Tooling small details

[hanzosbm]

I'm working on a piece that at its center has a coat of arms with some fine details.  I've been practicing on some scrap leather and it was turning out...okay.  I recently bought some 9/10oz Herman Oak that I planned to use for the final piece and cut off a small corner to test.  I wanted to try actually casing it overnight versus just spraying it and see how it would react.

I'll upload some pictures later, but suffice to say, it didn't go well.  For starters, I began while the leather was still too wet (lesson learned).  But one of the big issues I'm having is that trying to get good burnishing around the very small details in very tight places.  It got me thinking, are there different techniques used for small details than for larger ones?  For instance, should I cut/tool more shallow?  

Like I said, when I get home tonight, I'll take a picture and upload it to show specifics, because what I did yesterday clearly isn't working.

[PastorBob]

1 hour ago, hanzosbm said:

But one of the big issues I'm having is that trying to get good burnishing around the very small details in very tight places.  It got me thinking, are there different techniques used for small details than for larger ones?  For instance, should I cut/tool more shallow? 

I found some very small bevelers and they help out when beveling tight cuts.  I think I found mine on Etsy.  I know Barry King sells some steep and small bevelers as well, just didn't want to spend the extra for BK.  The one's I got work well for tight spots.

[buzzardbait]

when you are swivel cutting small details and narrow lines don't cut any deeper than the width of the design.  

[chuck123wapati]

3 hours ago, PastorBob said:

I found some very small bevelers and they help out when beveling tight cuts.  I think I found mine on Etsy.  I know Barry King sells some steep and small bevelers as well, just didn't want to spend the extra for BK.  The one's I got work well for tight spots.

i bought some 1/8th inch stainless all thread and made a super small beveler for just a couple bucks to get in those tiny spots. plus some lifters and a sculpting tip.

[hanzosbm]

As promised, here's a picture of the small practice piece I did.

Besides not getting the beveling even (that's a different issue) as you can see, trying to bevel away from one line quickly runs into another.

I'm starting to think that I need to do a double cut around the shield section and then essentially bevel everything with a texture besides the grapes, leaves, and Flur de lies. I'd love to hear some ideas here because while the burnishing on this leather is great, I feel like the design is a no-go unless I can work this out.

[Hags]

When doing points, don't connect the points. It causes lifting and if you do and that opens it's own can of worms. It looks like the beveler is way too wide. I'm not above making my own for projects but do have the bk smaller stamping set. That said, I aint afraid to use a grinder, sandpaper, and a strop to get the effect I want. Small rods or bolts from a hardware store and a file can give wonderful results. When making your own,  round the edges slightly. And when using,  tilt toward you a very little and it will help keep it smooth. It looms looks promising,  keep it up. Looking forward to final pics!

[Handstitched]

I have done a  family coat of arms, fiddly as.  I did what I could with bevellers etc.  , but I used mostly modeling tools for all the fiddly bits. 

HS

[PastorBob]

Here is an example of the Coat of Arms I made for my son.  It is 11x14"

 

[Handstitched]

Very beautifully done. My eye was drawn to the border. But yep, fiddly as . Love the colours too . 

Coats of Arms are never easy, fiddly but the end result is quite effective . 

HS

[hanzosbm]

Well, I gave it another go today. A few disclaimers, I didn't case the leather; rather, I just wet it with a sponge. Also, I didn't use a mallet or maul, all impressions were done just pressing the tool in by hand. I think I'm going to try it again but with deeper impressions. I also added a border to the lines of the shield. I think it really helps, but also brings up the question of colors.

My intention is to paint and antique this, so then, what color to do the border? I've included a picture of the original coat of arms for reference.

[chuck123wapati]

1 hour ago, hanzosbm said:

Well, I gave it another go today. A few disclaimers, I didn't case the leather; rather, I just wet it with a sponge. Also, I didn't use a mallet or maul, all impressions were done just pressing the tool in by hand. I think I'm going to try it again but with deeper impressions. I also added a border to the lines of the shield. I think it really helps, but also brings up the question of colors.

My intention is to paint and antique this, so then, what color to do the border? I've included a picture of the original coat of arms for reference.

you can get a fluer de lis stamp from tandy then just bevel around it. i can measure mine to see if it fits your design.

[hanzosbm]

42 minutes ago, chuck123wapati said:

you can get a fluer de lis stamp from tandy then just bevel around it. i can measure mine to see if it fits your design.

I actually bought it hoping for exactly that.  There were two issues.  First is that the stamp isn't quite the right size (a bit too small) and I'm having a hard enough time with the grapes without trying to reduce their size.  The other issue is that the stamp fluer de lis is a slightly different style.  It's a bit more flowing, which looks nice, but just doesn't match the original coat of arms unfortunately.

[Handstitched]

I'm pretty sure I have  ' fluer de lis' stamp somewhere. Its slightly bigger that a 3D  from memory. 

[Rocky143]

I think the problem with the grapes is that they are not large enough.  Note on the original that the grape circles are all touching each other.

Background is kinda rough.  Possibly a bar-grounder would be better.