mtroyalguy

I am try to determine the shapes I need to cut for arcs and odd shapes before I wet them. Also to perhaps determine where I might need to cut darts or other adjustments. I guess I am hoping to save a bit of leather by not wetting a piece hugely larger than the amount needed.

I want to do some wet forming, but not the standard geometric shapes that the wet forming tutorials demonstrate. How do I make a pattern for the pieces before I wet them? I tried paper but it doesn't form around the items the way wet leather would. The fabric I have around for buffing and stuff if too thin. Any suggestions? Please?

Looks great. Just remember, you aren't losing money on this you are investing it. You are perfecting your technique, which has value, and if you thinking of selling then you are making an advertizing piece, which is a legitimate business expense. And if you don't plan to sell (I don't personally) then you are saving money, because it would cost a lot more to buy it.

The block trick is the same trick milners use to make shaped hats with smaller brims than crowns. They make a form the right shape out of wood and cut it into several pieces, usually 6 using # custs. When the center block is removed the other pieces can then be removed easily, keeping the shape of the hat.

I have a nylon messenger that have had for 15 years and use pretty much continously. The strap is on the gusset but has a metal connector on the bag and a swivel clip on the strap. The swivel clip makes all the difference in a hard used bag.

The mitred saddlestich example is in Al Stolman's Art of Hand Sewing. It works quite nicely, my issue is getting my end round and my mitre square.

When I ordered mine I heard nothing for a month until I emailed to inquire. Then I got a tracking # and it turns out it didn't ship until a month after I paid. I was not too happy about waiting that long with no information, particularly since the initial email implied it would be shipping within a few days of payment. Over all I am happy with the product and the dealer was polite and honest, I would have just prefered a bit more communication. I would order again and I would recommend them.

They took longer than expected to arrive, but they are very pretty, I have tried them briefly, and they seem to work well, although I need to work on shaping my edges first.

I had some pieces cut with a laser cutter. It does scorch, nothing you can do about it. Some of it will wash off but some of it stays. Didn't matter to me because I was dying it black or painting with acrylic. I was told the thicker the leather the harder it is to cut and fine detail can be lost. The engrave lines will be black because it is burnt into the leather, they can be painted over though, like silhouette tooling.

Can I dilute black dye to get a grey or will it just be a thin black? If not, do I need to use acrylic or is there a grey dye available?

Any out west? Specifically the Edmonton region, although Calgary is doable for me as I get down there every few months.

I am in Edmonton.

They were just 3/4 ounce veg tan from Tandy. I buy the edge scraps they sell for 5 or 6$ for smaller projects and testers. I stamped them and then dyed them with Fiebings Oil dyes. Now that I look at them again I didn't do a very good job finishing the edges. I would also like to find a better way of closing them.

I made these as Christmas gifts, posted them in my gallery a while back. I was going to copy the tower cup but then came up with this idea.

So it is not as old as I thought. It is a Singer Spartan 192K, 1954ish. Google seems to indicate it should be quite good for sewing leather. Any tips or stories for this or similar machines. Mostly a hand sewer but would like to save some time.

I have an old Singer, originally from a treadle set up that I got from my grandmother's estate. It is already motorized. Does this mean I can use it to sew leather, with a tune up and the right needles?

That is a beautiful and detailed video. I may have saved it for future reference. Thank you for pointing it out.

Tanned is the process of preparing and curing the leather. Dying is done after tanning and adds colour. Generally leather is only moldable once. Once you wet it and shape it and dry it, rewetting it does not work well. Adding more water while it is still wet to correct or reshape works to a point, depending how dry you have gotten it. In my experience, mostly masks, there is no need to boil the leather, just soak it until the little air bubbles stop coming out of it in hot tap water, but not so hot you cant put your fingers in it. And watch your fingernails if shaping by hand. The leather wont hold your finger marks noticeably for the most part, but I have a few masks with little grooves from my nails.

There is also a store on Ebay named Toolpaw. I saw a reference to them on here somewhere and have ordered 9 stamps from them so far. The buy now price is around 45$ and sometimes you can get them for less than 10$ on auctions. The shipping is also very reasonable, they will combine your orders and save you charges, and they ship very promptly. If I recall correctly they are out of Prague. http://stores.ebay.com/Toolpaw

I ordered the the dremel set recently, and a maul. They should be here in the next week and half or so, expecting to see them hit Canada Customs anytime, then I will no longer be able to track them. I can't wait. I might take back my boyfriends artist's collection I made and redo the edges.

It is just a few coats of the Timber Brown Eco-Flow, with a Neets rub and then Dubbin later. I used a lighter weight for the portfolio and the pattern of the leather is much more visible on it than the other pieces.