one of them started at the beginning. The others assumed some level of proficiency in leathercrafts. The beginners course was down in the Carolinas at one of the Art Schools in the mountains. You might be able to find a similar course in CA . You can also check this site in the Services forum or post that you are willing to pay for instruction under the Wanted forum.

It all depends on: a. How do you want to learn and what is the best method for you to learn; b. how far can you travel; c. how much are you willing to spend.

BillB

[Jordan]

A Tandy class for learning the tools and how to use them, then a pattern some tools and some leather, then jump in and do it. You can always re-purpose the leather if you mess up, which you will LOL. The 3 book set on making leather cases is a great reference, find them on sale every few months. Also the book on tools uses and sharpening them is good. Sharp is very important as to quality looks of the end product. Don't worry about buying a bunch of tools as you will eventually.

[TwinOaks]

or online any of you might know about?

You're here.

Browse the "how do I do that" section, do a search for topics, and look at the pinned threads. Also, look specifically for "tutorial". We've got a lot of them, and most are pretty well presented.

[LukeA]

Thanks for all the info! I had the pre-post blindness and only after I posted this did I start to really notice all the information and resources here.

Thanks Again.

[$$hobby]

Hi,

I live in the Monterey, CA area. I have some artistic skill and ride a bike (motorcycle) and have always wanted to create custom leather items for it like a tool bag, lever covers and smaller simple things and I would love to work up to creating a seat, a tank and fender bid (or cover) and saddle bags. Well I just don't where to start. Are there classes in the area or online any of you might know about? Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Luke

ive learned alot by reading and done most of my leather work by trial and error. there are loads of books out there on the subject. just google it. look at your library. you know those places with books. Look at used book stores too.

check your local community colleges for leather classes. if they have community ed classes check there. also keep on checking. they may not have a class today or tomorrow, but maybe a year or so down the road. As mentioned, try your local tandys store since they sometimes offer classes.

another place that needs to be mentioned. Look for saddle/tack shops or places where "leatherwork" will be bought/sold. check out their forsale board or bullitin board. some may or may not have a board, but ask anyway and look what they have posted.

google is your friend. use it.

also, try googling for leatherworkers in your area. see if they teach or take on apprentices. you maynot be making saddles or tack, but the idea is the same and you should be able to think outside of the box to apply what you learn to what you want to do.

i mented about the trail and error since you will find out that sometimes its not in the book.

if you have any leather shops in your area, get some scrap leather for doing prototyping work. its usually sold by the pound. sometimes you have to make some prototpyes several times until you get it right.

Edited June 11, 2011 by $$hobby