Toolingaround

Hi There Just as an FYI alcohol dissolves acrylics. So be careful which products you use with them as many have an alcohol base like dyes and lacquers. For example I discovered this the hard way by putting saddle lac over an acrylic painted piece Duh-Oh! Perhaps your spirit or oil dye was not fully dry and caused the acrylic not to adhere? Also acrylics dry to the touch fast but it takes quite a bit longer for them to fully dry and adhere to a surface so thus thin coats and lots of drying time as others have said. Surfaces that are too slick are also not good with acrylics so I second the advice to not over buff or burnish the surface before applying the paint. Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi There That is a nice effect I will keep it in mind. Thanks for sharing :-) Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi There I use Saddle Lac all the time. It is great for a very water resistant finish but is prone to cracking as most lacquers are so I put in on very thin by spraying on a scrap of shearling and quickly rubbing it on. Sometimes I do two thin coats but only if I must. If you go to the saddle makers forum and research how they apply neat lac etc. you will get more info. I use the same technique. Hope that helps. Cheers, Toolingaround

Wow I am not the only one :-) I use my headlamp all the time to tool it really helps as my lighting situation is not fantastic. Five bucks great find! Cheers, Toolingaround

For anyone who may be interested the results of my quickie sharpie tests are: DO NOT USE SADDLE LAC!!! It is very effective at removing sharpie espeshaly on chrome tanned smooth leather. A little note on my fast and dirty tests. I did not allow the requisit number of hours for drying between coats. I used a damp sponge to apply the last two finishes (resolene and folk art). Two thin coats full strength not watered down except by what ever water was in the sponge. I only waited about a half hour to dry before doing a water drop test and then rubbing hard with first a paper towel then a piece of canvas. I used a piece of naked veg tan, a piece of soft red drum dyed chrome tan and a piece of surface dyed chrome tan with a distressed effect put on it commercially. All three finishes removed some of the distressed effect ( even plain water did) glad I know that about that piece of leather now. RESOLENE: FAIL the sharpie started to come off PLEASE NOTE I DID NOT ALLOW HOURS OF DRYING TIME PLAID FOLK ART ARTIST VARNISH SATIN #885: Winner!!!! A buck at Walmart and preserved the sharpie the best. It is quite water resistant and from my experience with it in the past is quite waterproof when fully cured. The only thing I noticed was a bit of a whitish look in the texture of the leather in the very soft red leather and a light removal of the sharpie after a lot of abuse. On the firmer surface dyed chrome tan it was fine. Obviously this was not the best testing procedures and I abused the finishes long before there curing time but at this point if I had to choose one I would pick the folk art acrylic. http://www.plaidonline.com/folkart-finishes-artists-varnish-satin-2-oz/51/885/product.htm Anyhow this may help some future googler. I would recommend of course following the suggested drying time of the product and testing what ever you use on an inconspicuous area before trying to seal a precious autograph. Just my two cents, Cheers all Toolingaround

Yikes!!! As an artist I know what you mean about being nervous of "fat over lean" but it does work as every one has said. If it gives you the heeby jeebies here is something you could try. Even though I read and respect all the dire warnings about only using pure neats foot oil a well respected local saddle maker turned me on to this product which I love! He uses it on all his light saddles. Lexol NF http://www.lexol.com/product_neatsfoot.aspx# I never would have tried it without his advice. This stuff is amazing! The reason I mention it is numerous times in my enthusiasm working on a project I have started painting with acrylics on the leather when I realized I totally forgot to oil the leather. My art training kicks in and I am paranoid of getting oil on the face of the leather but no worries you can oil from the back with lexol NF no problem it is fantastic even with a thick piece of leather it will soak in. It truly does not darken the leather. It leaves the leather supple without being limp. Boy I love the stuff. Even if you do get any kind of oil on the front it will absorb if you give it time like everyone says. I just thought I would offer you an alternative for the paranoid :-) Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi Elf3 I use saddle lac and resolene all the time. I would worry about the saddle lac as the alcohol in it could affect the sharpie. Not sure if it would but I would hate to risk it. Although it is very waterproof it will crack. I find this is worse if I spray it as it is hard to get it on nice and thin. I vote for the resolene too. I have experimented with mop-n-glo but for me it was not water proof enough. Leather sheen will wear off eventually I use that all the time as well. If I had to go the Walmart route I would go to the craft section and buy a bottle folk art or Ceramcoat acrylic varnish. It is on those racks with all those little bottles of craft paint. I painted the lapel of a leather jacket with those paints that has lasted about 22 years or more. I will try to do a little testing today for you if you like. I will report back latter. Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi again I just realized my earlier post is a wee bit confusing. I should clarify I love saddle lac but don't use it anymore over acrylics. My favorite finish is a version of the traditional neat lac and feibings antique paste finish only I use saddle lac because I don't have neat lac and I am not fond of toluene. In general I tool sometimes conditioning the leather first if it is dry. Then oil if I have not done it yet, alcohol based dye, resist with either leather sheen or saddle lac, then feibings antique paste, either another layer of leather sheen and saddle lac or strait to saddle lac. I find that water proof and forgiving if the piece gets wet from the back. I do sometimes get very fine cracking from the saddle lace but I don't mind it. That is just what works for me with my collection of products on hand and I often good up the steps and things work out. If I am using acrylics I use an acrylic sealer of some sort now days. Honestly I am not trying to be a know it all just thought I better clarifie what I am doing. Have a good one everybody Cheers Toolingaround

Hi ReneeCanady Ya that sounds about right but even if you goof up the order of things it is often still going to work out just fine. You don't nessesarily need to use a spray finish over acrylics just be careful with anything with alcohol in it. For me things always spray on too thick out of the can or I can't get it even. I don't have an airbrush or anything like that yet but I hear they work well. Thanks for the info on Aussie conditioner. I would like to try that at some point. I agree with the sharpie advice as I have seen sharpies fade and blead on other materials so I don't trust them on leather. That said many people use them on leather and love them. I forgot to mention in my earlier post to always build up thin layers of acrylic paint. Looks much nicer that way espeshaly the metallics. Sometimes I will use a base coat of another color under the metallics to intensify them. Good luck, do tests and go for it. There are so many ways to do things. Don't stress about doing things "right" just find out what is right for you. Cheers, Toolingaround

If you know anyone who does needle felting they might be able to use it although I suspect the fibers would be too short. Otherwise I would leave it outside some where for birds to use in nest building perhaps. I am a recovering hoarder so I feel your pain. I force myself to throw out tiny leather scraps even though I know I could find a use for it. Once I have used it for tests and swivel knife practice etc I pitch it same with my wool trimmings though it is very hard for me! Cheers, Toolingaround

Hey I just realized Newbie started the post. Hi I hope some of that blabber can be of any use :-) We have all been there. Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi Haleyf Bear in mind I have only been doing leather work for about a year and a half so I am still learning too. But I thought I would throw in some random tidbits if anything can help. I was just as mind boggled with finishes too in the beginning as well. Saddle and neat lac both contain alchohol. This is what dissolves acrylic paint and yes I did discover this the hard way. So if you are using acrylics and and need to put a water proof finish use something like resolene. Personally I hate resolene and will use craft acrylic varnish like Ceramcoat or Folk art from Walmart. I make stuff for my husband who LARPS ( live action role plays) rain or shine. One larper here on leatherworker.net uses MogPodge on his gear. He can go swimming in it. I am planing to try that out at some point. So the good news if you need to take off an acrylic boo boo use alchohol :-) For metallics I use again good old acrylic craft paint so far so good. Now that said I personally love saddle lac I am sure once I get my hands on neat lac I will love it too. I have used saddle lac over acrylics but it is risky. Once the alcohol is evaporated it is not a danger to the acrylics anymore but trying to get it on there is not for the faint of heart. I would use a coat of leather sheen over the acrylic. Put on with a sponge, excess wiped off and a quick brush with an old tooth brush so it is not pooled and to break up any bubbles. Then I put a thin coat of saddle lac on sprayed on a piece of Sheeps wool and quickly rubbed on. Hopefully it removes some of the saddle lac not your paint job. I don't recommend this but I did my cell phone case this way out of ignorance at the time that I use every day. It has metallics on it as well as regular paint and acrylic antique stain. Yep I did loose some of the acrylic but that finish has held up really well so even a disaster can work out in the end. As for OMG I forgot to condition my leather and I am half way through painting! Don't panic I have done this so many times. I use either lexol brown bottle or my fave lexol NF (non darkening) and apply it liberally to the back of the leather. It won't hurt the finish on the front. It will be fine. So after all that long winded blathering what I really wanted to tell you is that you will find what works for you with the products you can get your hands on. Do tests and keep notes on everything !! Keep notes on the disasters and the successes and you will find what works for you and if a year from now something you made has an issue or worked out great you can go back in your notes and replicate the effect. Which reminds me I just finished my first helm for my hubby and have to go make notes. Cause I sure won't remember a few months from now if I have to make another one :-) Good luck eh let us know how it goes. Cheers, Toolingaround PS I read the saddle makers form a lot and get tips from my local saddle maker. He clued me into lexol NF. I figure they out to know. If it can survive being on a horse it can survive on my husband or a dog :-)

Beautiful belt pouches! Thank you so much Fred!!! Cheers, Toolingaround

I like that syringe trick!!! Going to have a look for some next time I am at Tractor Supply. Thanks Dirtclod Cheers, Toolingaround

I would love to see how the bag turns out! As much as I am a D ring and carabeaner maniac I also really love the idea of figuring out how to make things just with the leather or with natural ittems like bone and antler. Cheers Toolingaround

Hi Cozee For some reason I get better search results for this web site when I use regular old google. I go to google and type in leatherworker.net and what ever I am looking for. In your case try "leatherworker.net weight" for example. A bunch of hits will come up from this site, then click "more results from leatherworker.net" and you will get pages to look at. I had this same question and searched it that way myself and got loads of good advice. This is how I always search for stuff here. It works well for me. Hope that helps. Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi Again In the theme of all leather closures here is another one from a belt pouch I found at a thrift store. It is very secure yet quick to open. I love this little bag and plan to use this closure idea on a tooled bag at some point. Cheers, Toolingaround

Hey BunyMade Great idea for the adjustable strap! BluesMan 1951. Chinese ball buttons! I have made them in cloth never thought of doing them in leather. Good one :-) Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi Folks Sigh.......wish I could afford Barry King or any other high end tools. In defense of Tandy I have an old A-104 from the 1980's I was given which runs like magic! Seriously it is just a joy to use. Gives me a hint what good tools must be like. My new Tandy bevelers not so good. However I am now completely ambidextrous when I tool or stamp because some of my new tools are so bad they will only run when I use my off hand. However now I can use either hand without even thinking about it. I can do some nice beveling with crap tools just because I practice and don't have a choice to afford expensive things right now. So take heart newbies and do the best with what you have until you can have the best. Cheers, Toolingaround My most recent thing.

Hi Lividya Ya the silver inlay is a beautiful effect. I like it too. Good luck with your project. Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi Nathan Here is a leather button idea I got from a book called Leathercraft by Hand by Jan Faulkner. I used it on my medieval shoes I made last August and wear almost every day. They have held up good so far. I used probably 3 or 4 oz veg tan but I have made them in deerskin and I am sure various chrome tans would work great. I hope I am not breaking copy wright to post the pics from the book. I also put a pic of my shoes. Please excuse the bad 0.6 megapixel shot from my ipod. I hope some other folks post some ideas too as I am interested in this myself. Cheers, Toolingaroung

Hi there Hope I am not sounding too snarky here but the artist who made that armor specifically asked people not to copy it but to design your own. By all means be inspired by him he is an amazing talent but put your own design ideas in there and make it your own. By the way my husband has sent me the same photo as a hint but I won't copy. I am trying to learn how to construct armor so that I can design my own thing. Good luck with your project and keep us posted. Cheers, Toolingaround :-)

Hi there Just a big heads up, the couch could be infested with bed bugs! Please be careful before bringing any dumpster ittems into your house. After a brush with bed bugs on vacation last summer trust me no amount of leather is worth infestation! Fortunatly the hotel handled things properly and my house was not infested but many things had to be thrown away and I had my stuff in chemicals for weeks. The bites are not fun either. Bed bugs and eggs are hard to kill espeshaly on delicate ittems like leather. You have to heat treat in a hot dryer ( over 120 degrees) for at least an hour, longer is better. Alternatively you can seal the leather in strong contractor bags with " Nuvan prostrips" for at least three weeks. According to a university study even after three weeks some eggs can survive. Anyhow google, do reasearch are you sure this leather is worth it? I was once a happy garage sailor/ trash picker not anymore! Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi I got this great tip from the Bettuns Village Leather web site. I too have a collection of scraps I needed to figure out and I use this method. "As a general rule, each ounce of thickness is roughly equal to 1/64 of an inch in thickness. As an example, 8 oz leather is 8/64" thick, which is the same as 1/8". Some simple examples of thickness based on US coins: A dime = 3 oz A penny = 3.5 oz A quarter = 4 oz A nickel = 4.25 oz So, dig this: 6 oz leather is like two dimes stacked one atop the other. 8 oz is two quarters stacked together. 12 oz is three quarters stacked together." Cheers, Toolingaround