Blake

What exactly is a tap off and what is it used for? A tap off is a master of the flower, leaf etc that you are using for your tooling pattern.It is usually cut out of leather, coated with a varnish or other hard protective coating. It then can be used to lay out the tooling pattern to whatever space is available. Saddle Makers use them a lot as it can get pretty tedious constantly tracing the same flower and leaf over again, especially on all of the different parts and shapes of a saddle. The book on Sheridan carving goes into good detail about making them. Once made, you simply place it face down on the cased leather in the desired posistion and tap it with a small hammer and the result is a mirror image of the flower. Some flowers and leaves require a left and right.You then free hand in the Dogs, stumps, etc between the flowers. I think this would make a fun online clinic if anyone is interested. I have made tap offs of whole corner patterns and book covers etc when I know I will be doing a lot of the same pattern. They last forever and are almost free and the designs are endless. If you are trying to make money with tooled leather items, they are a must in my opinion. I can TRY and post pictures if you have questions. Kind Regards Blake

Hello Harvey You should be able to download this and size it to your needs. If you have questions, let me know. If this doesn't work for you, I can mail it. Thank You for your interest. Kind Regards Blake

Hello Harvey Thank you for the kind words. I will be happy to share my patterns. I actually use the old "Tap Off" system and then free hand the dogs and vine. Sometimes if I am doing a lot of repitition I will make a master Tap Off of the whole pattern. This works better for me over tracing. I will post the flower cut only along with a view of the flower finished. It should show up under the floral tooling section this evening. Best Regards Blake

Hi Robert I posted a couple of pictures over at the "Show Off" section. Sorry it took so long, I'm just in the early stages of computer savvy. Blake

Just for fun!

Hello Anyone on the list carving or tooling full time or doing contract work that would like to share experiances, techniques, patterns or ideas? Blake

Hello Robert I would really like to see some of your work. I have several clients that are silver/gold smiths and always enjoy seeing their talents.There is something magic about the marriage of silver and leather and I guess I should add iron and steel to that statement as I am an avid admirer of spurs and bits. Kind Regards Blake (N.Zulch, Tx.)