Toolingaround

Hi All I am thinking of taking advantage of the tandy open house sale. I want to get a steep pro beveler but can't tell if they are checkered or not. Any one know?? If it is smooth I will try to make my own cause cash is tight but I can't do checkering. Thanks eh Toolingaround

Hi there Check out what Citizen Kate does with it. I have been wanting to get some neutral antique paste to try this out. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=9341 Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi There I need more itty bitty tools too. I will be watching this thread with interest. I have made a simple tiny smooth beveler out of a nail that I use a lot. Ask your dental hygienist for old dental tools they can sometimes be filed into useful shapes like small detail modelers. Here is a picture of some tools I used on an eye patch I just finished. Some DIY and some not made for leatherwork. Nothing special but food for thought. In Al Stohlmans figure carving and pictorial carving books he has some great suggestions for altering existing craft tools for doing small areas too. Cheers, Tooling around

I hear ya! I have a Tandy A104 from the late 70's or early 80's that is literally my magic backgrounder. It walks so beautifully it is just a joy. It will clean up any crappy beveling like magic. I also have an even older one. It has a finer checkering and is also lovely. Then I have a new Tandy one from the beginner set that was so awful it was cupped inward. There was no way not to leave marks. Eventually I filled it down to half size taking away the raised edge and it is really nice for little tight spots now. But I feel bad for any noobie who gets a hold of a tool like that as they will blame themselves. I only knew better because I had the old tool first. My Tandy bevelers are so hard to use that in order to get them to walk properly I had to learn to tool with my left hand (I am right handed). That said I can now bevel and stamp with either hand and go in any direction all because my tools were so bad. Very handy when you are trying to avoid the shadow from your hands. The curve in the face of the newer Tandy B701 is handy for doing inside curves but I had to get some flat faces vintage Ivan Taiwan bevelers for anything else. I dream of the day I can get some nice Sheridan tools as I do a lot of small work. Anyhow lemonade out of lemons. I can bevel smoothly with anything now :-) Cheers, Toolingaround

Thank you very much!

Hi there If your ittem is not going to be severely flexed, saddle lac sprayed on a piece of sheep wool first and rubbed on in one or two coats (so as not to get it too thick) is very very water repellant and shiny. I have never made motorcycle gear though. WARNING!!! Yikes I should not reply to posts when I have a migraine! Resolene and saddle lac may not play nice together as the alcohol in saddle lac can dissolve acrylics like resolene. It will remove acrylic paint for sure. Weirdly enough I use saddle lac over leather sheen all the time. It is my favorite finish and even though leather sheen is acrylic I have no problem. Any how always always test on scrap and sorry for my bad advice :-( Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi Rob B I have been obsessing over flexible finishes for some 3oz veg tan that will be as water resistant as I can make them and won't crack. I came up with one finish that was very shiny, flexible, water resistant but has one tiny spot of delamination. So I am in the process of trying to figure it out. I had tortured this scrap of leather a lot by putting a bunch of different things on it so I am not sure which bits worked and which bits caused the tiny spot of delamination. When I sort it out I will try to remember to post it here. I don't make anything that takes the stress of a dog collar but I am happy to share what I find out. Hopefully I will know in a day or two. I can tell you that the final bright shine was from a home made mix of bees wax dissolved with turpentine. Put in on over the finish (which was mostly acrylic) let it evaporate out some of the turpentine, "dry" so to speak then it buffed up to a real high shine. Keep you posted, Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi There There is such a thing a genuine soft veg tan. I have a few scraps of it. It does indeed carve and stamp well. Mine is almost as soft as elk, definitely as floppy as chrome tan. I only have a precious few pieces so don't have much I am willing to sacrifice just to practice on at the moment as I want to make something with my pieces. It is hard to edge if your edger is as dull as mine. When I get a chance to burnish the edges of mine. I will try to remember to update. The floppyness is a challenge. Buy the way your bag is very nice! Here is a link to Tandy's version http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/product/milled-double-shoulders-9048-557.aspx You can pretty much tell if something is veg tan as it will soak up water like a sponge and stamps will easily leave an impression on it when cased. Sorry I don't have an answer yet as to a finish for it right now. I am trying to experiment with a flexible water resistant finish that won't crack for my 3oz veg tan but am not happy yet. Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi There He has an interesting approach to the conundrum. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SIOGDykXJFQ Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi DavidL Forgive me if this one has all ready been mentioned but it is a great book and covers some of the ittems you are interested in. More importantly she covers the basics so you can design your own. I also second the Al Stohlman case making books. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1844034747 Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi rpfkov Hey no problem. Welcome to leatherworker.net it is an awesome place :-) Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi There I know I posted this picture yesterday in another discussion but it seemed kind of relevant. This is my personal cell phone case I have worn on my hip for at least two years and shows what time alone can do. It has turned into that reddish color. My t shirt is usually over my phone so she has not really had that much sun exposure. I oiled it with Lexol NF which is non darkening and you can see that in her face which is the original leather color but over the years she has gone from a pale red head to a lovely African American color. I hope that doesn't sound racist. I used to do figure painting and truly appreciate all the beautiful skin tones we as humans come in. I will be curious to see how your tests go :-) On an opposite note what finishes do others use to reduce the darkening if they don't want that to happen. I have heard resolene mentioned. Any others? Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi There Here are two pieces that I made that I carry everyday and how they look after about two years. Loads of mistakes and it was my first time saddle stitching with Al Stohlmans book in front of me but they have held up well. My girl has quite the sun tan now. Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi There I am doing dye tests right now for a green man with Angelus dye so I thought it may help you if you see one of my scraps. I just order my dye from http://www.dharmatrading.com/dyes/angelus-leather-dyes.html?lnav=dyes.html. They have the best price but not as many colors as turtle feathers. I have done the blending by mixing my dye with Lexol NF and using a scrap of t shirt stretched over my finger. Works fantastic! I don't have an airbrush. Love the Angelus dye! Cheers, Toolingaround

Great tips everyone! Here is one from me, if you only have a teensy weensy work space like I do, I save the liners from cereal and cracker boxes to cover my stone when I am dyeing things. Free, wipes clean with alcohol and waterproof. I am now the proud owner of some angelus dye which I love!!! I discovered that the plastic "drawer organizer 12 in X 4 in X 3 in" from the dollar store exactly fits 10 boxes of Angelus dye to I can store them on my shelf with ease or bring the whole lot to the work bench to play with. Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi Dangerous Beans Guess I read it wrong, sorry Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi Dwight That is one case of truth in advertising, you will love it! I have been experimenting mixing it with my angelus alcohol dye. Wow is all I can say. After I torture more leather scrap I plan to post about it. Ban0706 I forgot to add than in my humble opinion I think veg tan needs oil and some protection in the form of a finish. I recently unroled one of my precious few sides of leather to cut a strap and after this looong dry winter the darn thing cracked all over the place so I need to oil them :-( Natural aged patina, scuffs and wear marks, cool! Icky grubby dirty, not so nice. Without a protective finish of some sort the dirt gets right into the leather and even with oxalic acid and/or saddle soap it is hard to get clean. I have been trying to clean some dirty spots on naked leather with limited results. Diluted lemon juice worked the best but turned the leather slightly pink and is hard on it. Anyhow my point is it is easier to keep the leather clean with a finish. Then the lovely natural aging shows through but the icky bits can be washed off. Even with my water resistant finishes the leather still ages nice. My two cents. Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi Ban0706 Hmm have to give the top coat some thought but for now I can tell you my favorite favorite favorite oil is Lexol NF non darkening oil. http://www.lexol.com/product_neatsfoot.aspx I learned this from a local saddle maker when I was admiring his beautiful light colored saddles. I can't remember what his top coat was but I plan to go buy some more Lexol from him again soon, maybe he will be kind enough to tell me. It will not darken the leather. It is such a light, non greasy oil it is just a joy to use. I suppose it would be possible to over oil with it but you would have to work at it :-) I am so obsessed with making things waterproof that I have not used many of the more permeable finishes. Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi OurJud Me again, don't give up if it is something you really want to do. I love leatherwork but don't have much money either. After over two years I finally bought some leather dye to play with. It takes me a long time to get stuff and I don't own anything high end. The price of leather is painful but perhaps you could go to thrift stores and repurpose old cloths or purses. I know thin cheep dyed, stiff chrome tan leather exists because I have some so it is out there. I don't drive and my Tandy is at least as far as yours thus I hardly ever get to go there so I do sympathize. Some of my leather punches are cheep ones from a surplus store that are not specifically made for leather, cutting gaskets maybe, not sure. Anyhow I was looking at knife sheath videos on you tube yesterday and ran across this one. I like his can do attitude. He obviously lives near a great cheep hobby store but the take away for me is to do what you can with what you can get and think outside the box. I am the queen of repurposing things from the dollar store, thrift stores and Walmart. Take Care, Toolingaround

Hi Dangerous Beans Umm.... Beg to differ.....no offense but awls are ancient, check this out! http://www.primitiveways.com/Iceman.html Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi David For what it is worth sharpening is the bane of my leatherworking because I suck at it but I have gotten way better (including touching up our kitchen knives) since I got a double sided diamond plate (fits in my pocket) and a Viking wet stone I wear around my neck from https://www.ragweedforge.com/SharpeningCatalog.html Ragnar is a legend for being able to sharpen anything and his favorite tools are the little diamond plate and the stone. That Viking stone is phenomenal by the way! He does have bench stones when he needs them if he really has to fix a blade but most of the time he uses the little plate and the stone. By the way if anyone loves "scandi" knives like I do you should definitely check out his web site! I have one of the wood carving Mora's from him that I use as my main leather cutting knife. His prices are the best, he is a super nice guy and he KNOWS sharpening! He will answer your questions. He also sells many other stones too. Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi there Gotta add my 2 cents. I don't think your piece is ruined at all. I have oiled before or after, don't matter it is the sealer that counts. Dye rub off is normal. You could try a light rub with denatured alcohol to see if that cuts down the on the rub off but in my humble opinion dye rub off is going to happen to some extent until you have sealed the ittem well. Resolene is an acrylic sealer that most folks aply 50/50 with water. I use it but don't like it much as it hard to get a non streaky coat. If I am doing something that must be waterproof like an eye patch so the person doesn't end up looking like the little rascal's dog. I use folk art or Ceramcoat acrylic sealers. Yes the cheep stuff from Walmart. My favorite finishes are laquers. I use saddle lac sprayed on a piece of sheep wool and lightly and quickly rubbed on. Don't spray it directly on the piece. Clear lac would be better I just don't have any yet. Saddle lac will get fine cracks on areas that are flexed a lot. My advice is to look through the posts in saddle making. Those guys know how to finish things so the dye or antiquing doesn't rub off. Tip: I get the best search results by going to google and typing leatherworker.net and what ever I want to find out about. For some reason I get better hits than the internal search. There are so many cool ways to do things in leatherwork I love to read everyone's different opinions. Well there is some of mine. Cheers Toolingaround