UKRay

One of my challenges this month is to come up with designs for both single pack and double pack playing card cases. I have made a few trial attempts but haven't come up with anything that I feel is profoundly different to anything else on the market. In fact, although they work perfectly well, I'll be honest and tell you that my designs are downright dull. Now, before you tell me I need to cover the thing all over with carving, spray it all the colours of the rainbow and smother the outside in conchos, buckles, spots and every other kind of decorative metalwork I ought to point out that I'd like it to be undecorated (plain, untooled) and derive its 'style and credibility' from the design. My question is: how would you approach this? Would you make it with straps? Would you make an 'all-over' case. Wet formed? Stitched or riveted? Soft or hard leather? How would you do it? Any pictures would be very gratefully received and all suggestions welcomed. Thanks guys, Ray

I have 16 super-clean hair-on goatskins (beautifully tanned by the sheepskin tannery in Buckfastleigh, Devon). They are soft like sheepskin, sweet smelling and ready to be made into whatever you choose. Reason for sale: I'm allergic to goatskin! I didn't realise until I started working on one. They would make an amazing fur tent carpet, a magnificent bed throw or simply use them as small rugs, seat covers or whatever you like. Sensible offers or swaps considered. I also have a couple of very nice used Dixon splitting machines for sale or swap and a 'universal' leatherworking machine for embossing, edge creasing or patterning - or whatever else you can think of. I need the space and am open to sensible offers. eMail me at ray@barefootleather.co.uk and we'll do a deal.

Thanks Dave - most useful. I already have a belt sander, drill press, polishing machine and a few other goodies so I should be okay to go. I'm picking up a bandsaw this week so cutting won't be a problem either. The 'soft jaw' vise trick is a great idea so thanks for that. I reckon I could get to like the smell too! LOL Ray

So, it stinks to high heaven and I'm probably going to die if I touch it... but the Chinese seem to have it sorted. Hmmmmmmm - Lots to think about LOL! Thanks for the great advice, Spinner. that all makes good sense to me. If anyone has anything to add to this, then I'd love to hear it. Ray

Okay guys, somebody must have cut, drilled and polished antler and bone here. I need to make some chunky antler and bone beads and would very much appreciate any advice you may care to share on the best way to do it. Can anyone help please? What machines to use, polishing techniques, compounds, whatever you can share would be great. Thanks, Ray

Spot on, Terry. Thanks mate. I must have threaded the spool stand differently last time I changed thread colour. Doh... I can hardly believe that moving the thread to another hole less than 2" from the original could have such a huge effect; still, at least it was an easy fix in the end. I was dreading the engineer's bill. LOL Ray

All great advice, Mr Wiz! I tried the 'foam in the hole' trick and it improved things a lot. Many thanks. Sadly the problem didn't completely go away...

This past few days I've been experiencing an odd problem. As the thread (US size 207 or UK size 12s) comes off the spool it appears to be twisting and creating a 'twisted loop' that effectively 'pops' the thread out from between the tension plates, thus releasing the tension and causing a 'bunch of monkeys' to happen on the underside of my work My big Highlead harness stitching machine has never done this before although I've been using this same spool of thread for months. I feel the problem is probably tension related but I can't seem to sort it out and wondered if anyone else had had this happen to them and discovered a cure. Ray

Dave, I've recently been stamping garment leather items (jacket patches) with a hot foil printer (without foil) using a magnesium block (very cheap!). No need to wet or do anything detrimental to the leather as the heat seems to be enough to 'set' the stamp. The finished article looks rather like a standard veg tan makers stamp has been applied to it. One thing I would say is that not all garment leathers are the same - mine is a very soft, black leather - the sort of stuff biker waistcoats or wallets are made of. It is about 1.5 to 2mm thick and has enough 'body' to accept the stamp. I have not had much luck embossing thinner leathers in this way as the stamps tend to cut into thinner stuff quite easily. You will need to be careful with the amount of pressure you apply too. I spent a couple of hours playing with samples before i got it about right. It is easy to spoil a job if you don't have the 'feel for the amount of heat and pressure you need. Hope this helps, I'll send pictures if you need 'em but I feel this is pretty self explanatory so you won't have too many problems. I have used a hand operated Marshall hot foil press and also my big semi-automatic Marshall. They both work just fine if I set them up correctly so I guess any hot foil machine will work for you. Let me know if you need temperature settings and I'll see what can be done but I have to say my thermostat settings are dodgy at best... LOL Ray

Hi Martin, Welcome to the forum. I'm sure you will enjoy your time here - especially if you take a few minutes to really 'get to grips' with the search engine. If there is anything I can do to help just drop me an email or give me a call. Best wishes, Ray

I use 3M 77 (99?) spray adhesive that you can buy pretty much anywhere. Just do a Google search for a supplier in your area. Ray

Steve, I couldn't help but notice that you side-stepped my 'type of plastic' and 'robustness' questions? Perhaps that was an oversight? Ray

Hi Steve, I believe the thing to remember is that most craft leatherworkers work at home and only use hand-tools. Anything that requires a mechanical press is often ignored. Tandy have developed a range of 3D stamps which employ a single standardized form factor that is accepted by most craft leatherworkers as the 'industry standard'. I assume you have investigated these. It is possible to create (or grind off the original to create) a blank stamp that will allow you to fix an embossing plate to it with double sided tape. This can work very well as a tool carrier but it effectively dictates the size of the stamp you can use as a simple hand-tool. Maybe you have found a way around this? I'd appreciate an explanation of the craft pasta machine please. I have never seen one! I'd also, personally, like some idea how robust these stamps are and what kind of plastic they are made from. Marketing to craft leatherworkers isn't massively difficult. Explore the media and spend some time understanding where your market goes for their tools and who they trust before spending money on advertising. My personal advice would be to advertise here on the forum when you feel you understand your product fully and can demonstrate how people can use it effectively. Publish a collection of images in the forum gallery so people can see what can be achieved, spend some time writing an advertisement for the marketplace area and finally make sure you have a good, well written, directory entry. Explore the hobby press and see which run features on new products, all the usual stuff you would expect really. Best of luck! Ray

I found the attached pdf whilst searching for historical info about Victorian saddlery and harness making businesses. I was fascinated by the contents and thought you might like to share it. Scroll through for a very brief glimpse into the Victorian leatherworking industry - and be grateful that some things have changed. I still work a minimum 60 hour week for virtually no money though... that has stayed the same! Ray saddlery_and_harness_1891-1897.pdf

There is an almost magical thing about vinegaroon that never fails to amaze me. Chemistry is much more exciting than getting out a dye pot! That is a very nice looking job, Pat. What recipe did you use? Ray

My personal approach to forum questions is to offer help if I can add something useful to the discussion. I'm interested to know why people might ignore questions or requests for help on this forum? What would stop YOU offering your assistance? Also what would prompt you to be helpful? Ray

I have a box full of soft plastic card case inserts that i don't need. Open to offers including a swap for unwanted tools or machinery (cash either way). The weight of the merchandise suggests a buyer in the UK could be best. Drop an email to: ray@barefootleather.co.uk with your contact details and I'll gladly give you a call for a chat.