Sarina

I think that makes sense. For me I am making collars for people so they're a little bit larger and might be a little bit different. Here is an example of one I made, this one I made each layer smaller than the one on top of it so that I needed to form it partially rounded to fix them together and have the ends match up. There are 3 layers, the first one is neoprene foam wrapped in sheepskin, which is stitched to the second layer of leather. The second layer is fixed to the third layer of leather using Chicago screws. The first two layers usually bend fine since they're stitched together making it more like a single piece but the second and third layer have a hard time going into a circle. For this piece I didn't give enough extra room in between rivets for the D rings either so you can see the bottom layer caves inwards. Since for this one I did it more like Dwight explained, not flat to begin with, it ended up being mostly okay. For ones I make completely flat the leather tugs hard on the Chicago screws when it's formed into a circle, and it ends up a little bit misshapen. I don't have any pictures of that since I ended up trashing the leather and starting over. Having a wooden circle with the diameter you're going for sounds like it would be a lot easier. I actually considered something similar after reading your initial comment but decided it would be too much effort for each piece I'm making. I looked up to see if there was some expandable circle measurement tool, there were some but I'm not sure that they would work well. I think if I glue the pieces together in a circle (or half circle in my case) they should stay together like that long enough for me to poke holes with an awl. For punching holes I may need to clip the pieces together while they're in the circle shape, then mark with a pen through the hole in one piece where the hole in the other piece should go.

That makes sense, apologies for posting it in the wrong forum

I didn't realize I had notifications turned off for this post. @TomE Thanks for the detailed explanation! I think that formula makes sense, that's generally what I've been using. Your formula says, make everything flat, you just want to ensure that when it's formed into a circle that the innermost part of the circle is the circumference you expect. And the formula does just that. But perhaps my leather isn't quite as stretchy since when I try to form it into a circle it has a hard time actually forming a circle, especially if I have hardware like a rivet connecting two layers. @Dwight Your explanation makes sense as well, seems it's the opposite of TomE's explanation. You are making the leather as a full circle to begin with, so the stretching would happen when it's formed flat. Although how do you do things like punch holes for rivets or stitching and such when the leather is formed into a circle? I think my goal is to be somewhere in the middle of the two solutions, so the leather stretches out just as much being flat as it does formed into a circle, but at rest it's concaved. But I still run into the same problem of how I can punch holes in the leather and have them line up, since the leather needs to be flat to punch holes in it. Edit: Actually the more I think about it the more I realize that there can't be an exact formula and that the way Dwight says is the only way to get it exact. Depending on the firmness and thickness of the leather, when you bend it into a circle the circumference of the inner part shrinks as it gets squished but also the circumference of the outer part grows some as it stretches. The exact amount depends on the type of leather and how big the circle is, so you can't make a formula that calculates it exactly.

I am going to try to dye leather a light-as-possible pink color to see how it turns out. My plan right now is to use oxalic acid to brighten veg tanned leather as much as I can without damaging it, then using a very diluted solution of Angelus Light Rose leather dye. After dying leather I always use Neatsfoot oil to rehydrate the leather and soften it up, since dying it always makes it super dry/stiff. The issue is that neatsfoot oil darkens the leather quite a lot, and I want to keep it as light colored as possible. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I could use in place of Neatsfoot oil to rehydrate/soften the leather without darkening it? I am hoping to avoid conditioners that might leave it waxy such as creams containing carnauba or beeswax.

Thanks for the tips! I'll try a few things out and see how it turns out

I am working making a pair of leather handcuffs which will likely get some pull on them. I am using silver for the buckle and rings and such, so I was wanting to use silver rivets as well. The issue is that with the double cap rivets I'm worried they won't hold up to any amount of tension. In the past when making bracelets the double cap rivets can be easily removed by pulling the leather apart, which is usually fine because there's not a lot of tension happening there. I have some copper rivets and burrs that I haven't used yet but I hear that they hold up a lot better than most things. The issue is that I really don't want to have copper colored rivets along with other silver colored hardware. Does anyone have any tips on coloring them silver or hiding them? I looked for silver or nickel plated copper rivets and burrs but I couldn't find much, the closest I could find were alluminum rivets and burrs which I don't think will hold up as well.

I have been mostly working on bracelets but want to start working on collars too. With a lot of projects I've been layering leather on top of other leather, for example I'll make the wide base of the bracelet and then on top of that I need a thinner piece that will go into a buckle. The issue is that when I make these items, I'm making them flat. But when I try to put them on, they need to be round. Since the two layers of leather are the same length it doesn't fold into a circle very well. I've been practicing with adding a little bit of length to the top layer to account for that, but it's mostly a guessing game. So let's say I start with a wrist that is 12cm in circumference. If I use a 1/8th inch thick strip of leather as the base layer, the new circumference that the outer layer of leather needs to cover becomes approximately 14cm. But if I cut the outer leather piece to be 14cm in length I have a hard time fixing the two layers together while it's flat. And if I cut both pieces to be 12cm then the outer piece of leather doesn't stretch to fit the new circumference when I try to wrap the finished product into a circle. I couldn't find any good guides on this online but I might be searching with the wrong terms. Does anyone know what the best way to handle this is? I've generally been able to make it work with layering leather but I want to start adding foam and lining some pieces, and I'll be adding a lot of width to the items so I'm worried just accounting for a little bit of extra length in the circumference won't work anymore.

I have read that people will wait anywhere from 20 minutes to 36 hours for their pro dye to dry before applying finish. I know a lot can depend on your environment and application method, but I can't imagine that environment and application method will make the drying time go from minutes to several hours. I cut my oil dye 50/50 with denatured alcohol and I apply it with a wool dauber. I usually do 2 coats, but sometimes I do 3. How long more or less should I be letting the dye dry before applying finish?

Haha sorry that is beautiful autocorrect at work. I meant to say "sealer coat". Although I did try bending it now and it seems fine. It'd 3/4 oz leather, I'm not sure if that makes a difference.

Should I apply another sealer coat so I can do that or would that make it worse?

Thanks for the responses! I don't know why I thought I had to wait 24 hours for the leather finish to "cure". For some reason I was thinking that since the finish was diluted 50/50 with water, 4 coats would be necessary. They were all put on as thin coats. The switch to resolene was supposed to give it more protection while still keeping it fairly satin. Do you have any suggestions on things I can do at this point to prevent it from cracking where it will be bent?

I have a project that I am making as a gift for someone I'll see tomorrow. I just finished the fourth coat of 3 coats of satin shene (diluted 50/50 with water) and a fourth coat of resolene (also diluted 50/50 with water). In the past I've waited 24 hours before stressing leather just to be safe, but now I would really like to finish this project in time to give it to my friend when I see them tomorrow. Work would involve fixing pieces together using rivets, and bending leather around dee rings and buckles. How long should I realistically wait before finishing the project?