Members BlackDragon Posted January 19 Members Report Posted January 19 Best way I've found to straighten leather when it comes in to the shop is to dampen it a little and letting it lay flat. You can cut it while it's slightly damp, the knife will go through it easier too. It's not going to hurt the leather just like when you case it for tooling. I like the tooling options 2, 5, and 7 and would be happy with which ever matched my saddle the closest. Quote
Members Brokenolmarine Posted January 22 Author Members Report Posted January 22 I have made some progress in the past few days. I used the original template for the fender, and cut out a border template. It would allow me to insure the border I cut into the one side, matched the border I cut into the other. Why? Since you can't see both fenders at the same time when they are mounted on the saddle? Hey, just the way I do things. I try and do things the right way... or as best I can. However... before I can actually transfer this pattern to the fenders... there is an issue. They still retain a curl from the shipping. As I did with the original fenders, I sprayed them down with a generous mist, and weighted them down on the bench and left them for about six hours, then checked them. They had flattened considerably, but would benefit greatly from a second treatment. I repeated the process and left them overnight. Quote
Members Brokenolmarine Posted January 22 Author Members Report Posted January 22 I came out after breakfast the next morning and checked. Success. The Fenders were flat and ready to tool. I used the template to carefully, and LIGHTLY pencil in the pattern. Using a double border swivel knife, I cut in the border. This is detail work, the pucker factor was HIGH. This type makes my arthritis scream, so I was done for the day. BUT, I didn't blow it. Not bad for a Broken Old Marine. I left this to rest while I rested the hands overnight. Quote
Members Brokenolmarine Posted January 22 Author Members Report Posted January 22 Back at it again, I carefully stamped the tooling pattern around the inside of the border, AFTER I cut the inside line deeper with a swivel knife the blade of which I had re-sharpened and polished. I now had a clearly defined sharp reference to work from. Each stamp was checked before I struck it and EACH strike was firm and careful. I wanted to avoid a glancing blow or a bounce, both of which could ruin the entire line. In the picture below you can see the border, as well as my Maker's Mark at the bottom of the leg on both Fenders. Again, Careful Placement, and then even more careful in the strike. Too much work to blow it now. A closer look at the border pattern. This is what she wanted. I would have gone with a Serpentine Pattern myself, but then... not my saddle. LOL. Next session, I'll work on dressing up the edges in preparation for applying Watco Oil or stain. There are some spots I'll want to smooth out the "Line/Flow" of the edges so that we can burnish the edges. I'll take a couple scrap pieces and make test panels for stains for color comparison. The owner of the saddle finally sent pics to assist with color match, though she isn't too concerned. I like to try. I did get to do some Clean Up work on the blevins, removing old glue, rust, staining... We'll be reusing the old beat up ones. They tell me they can't be seen, So why not. Quote
Members Brokenolmarine Posted January 22 Author Members Report Posted January 22 They looked pretty bad originally.... but I was told they aren't all the same, and finding matches might be hard. Wouldn't want to have to buy a new set of stirrup straps just because the blevins are ugly, when they aren't seen while riding. (I guess) They can clean them the rest of the way... if they like. Quote
Members catskin Posted January 22 Members Report Posted January 22 Not sure why you choose to waste so much good original leather. I have fixed lots of those exact problems. Just oil the original fenders to restore them like they should have been taken care of. Then glue and sew with thin thread a thin patch on the outside and sew a piece of seatbelt from a car on the inside. NO stitching across, only along the direction of pull. Seatbelt is so thin you never notice it and can only be seen when looking on the inside. Patch on outside is barely noticeable. Quote
Members Brokenolmarine Posted January 22 Author Members Report Posted January 22 39 minutes ago, catskin said: Not sure why you choose to waste so much good original leather. I have fixed lots of those exact problems. Just oil the original fenders to restore them like they should have been taken care of. Then glue and sew with thin thread a thin patch on the outside and sew a piece of seatbelt from a car on the inside. NO stitching across, only along the direction of pull. Seatbelt is so thin you never notice it and can only be seen when looking on the inside. Patch on outside is barely noticeable. Not my choice. I'm making the new fenders as a favor for my daughter for her friend. The original fenders are in pretty bad shape however. Dry and brittle in some areas, and tearing easily in others. Had not been well cared for it seems. I'll return the original pieces and the new constructs to the owner when complete. I don't usually do saddle work, and my holster, sheath, and belt work are all done for personal use or as gifts... Or for pleasure. I admire the work of the pros here, who know more than I, and try to learn from it... It's interesting. Quote
Members Brokenolmarine Posted January 22 Author Members Report Posted January 22 Made a mistake, won't use Watco, that's my woodworking finish. I'll pretreat with neatsfoot oil, then stain. Quote
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