Jump to content

Bob Blea

Contributing Member
  • Posts

    1,771
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Bob Blea

  1. Great work! I like the idea of the magnetic closure and the way you used it. I may have to come up with a project to use that idea on. Bob
  2. Great looking cases. Do you hand sew them? Bob
  3. The belly part of a hide is very stretchy, and is easier to work with for this type of application than a back, which is much firmer and doesn't stretch much. Parts of the cow that naturally moved and stretched a lot during it's life will make stretchier and easier to form leather for molding. Bob
  4. What are you using to strike your tools? If it's a metal hammer that will ruin the tools and cause metal flaking like your describing. Bob
  5. Hello Jj5685, Was your leather dry when the spots appeared? In my experience I've only had mold spots (and what you describe does sound like mold) when the leather has still been wet. Once it's dried out again I haven't experienced mold showing up on it, but I live in a very dry climate. If you live in a humid climate maybe that could be a problem. I have had specs like that show up from a reation to steel that leather naturally has when it's wet, and lemon juice does make those disappear too. It could be possible your specs showed up because something got on the leather. Lemon juice does a pretty good job taking off small specs of mold. I've had luck with denatured alcohol too, but I think my favorite for really cleaning is oxalic acid. You can probably find this under a brand name of 'bar keeper's friend' at your local hardware store. It is also called wood bleach. It's a strong cleaner and is traditionally used by leather workers, just remember that both oxalic acid and alcohol dry out the leather a lot and you will need to add conditioners (neatsfoot oil or whatever you normally use) afterward. I believe that once you clean a project with the oxalic acid, the mold won't come back, but that's just my opinion. I've only been doing this for a few years so I could be wrong. Bob
  6. Thanks for posting, this was really good info. Bob
  7. Pretty cool Chief! Is that the instrument you are playing in your avatar pic? Bob
  8. Wezgo, you might be interested in these Border blades from Barry King: http://www.barrykingtools.com/swivelknives.htm. The border blades are near the bottom of the page. The long part of the blade travels around the outer edge of your leather and the shorter inner part cuts the edge. bob
  9. Had a great time at the IFoLG show in Denver, and congratulations to Robert Beard on his lifetime achievement award!

    Read more  
  10. A suggestion for those of you who do take orders over the phone or in person: write up the details as you discussed it with the customer and then email it to them asking for confirmation. That way you have a written authorization from your customer stating what you are supposed to make. If there was any misunderstanding it can be ironed out before the project starts, not when you are delivering it. Also, it gives you a record if there is any disagreement when the item is delivered. Bob
  11. Lauren, If you have a Tandy close enought to you to visit it in person, you can probably pick out some good leather at a good price. Just look for a nice smooth grain surface that is big enough for the project you are making. You might also want some scraps to practice tooling on before starting on your bridle. All of the leather tools take some practice to get decent results from. Bob
  12. Also, there is a link on this site to a tutorial on how to do this: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=43384. I thought I had seen this somewhere here, just took a bit to find it. Bob
  13. Hi artycpt, try getting this book from Tandy: http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/home/61906-00.aspx I believe it has a description of how to do two toned lacing. Tandy has a similar pamphlet that also covers lacing and I might be thinking of that one, but from the cover image on this one I think it's the one with the two tone lace description. Bob
  14. I would recommend something more like this: http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/home/department/tools/punches/chisels/88041-533.aspx It makes a angled slit instead of the round holes of the punch you referenced above. I just prefer the slits to the round holes, but it is a matter of preference. IMO the angled slits look cleaner. Bob
  15. Hi Tom, Barry King Tools would be who I recommend: http://www.barrykingtools.com/ That's primarily what I use. The SLC tools are very similar and I hear are good, but I don't have experience with them. Tandy also has some Sheridan style tools now with their Pro tool line, but they seem a little overpriced when compared to Barry King. Bob
  16. Cyber, that sounds like a great system. Well thought out. I have similar documents on my computer but not nearly as sophisticated as what you have. I'm not all that busy so I don't have to track lots of inquiries and work in progress, but I've been meaning to create a work order sheet to keep with each item I'm working on. The sheet will have details on it so I know exactly what steps the items has been through (applying resist, apply neatsfoot oil, etc.) so if I have to put it away for a while, I'll have notes as to where I was in the project when I pick it back up. It would also be helpful for filing away for later reference so I can remember what I did to a project as far as finishing, coloring, etc., if I need to go back and make something like it. Right now all my enquiries about projects come through email or Etsy, so I keep track of those discussions electronically and archive them on the computer. Bob
  17. Really nice work Mike! The eyes really work on this. Bob
  18. Very nice work on the fine details of the Celtic knot work and the lettering. And I think the backgrounding you used looks excellent. Very nice work!
  19. Good questions, I would like to know the answer too. Bob
  20. Have you tried posting these pictures in the Leather Tools section of this forum? There is more traffic in that group and there are some pretty expert people there. Bob
  21. I agree, Bob Park's book has really helped me out too. Bob
  22. Nice design and really nice looking leather. Great work. Bob
  23. That's exactly the idea of a tap off. Sounds like the baking worked out really well. You will still want to coat the baked leather with something like Clear Lac or Resolene just to keep it from absorbing moisture from the cased leather, otherwise it will eventually ruin the impression. But it looks good! Bob
  24. Hi Rayban, I don't know of a process where you bake the leather. There is a common technique in floral carving of making a 'tap off'. You would carve the pattern you wanted (say a section of a belt design) in cased leather, and then let that dry. You only do the swivel knife cuts, no tooling needed. After it dries, give it several coats of Neat Lac and let it dry. This gives you a reversed image of the final design you want to carve. Then, you case a belt and place this carving on top of it and 'tap' (actually you have to hit is pretty hard in my experience) the design into the cased leather. The carved lines create a raised image on the cased belt that you carve with a swivel knife, kind of like a Craftaid. It's a great technique for reproducing belt patterns or other things you will use again and again, but you can do the same thing with a floral pattern. In the Sheridan Style carving book they show using this same technique with flower elements to lay out a pattern on wet leather. In this case you are tapping the flower designs into the leather and then drawing the vinework for everything else. This probably isn't exactly what you were thinking of, but maybe it helps. Bob
×
×
  • Create New...