Spaceblues

Belts are made out of that weight of leather and are obviously quite flexible. The one I have at the office has zero play in it and that's what I'm wanting to replicate. It has something in between the layers that prevents it from flexing. It's probably chipboard... I'll pick some up and give it a go.

Mine is at the office right now, but I grabbed the first one on the net I saw. I want the sides to not have any give in them. Looks like this one has some kind of stiffener in the panels as well.

I've never done a project where I need to reinforce the leather, but I'd like to replace the junky vinyl portfolio that I've carried around the office forever. It's a pretty straightforward pattern - will tool the 4/5 veg tan for outside, line with either the 2/3 veg tan I've got or get some other liner. Just not sure what goes in between there. I've searched but found lots of portfolios for critique, etc but nothing that answered. Do I get the Tandy bag stiffener I've seen mentioned in other places? Oh, and bonus question... best finish for this project? I move between buildings frequently and get caught in rain at times. Worried about the water resistance of Leather Sheen and the cracking of Saddle Lac. Guess it's time to try my hand at Resolene?

Thank you for the replies everyone. I've seen several western fonts on dafont I guess I could use if I can't sketch something out that's more artistic.

I'd like to start thinking of lettering as a main focus of the art rather than just basic letters placed in an open area, but I'm having problems. I'm wanting to do a lot of book covers in the future, so lettering is going to be crucial - it would be nice if it was more than just some ordinary letters since it's a main part of the design. For example - my wife gave me Willie Nelson's autobiography a few months ago. I have in my head a corner floral in the bottom right with his name really big in the upper left. A big W that has big scrolls, curls, tails, etc. that wind through the other letters. Does anyone have some advice on how to start learning this? Free handing this (so far) looks terrible... spacing of letters is off, consistent size, etc. I've searched and haven't found anything - perhaps I'm using the wrong terms or something.

Thank you all for the replies. The old Stohlman book I've got from the 70's showed the use of a felt dauber held with a clothespin and I hadn't seen/heard anyone doing this so I was curious.

Are you painting spirit dye on with a brush? Using a dauber? A refillable pen? Just curious because when I used a dauber it was difficult to keep a clean line and it crept down on the sides of the leather. Might just be I was using a good method and just need more practice and to be more careful.

Ah, I wonder if the airbrush thing is why they advised against it. I don't have an airbrush and they know that.

I'm still new and have been reading a lot of information since I started. Usually on posts about finishes, a 50/50 mix of Resolene is recommended. I've been very disappointed with Saddle-Lac due to cracking and the Leather Sheen I've tried isn't very durable. So after reading all those posts over the last few weeks, I went in to pick up some Resolene. The employees there, all three of them, said it was terrible, don't buy it, it will ruin everything you put it on, etc. That's obviously not the case since so many people here use it, so what gives? Is it just difficult to work with?

Thanks for the replies - I'll try to run some tests in the next couple of weeks to see how it goes.

I'm still new to leatherworking and am thinking ahead about projects. We have a TON of books so I was thinking about making covers for them. For our hardbacks I'd carve the design on the cover and spine and do a slip cover I guess? I've searched and found some posts where it talks about making the leather bigger than the book. Can't remember the sizes off the top of my head. I was thinking of using 4/5 oz veg tan for the outer cover, and use barge to glue it to 2 oz veg tan for a liner (I've got a bunch of 2 oz laying around). Or is a liner even necessary? Then I'd find some suede or something for the inner flaps. For those inner flaps do you glue them down before stitching to keep them in line? If so, what do you use? I was also thinking of doing these for our paperbacks as well by using this instructable. http://www.instructables.com/id/Leather-binding-a-Paperback-A-New-and-Improved-Gui/?ALLSTEPS Instead of using cardboard for the design I would carve one and dye/paint it. Any thoughts on these ideas? I've only done a few basic projects so this is all unfamiliar territory for me. Thanks in advance!

I've added a bunch of books to my list... lots of Stohlman. Also Bill Gardner, Bob Park. Modeling tools! Those are what I've been seeing in videos that I didn't know what they are. Those are now on the list!

Well I tried it and it worked! Just gotta seal it tomorrow and put her buckle on.

Thanks. Tandy is about an hour away so I plan to make it to classes as my schedule allows. Was just wondering about things I could put on a list for her at this point. Right now I don't know what I don't know if that makes sense.

I made a dog collar for my old Great Dane this weekend. She's worn a red collar her entire life, plus she's black and grey so red just looks best on her. I dyed it red tonight with Fiebing's spirit dye and it turned out nicely. However, with it being a solid color the tooling doesn't pop well. I looked up red antiquing and didn't really find much. Il considering trying it with my method I use when not dyeing but wasn't sure if it would work on this. What I've done for a brown antique before is to oil the leather (which I did this time prior to dyeing), two coats of tan kote, then Eco Flo antique and rub it off. It's worked beautifully on natural colored leather. Just curious if I could do the Tan Kote and dark brown antique on this to get the impressions to go darker or if it would ruin the whole thing. Any ideas?

Hi All, So I'm new to leatherwork and have gone through the stuff in the Tandy kit I bought. I went on leathercraftlibrary and bought a belt pattern booklet and used a couple of those to do a belt and dog collar, but now I'm kinda stuck. I love Sheridan and figure carving so I'd like to learn those techniques. I asked at my Tandy and the guy said leathercraftlibrary and "the Internet" are places to go find my next steps. Not real helpful. I look at YouTube from time to time but I'm not very good at being able to learn that way. It's helpful as a supplement but not as a primary source - at least for my learning style. Are there books or patterns you recommend that would help by providing step by step instructions on these subjects? I've seen a couple of books but they seem to mainly be pictures of ideas and final results without showing a newb how to get there (technique, steps, tools used, etc.). I'm anxious to keep learning and would love to hear your input.

I have a birthday in a few weeks and my mother in law is asking for some ideas for my gift. She lives a few blocks from a Tandy and thought I'd see if I could give her a few items to expand my newfound hobby. I'm interested in Sheridan and figure carving. I have the deluxe beginner's kit, various dyes and finishes, wing divider, groove cutter, 802 and 803 bevelers, a mule foot, brown and white thread, stitching chisel set, 1 edge beveler, a little 4/5 oz veg tan, and a whole bunch of 2/3 that I bought to get some liner out of it for a dog collar. I also have a BK swivel knife on order. I've seen a bunch of tools in figure carving videos that I'm not sure what they are. Can the more experienced here recommend some things that would be helpful in the future for Sheridan and figure carving?

Thanks for the info. Still brand new so I'll research what y'all said. Hopefully I can get some thinner this weekend so I can give that a go. The steps I saw in that Bruce Cheaney video on antiquing were: Neatsfoot oil Two coats Tan Kote Eco Flo antique gel Another coat of Tan Kote The result was beautiful so I may try that next time and try for the more complicated resists later down the road.

I've been lurking for a while and just joined after ruining a belt I was making for my son. I just got into leatherworking and bought a beginners kit from Tandy. I did the rounders, key fob, and coin purse and was feeling pretty good - for a beginner anyway. When it came to doing the belt I got a pattern instead of using the one in the kit and talked to the Tandy store about dyeing it. They told me to use black dye on the background then Saddle Lac the belt lightly. Then use the Eco Flo dark brown antique on the belt after the Saddle Lac dried overnight. Finish with Leather Sheen. Well, I did all that and it was a disaster. I've attached a photo here. It basically left it all looking natural and then left a bunch of tiny black dots all over the belt. I wanted the belt to be dark brown with a black background and light highlights. I'm so disappointed because my son was so excited to have this belt. Now it's ruined. I've watched Bruce Cheaney's video on antiquing leather and his end result is nowhere near what this turned out as. Instead of sulking about this I'd like to learn from the mistake so I can do it right the next time. Anyone have some advice for a complete newbie? I'd really appreciate it. Thanks for reading.