Micah

Now that I have some scrap veg belly, I was thinking of using it to make a set or two of decorative coasters. My question is what would be the best method and product(s) to use to waterproof/spillproof them? I have Fiebings pro oil dye, resolene, and edge dye, plus beeswax and pure neatsfoot right now but will be placing another order soon for more goodies, so if there's something else I should pick up this would be a good time to ask around Also would it be a good idea to bind the leather to a hard backing (wood or similar). Most of my scrap is 7-9oz but I'm still concerned they could warp over time w/o a backing to keep them flat.

Nice looking works! I particularly like how you used a greyhound in the Celtic knotwork, creative and very original!

thanks to each of you for your replies and welcomes! you've definitely given me a few options to consider and some new insights. I think what I may do is opt for lining the straps I cut from this stock, that way I get the pluses mentioned and the peace of mind to boot. But I will try each of these suggestions on the scrap I have leftover for future edification. Bill, I think you also answered another question I had. Another strap maker said they get leather that is "specially prepared" on the back so that the little fuzzies don't come off onto your clothing. I had been wondering what they meant by that but now I think they're refering to moss back. thx! Luke, no worries! I appreciate the honest critique. Most of the strap makers I found were using veg bellies so that's what I decided to go with (a safe bet my first time around, I figured). I had to buy it on the cheap too, but I guess it's better if I screw up this stuff than an expensive hide, LOL. For what it's worth, I bought this belly through Leather Unlimited, if anyone has wondered what their quality is like. I probably won't order anymore through them now!

New to the forum, so hello to everyone! Have spent most of the evening reading through the posts and finding a lot of invaluable insight. I'm not entirely new to leathercraft but it has been about 20 years since I last worked with it (shop class and boy scouts). I grew up as a shop hand in my dad's custom auto upholstery business so I'm pretty familiar with a lot of things that are used and performed in this craft, but still getting my "leather legs", LOL. Ok, so on with my topic... I'm making my first batch (of many batches I hope) of guitar straps using 7-9oz veg leather. Things are going fairly well so far but I ran into some questions about the flesh side of this particular leather belly. Some of the flesh side is nice and smooth while other areas are very rough (see attached pics). Some members here have said to use gum trag to smooth these rough areas down. As I've not used this before, how extreme can the roughness be and still expect the trag to work well? Should I instead try skiving the roughest areas (where the little flaps of skin are), and if so should I use a knife or sandpaper? I'm still toying with the idea of lining the underside with a lightweight split instead of finishing it, though at 7-9oz even a 2oz lining could make the strap too heavy/thick. I'm a little concerned about the potential for rub-off/alleries from the various finishes available, plus a lining would look/feel better and I could bump the price a little. There's a chance that at least one of these strap would be worn by a well-known artist and I'd hate to get a bill to replace a $700 shirt, LOL! What do you think, should I go with lining and accept the heavier weight? As a guitarist myself, I'm not put off by that but we each have our own preferences (and often to extremes, LOL!!). thx for any help! (left-to-right: rough top view, rough side view, smooth top view, smooth side view)