What is the best way turning Leather scrapes into leather dust for embossing projects?

[charlesfenley]

I have a lot of leather scraps from using leather dies to cut out leather shapes. I want to know the best way to turn those scraps into leather dust for embossing projects. I use a sharp chisel to cut the leather into small pieces about 1/8 inch in size. I used a vita mix mixer and it broke the mixer, then I used a food processor and all that did was make the leather pieces fuzzy. I want to try an electric grain mill next but that can be pricey. Is there a better way to accomplish this task?  

[chuck123wapati]

3 minutes ago, charlesfenley said:

I have a lot of leather scraps from using leather dies to cut out leather shapes. I want to know the best way to turn those scraps into leather dust for embossing projects. I use a sharp chisel to cut the leather into small pieces about 1/8 inch in size. I used a vita mix mixer and it broke the mixer, then I used a food processor and all that did was make the leather pieces fuzzy. I want to try an electric grain mill next but that can be pricey. Is there a better way to accomplish this task?  

a belt sander would be my choice 80 grit or so.

[dikman]

Soak your little pieces in water (hot water?) to soften them - might need a few days - then try a blender. Hopefully it will turn them into mush and then dry it out? No idea if it will work. 

[Handstitched]

I am intrigued 🤔.  This is something  I have never heard of.

So,the pieces are too small to make into other small  saleable items ? Like using wood dust  or wood  particles i guess  .So you use a binder like in particle board or chip board?

HS 

 

[BlackDragon]

57 minutes ago, Handstitched said:

I am intrigued 🤔.  This is something  I have never heard of.

So,the pieces are too small to make into other small  saleable items ? Like using wood dust  or wood  particles i guess  .So you use a binder like in particle board or chip board?

HS 

 

I've seen leather dust mixed with cement to make a filler or packing for the back of 3D carvings.

[bruce johnson]

Coffee grinder jumped to mind when I read this.  I remember some posts from the early days here. As I recall - "old coffee grinder" or "cheap coffee grinder" were the key recommendations. 

[charlesfenley]

I have an old coffee grinder that hangs on a wall I will try that; they are like a grain mill but smaller. belt sander sounds good, but I will need to figure out a V- trough to hold the leather pieces and to press them into the sander.

Leather dust is mixed with rubber cement and used to help create a 3D affect to a leather item like a picture. It is called embossing or extreme embossing.

[chuck123wapati]

16 minutes ago, charlesfenley said:

I have an old coffee grinder that hangs on a wall I will try that; they are like a grain mill but smaller. belt sander sounds good, but I will need to figure out a V- trough to hold the leather pieces and to press them into the sander.

Leather dust is mixed with rubber cement and used to help create a 3D affect to a leather item like a picture. It is called embossing or extreme embossing.

The art of Embossing by Al Stohlman  shows how they use plugs slightly sculpted or tooled, wouldn't that be much easier than all of this ?

[BlackDragon]

2 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

The art of Embossing by Al Stohlman  shows how they use plugs slightly sculpted or tooled, wouldn't that be much easier than all of this ?

The leather paste conforms better to the shape of the embossing.