Tree Reaper Report post Posted December 22, 2011 After giving it some thought I came up with an idea to clamp small pieces of leather down to a small granite slab and using a thin piece of plywood not only for the clamp but also a fence to line the tools up on. This works great for stamping letters and other designs. Kevin. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tntsl Report post Posted December 22, 2011 Great idea! Thanks for sharing this with the rest of us. Little "tricks" like this one really helps folks like me from burning through too many hides trying to do decent work. After giving it some thought I came up with an idea to clamp small pieces of leather down to a small granite slab and using a thin piece of plywood not only for the clamp but also a fence to line the tools up on. This works great for stamping letters and other designs. Kevin. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sylvia Report post Posted January 11, 2012 After giving it some thought I came up with an idea to clamp small pieces of leather down to a small granite slab and using a thin piece of plywood not only for the clamp but also a fence to line the tools up on. This works great for stamping letters and other designs. Kevin. Nice bit of "Shade Tree engineering." (Loggers are always good at that kind of stuff, just like farmers) My granite isn't so nicely framed with wood, but I think a couple spring clamps and a steel ruler would work to do something like this as well, and would allow me to go diagonally too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GoldenKnight Report post Posted November 1, 2012 I know ... this post is almost a year old, but I learned a cool trick from a great leather craftsman (a master craftsman) down here in Miami, FL (Lui Rayon - owner of Daddy's Leather Supply) that has taught so many of us locally at his shop. He took a piece of thin plexiglass, coated it with rubber cement, let it dry, and uses it for tooling smaller pieces of leather. The surface is just tacky enough to hold the leather and keep it from moving around or stretching, yet doesn't come away with any sticky residue from the rubber cement. Great when tooling details on key chains, bracelets, etc. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites