Studio-N

You might try deglazing the leather. Works well on armor.

Hey Jimmy, The cobbled bag that the DVD is based on appears in the Leather Crafters & Saddlers Journal Volume 15 No 3 published in May/June 2005. The Art Nouveau Bag that is also by Joe Barth is in the same issue. Peace.

Here's a story about Dr J's Hide Rejuvenator: We got a call from a customer a couple of years ago. He had been using it constantly on his work boots. He would leave these on the porch. Apparently, the boots started to attract flys and he wanted to know if this was normal. In short, Dr J's HR has a large content of rendered fat in it and that is what the flys were liking. When I talk about Dr J's, I like to make an anology to 'shocking' a swimming pool full of alge. The high fat content is necessary on an old funky peice of leather, but after the initial shock treatment and softening of the leather, a normal conditioning agent such as Dr J's Legendary Leather Care cream or Lexol is better for regular care. peace.

All my sources have always said that olive oil can go rancid. As for neatsfoot oil, it is a generic term for processed animal oil - usually cow. Oil and water don't mix, so neatsfoot oil is often used in cases where some amount of water resistance is needed. Same with Stink Oil (uh sorry, Mink oil). Many conditioners include a high content of talo, i.e. FAT. Then there is lanolin which is the oil from sheepswool. Commerically, I like Lexol. It doesn't change the color of the leather, and I can use it on anything. peace.

Hey Jimmy, there was an article in an old Leather Crafters and Saddlers Journal on making a ball cap. All mine are boxed up, but I can try and dig it out for ya.

Two more cents worth: You can laser it after the tooling and oiling (or dyeing). But I would recommend doing it after the finish. When you laser, you burn the leather. The engraver has a exhaust fan that pulls the smoke out which result in the smoke being pulled across the leather. This deposits particles on the leather. We call it smoke damage. With a finish on the leather, you can clean this up with something like lemon Pledge and then re-sealed. The simplest way to look at lasering is to consider this: what can I accomlish with a soldering iron over the top of the leather? The laser is just faster and applies more heat an any given point, but the results are no different. Next, keep in mind that lasers have a fixed focal point. They work great on flat items, but not on radical curves. To quantify this, if you tried to laser a circle on a flat piece of leather, you get a circle. If you try to laser a circle on a baseball, you get an oval. This is becuase as the ball curves down from the center, the laser is losing focus. The focal point should be accurate to +/- 1/8" from the point you set the focal point to. Money wise, there are lots of options depending on what you want to do (besides leather). Being able to burn leather only requires about 25 watts of power. You can get a ULS 25 watt desktop model for under 8 grand. Table top is limited to 12 in x 12 inch. These are mostly targeted at trophy shops who are engraving wood plaques. If you plan to cut through wood, or to mark metal then 45-100 watts are what you need. These models usually have a 12x24" worktable to start and go up to 18x36 on the table top. These start to get into 5 digits. There are a lot of bells and whistles you can add: Air assist, dual beams, rotary attachments, cutting tables and ULS offers a beam concentrator that allows it to directly engrave metal. Just depends on your pocket book. Lastly, you'll need a computer and software. The computer is unimportant, but the operating system is. Only Epilog and ULS (the big 2) seem to keep up with changes in the OS quickly. The change to MicroSludge Vista was horrible for many operators. ULS and Ep updated quickly. A lot of the asian models are still waiting, and waiting, and waiting. The big 2 may not be the cheapest, but they are definately the best at customer support. As for the software, most people run either Corel Draw or Adobe Illustrator. Both are Vector drawing programs. There are LOTS of books on both of these. Unless you take a workshop on them, you'll have to invest a lot of time learning how to use them. Other software will work, but the big 2 at least have optimised thier repspective drivers to work with Corel and Adobe. As for me, I use a 2001 ULS M300 model with 45 watts of power and a 12x24 worktable. It is industrial grade and can be run 24/7. Someday I'll get back to doing stuff with it. peace.

Hello. When making stamps, I have used 1/4 inch Delrin in sheet form. I haven't played with making craftaids from plastic, but not much thickness is necessary - Only a few mils. You only need to remove enough material to leave a raised line. As for power, not a lot is necessary. Even 25 watts will work. You can compensate for power but engraving slower. peace.

Hello. Yes, I do laser engrave on leather among all other things. I have a Universal Laser System (ULS) 45 watt engraver. I use it mostly for photographic work or simple silohuetts. I might outline with it, but I still prefer to cut the leather with a knife. cutting with a laser will char the edge. If you have any questions, just send them on. I'd be happy to tell you about my experience with it. peace.

Hello. It just so happens I'm doing up some sample for a class on making these. PM me and I'll send you a copy of the basic pattern. In short - if you look at a saddle bag and cut the flap off across the top you have the basic shape. The only difference is the materials. The 'gusset' is the VegTan leather, and the front and back are a soft material (usually suede or a garment leather). The real secret is that on the face and back, the number of eyelets must be an even number (6). The reason is that when you feed the cord, you start on the left side of the gusset, and you weave it in and out of each eyelet. You want it to exit on the right side of the gusset (as opposed to across the lacing). Once it exits, it crosses the body of the gusset to the 2nd hole, you weave it and it exits on the left side again. You repeat from the opposing side and you tie it off. What happens is that when you pull it tight, it scrunches up and the friction of the cord across the gusset is what holds it tight. on mine, I used 1/4" eyelets and braided cord. Anyone wanting this, just PM me. peace.

Double sided tape.

Not done learning, but have learned by DOING. I had a background in other crafts, and much of that knowledge tranfered over. After that, it's just a matter of thinking through problem. Measure twice, cut once. No wait, that's woodworking. Oh well, same thing. peace.

Oh but here is the other shoe..... We are living in what I like to call the "Walmart Generation". Most people don't know the value of what they are buying. Be prepared to hear "That's too much. I can get the same thing at ......". A bonded leather belt at Walmart may be ten bucks and that is all they will see. Don't give in though, charge what you need to charge. Just be prepared to wait on the right customer. peace.

dang, that is nice!

I'm reminded of a club meeting years ago, where the presenter was asked if he made a living as a full time artist. His response was..... "My definition of a full time artist is someone who's wife has a job". All fun aside, what ever you decide to make which is your passion, make sure you make a lot of 'bread and butter' high volume items to pay the bills while you wait on that one customer to buy the big dollar items you have made. Unfortunately, that means a lot of dollar key fobs or a lot of crappy repair jobs. peace.

Another minor difference is that the Matting tools provide differing textures than the basic background tools do. Take a look at the M657 from TLF. It gives a very random line pattern on an area. A pebble grain matting tool like from HC is one of my favorite matting tools for large areas. For just plain flattening the areas between flowers, well the standard A104 backgrounder has been around for a LONG time. peace.

Hello Mike, welcome aboard. I like making pouches and belt bags, and have always wanted to make a bottle. Thanks for sharing, have fun here. Nick in Montgomery (aka, the end of the universe).

That is TOTALLY cool.

I've heard they were sold. Any idea who bought it?

Hello. Let me give some of the technical details: This is done on VegTan. There isn't a big need to go deep, so I can usually use thin leather. My favorite is about a 2 oz calfskin, but 3/4 oz is cheaper. The laser is a burning instrument, so something called 'smoke-damage' tends to occur and we try to minimze it. Essentially, it is smoke and residue that is pulled across the leather by the vacumn, and tends to get stuck in the pores of the leather. I prefer to apply a layer of NeatLac first to seal the leather. Any smoke damage that occurs can then be cleaned up with Lemon Pledge. Lasering, is basically an advanced form of stippling. Black pixels are burned, white pixels are left alone. you have a lot of control over how deep to burn or cut, but just enough power to break the grain side (about 20 watts of power) is all that is needed. Because we have broken through the grain side, any dye or stain will absorb identically to the flesh side of the leather. That being the case, it would be better to color the leather before the engraving. I prefer to let it tan naturally due to UV light. the contrast of light/dark tends to remain, but the application of an antique finish would definately bring out some interesting highlights. I have heard that some production saddle makers are using laser engravers to speed up the carving by laying down the patterns for carving. It is pretty good for that, but my experience is that it is not good for cutting into the leather. The 'channel' is very narrow which makes it difficult to bevel. Cutting all the way through tend to char the edges. But like all production tools, it is what you make of it. peace. Hello Jimmy! I loaned out some of my engraved pieces to someone doing a sales pitch in Dallas. When (if?) I get them back, I'll try to take some pictures of them. Yeah, that was me doing a class. I finally got six people interested at the same time. I'm gonna do a few more carving classes, then break into a few project classes. Wanna sign up for my purse class? -Nick

Hello. I've lurked in my heart, but now I've gone and joined up. I had a request to post one of my lasered pictures. Unfortunately I lost a lot of the pictures in a recent lightning strike that took out my PC. However, here is a little one of the Duke. It is 8x11 on 3/4 oz veggy tan.