TomBanwell

Love that top mask! Very original design. Welcome to the forum.

I have posted a tutorial on making a leather steampunk respirator gas mask on my blog: http://tombanwell.blogspot.com/2011/04/ronin-respirator-gas-mask-tutorial.html

Very nice!

You need to start with veg tan leather with no finish on it.

I also have a bottle of Fiebings. What a waste! Acrylic latex paint is the best that I"ve found.

From my experience you won't be able to stretch/compress the leather that much without wrinkles.

I have a compressor with an 80 gal tank, so I assume that is more than enough and don't need the air recovery? I understand that a swing-away head is preferable for aligning the die on the leather. But can I align it fairly well and slide it under the head witlhout the die shifting? I think that is the crux of the matter. The low price, and low weight (compared to a hydraulic) are appealing to me. Thanks,

I'd like to buy a clicker and am considering the Tippmann 15 ton clicker. Can anyone give me feedback on it? Is it a good tool, or would you recommend a different clicker? thanks, Tom

Thanks Rick.

I know that electric power shears are made for cutting sheet metal. Is there a tool like this that can cut 5-6 oz veg tan leather? Thanks for any help.

Mind boggling!

Beautilicious!

Thanks, Timd. I just ordered some. Didn't know you could get a white dye. Hopefully it will spray OK.

Hmmm, I'll have to give that a try. Didn't know they'd mix.

Someone blogged about one of my steampunk masks and made the comment that it was good I used veg tan leather as it "saves the planet". I had never thought about whether veg tan was better for the environment than other leather. I'm not sure he wasn't thinking of "vegan leather", which of course I would never use. Any thoughts? Here is the article: http://www.walyou.com/blog/2010/09/23/olifant-steamunk-mask/

I'm looking for a better way to paint my veg tan masks white. Currently I am airbrushing Createx Airbrush Colors Opaque White acrylic paint. I thin it out with water in order to get it thru my Paasche model H. The dry veg tan soaks it up, and I have to keep going over it to get it white enough. Once that is dry I spray on a coat of Fiebing's Resolene acrylic finish in order to give it a semi gloss sheen. The leather gets so wet from the paint that I have to let it dry overnight before applying the Resolene. I've tried spraying the Resolene first before applying the paint in order to seal it so that the white paint would build up faster, but it went on very unevenly. Can anyone offer me a better way to do this? http://www.etsy.com/listing/56845519/bunny-leather-mask-in-white

No, the veg tan leather didn't stretch enough. Lambskin was far better.

Good deals on lasers can be had at www.usedlasers.com. Tandy has a good rivet setter that they put on sale from time to time.

You only need a few tools: Laser Rivet setter Paint brush And for supplies: Leather Rivets Dyes The laser will cut the leather, including the rivet holes, and engrave the design. Then you just dye the parts with the brush, and rivet the pieces together.

Was the vinyl hard to work with, or did just the feel of it in your hands revolt you?

Fantastic piece! Would love to see more.

Sorry bout that! During the plague in the 16th century in Venice doctors actually wore a mask like this as part of their costume. The beak was filled with herbs to ward off the "bad air" that they thought caused the disease.