JLSleather

I use an airbrush most of the timie, but I think your coloring is just fine Nice work!

Neat idea. Just wanna make sure you check for hydro leaks every so often before you put the pricey stuff in there .

Too kind, Ann, but thanks Personally, I prefer natural leather with a hints of color. Hate to see perfectly good cow all painted up. But, my wife says - about 2 or 3 times a week - kaint just make what I like. So, the dark leather was her idea, actually. I have 16 bottles (1 0z) that I have stuff pre-mixed in, and 4 more (same size) that I have around for mixing the stuff I'm just gonna use once (I don't do lots of purple, but even I liked those purple orchids that lady wanted). This is why I say "about" 4:1 or "about" 30:1 ... I know some of the reducer is evaporating when the bottle is open. Bottles are about 1 3/8" diameter, I git the dye with droppers. They're about $2 / 5 pack at hobby lobby, and I keep them separated - one for yellows, one for reds .... etc. All of it sits in a small drawer in my bench and slides shut out of the way when I'm tooling. Just for information, the bottles I use are 1 oz glass bottles by Paasche, who also makes the airbrushes I use. Hobby lobby has those, too, or you can get them on Ebay for about $1 apiece. Glass bottles will clean out very well if you ever decide to clean 'em, and you can use them with the airbrush if you care to (I don't - too much weight for me when I'm trying to be able to move around). The "thingy" posted here is all done with shades of those 16 colors, though some of the shades are more than one color painted over the top of another. I post it here so you can see what the 30:1 blue looks like (sky, water, fisherman's jeans, and lightly on the distant mountains).

Ya gotta nice lookin' piece o' cow there. Personally, I'd either replace it - or not - with no mention to the customer. Your wife's prolly right ... proll nobody cares. Only question to ask ... does it bother YOU?

It's only because both exist that there even is any confusion. Wife is from New Zealand, and mostly uses "English", because the butcher would have us committed if we asked for 60 grams of sirloin. She's better at it than before, which is good cuz the speed limits are in "English". I know that 6 mm = .234 inches. I always remember that because I spent 12 hours one night drilling out two dozen 1/4" cap screws that some genius forced into 6 mm holes in a hardened die block. If we had JUST metric stuff, I wouldn't need to remember the conversion, So, go with just ONE ... and the one the rest of the world uses is metric. Should be easy enough ... me 'n' the kids LIKE the idea of going down the road at 100 (k).

I thin almost everything... only dyes used full strength are black and chocolate. These colors I want to leave rich - usually solid colors. Some of the colors are about 4:1 (solvent to dye), others much more. I buy "navy" and thin it about 30:1 to simulate skies, water, and denim clothing. Put the navy on full strength - even with a "dry" brush - and it's nearly black. And it's easier to blend. The Fiebing's dye is basically little flakes blended in a solution. Thin it out (more solution) and you can cover more area quickly and I think it's easier to keep it "even". One more (big) reason for reducer is I can get different shades of one color without changing the color (chocolate and dark brown, even full strength, are not the same shade). Photo below is dark brown dye (only). Background is about 1:1, design is about 10:1. Same dye bottle, though....

When I have the time, I tool all day. Every so often, I do get out of the chair for a minute for phone, restroom, whatever... seems to be enough. Only pain I get is every so often - seems like after 9P - bit of discomfort in the base of the skull, usually due to the wife being tired of the taptaptaptaptaptaptap........ Seriously, unless I'm doing very large projects, I like to sit until it's done. Leather only gets wet ONCE.

Other way around ... this is to prevent hardening. When you wet / case leather, the water evaporates out. When the water goes out, it takes some of the oils with it (just like human skin). General rule, the faster it dries the more oil lost (much like a sunburn). Neatsfoot puts it back. Couple of other benefits too, but it's early ...

All a matter of personal preference. There are unlimited combinations of color and method, so it becomes a matter of the look you want and the method you're comfortable with. Examples ... I use Fiebing's spirit dyes, and usually in an airbrush. This is more for speed than for effect. I use brushes (red sable hair) to get the look I want at times, and the look and the technique are different even though it's the same dye. I don't use acrylics at all, but I've seen VERY nice work by those who use acrylics. One large difference is that the acrylics tend to be more opaque, as a rule. If you put light blue spirit dye on "yellow-tan" (natural) leather, you'll get a greenish tint, because the natural leather "adds" to the color of the light blue. Light blue acrylics tend to cover the underlying color - even when thinned - and will result in a more pure light blue. Keep in mind that this comes from a guy who has tried various acrylics on different substances - and in the end chose the spirit dyes for leather. For what it's worth ...

Yes, it is. This one I couldn't do that, but I thought I'd pop in to say that I received that hide from W & C - very nice and more than reasonably priced ($125 to the door).

This may help ... Green arrows: Bevel these lines on out. They should fade gradually. Red arrows: Fade these impressions. It looks like a shader tool was smacked right there, though it should look like a depresson in a 3D flower. This is common, so don't let it drive on you - just to be aware. This is the same "type" of carving ... admittedly "down and dirty" for the purpose of this conversation. One side shows it tooled only, you can see how the impressions gradually fade out. The right side is hurriedly painted, just to maybe make it easier to see. The PAINT fades out, too. I threw "stops" in there where the stem sections meet, but I usually wouldn't. Just giving you another idea ...

Ordered ONE side of the W & C, we'll see what we get. As I explained to that very personable lady, I'm really more interested in a very BLEACHED natural color more than worried about an occasional scar or brand. I like to keep the color options WAY open.

Thanks, Dwight ... you're not the first to recommend Weaver. Might have to give them a try ... always good to have another source. I've got a dozen belts coming up, would you recommend the shoulders or the sides (I need about 50")?

Free is good, and friends are even better My experience with suppliers, for what it's worth ... I ordered from Springfield exactly 3 times ... it wasn't good. I had paid for two orders I wasn't happy with, shipping on all of it, and a "membership". I called them up, got a lady who actually laughed (and then caught herself) when I told her we need some other plan than me spending money on stuff I can't use and spending my time on the phone. I ordered one more time. No improvement, and I figured 3 times and 2 calls was enough opportunity for them to get it right. I have purchased leather from Tandy, but I ALWAYS go to the store. One recent trip, in a stack of 20 hides I found ONE I would use. So, I just go pick it out myself. The folks at S-T Leather have been good, though, never any problems. I don't know how they are about returns, because in 25 years I've never had to return anything. In St. Louis, MO, on the web here, '800' phone number top of the first page. They're the only one I've found so far with REAL service. Shipping is never cheap these days, and it's the same at S-T, but at least you know you're not paying $15-20 shipping to get some stuff you won't be happy with. One more note about that ... I've never cared for "kits", but if you use them S-T has them at FAR less money than Tandy.

You didn't say what's wrong with it Dried out? The leather can be brought back like any other, but oils / conditioners are easier to apply from the grain side (or maybe that's just the way I'm used to). Leather is leather, whether it's facing north or south.

I personally never understood the "practice" leather thing. Here's the deal ... If you tool bad leather, you'll get used to tooling bad leather. Just like if you're going to learn to play the piano, you wouldn't "practice" on a piece of junk, because your fingers will get used to the cheap keys and your ears will get used to the cheap sound. When you hear the real thing, doesn't sound right. Use a decent piece of leather to "practice". If it works out well, you have a good start on a finished product. If you don't like it, then you're out - what ' $1.50??? And you can still "practice" your coloring on this "ruinied" piece. Example: One side of 3/4 oz runs $125, and cuts roughly 70 men's wallets (the size most craftaids are made). Do the math and ya got less than $2 apiece in it. Say you don't like it. But now you have THAT experience, and you can try to color it. Don't like that either? Then color it again ... darker color(s). Or maybe you re-color one side, and try a finish you're wanting to try out on the other end. STILL out less than $2. Once yo get 'up n running', you'll most likely realize that those kits really aren't the way to go anyway.

A couple of thoughts from a northern boy who is often shoved in a corner (5 kids). I have one room, which I can lock to keep the little people away from knives and chemicals. For storing leather, grab 2-3 of those little clips used to hold the edge of a tarp. They will clamp on any thickness of leather - lets you HANG the leather on a wall. This is a plus for being able to see what you have AND space, and keeps the leather free of wrinkles/stains from laying flat or rolling up. NOTE: Do not hang in direct sunlight, or hang FACING wall. My work table has 6 drawers. Sewing / lacing in one, coloring tools in another, etc. Cutting patterns hang on the walls. Eliminate multiple tables .... use your tooling bench for coloring by covering with removable stuff -- a piece of masonite works well. When done coloring, stand the masonite against the wall behind the table. It's $4-5 a sheet and will last a LONG time, even if one side is used for cutting. Or, a fold-up table used just for coloring and cutting ... doesn't need to be all that sturdy if you aren't tooling there ... I don't like those kits, either ... too much money and too little quality (which is nicer than saying they're cheap junk). I squirm when I buy a side, too .... I know I'm getting 5-7 feet of belly (if I was doing saddle seats, for example, that would be fine). Most of the time I use double shoulders ... fairly economical cutting compared to other cuts (there's always SOME waste, but minimal). Plexiglass makes great cutting patterns. Stores easily (drill a hole in one corner of each piece for that project, tie 'em together with a piece of heavy thread, hang the thread from a nail, picture hanger, door knob, drawer pull). And you can see through it to see the leather you'll get frm the cut (I like the stuff tinted a bit with lavender, seems my eyes see well through that without glare). Wow ... this was alot longer than I intended ...

Always somebody wanting to help ... if you're writing a check I think the trend these days is to "partner" with Tandy [and some others] and give "classes" at $50 - $500 a whack, which they split. Or make a DVD. Or write a book. Same thing, really ... supposed to look "professional", but in the end it's just another hustle. I've seen some "classes" where you should be learning what NOT to do. And some of them are actually quite GOOD at it, but have decided the money is better (or easier) to talk than to craft. I'm always getting asked about how I did this or that, so I've been thinking about some simple instruction pieces. No DVDs, simply not necessary. But I'm almost caught up to the point where I can make a few basic items with enough pause in there to take some still shots and later write a .pdf file I can send to anyone who wants it. As in free. Meantime, if you have a specific question ... or need a particular cutting pattern (long as it's mine)...