Contributing Member Crystal Posted March 31, 2009 Contributing Member Report Posted March 31, 2009 Yeah - now that's a checkbook cover for the daughter of a leatherworker! Jessi has some really good design sense and it sounds like she pays attention to what dad does in his shop. Flames and hearts look great with her suggestions. I like the addition of the plugs for the lettering, also. Great project! Crystal Quote Black Dog Custom Leather
Members Tkleather1 Posted March 31, 2009 Members Report Posted March 31, 2009 I have heard a few guys talk about leather putty and plugs on here, I know that it is probably a very old idea but I have never heard of it. Could you talk me through how to do this. I like the outcome. Quote Tim Worley TK-Leather If you don't ask and dont try how are you gonna learn anything?
Members CitizenKate Posted March 31, 2009 Members Report Posted March 31, 2009 Jessi definitely does have an eye for design. What a great collaboration. My dad and I used to put our heads together on stuff like this, too, and those are my fondest memories of him. Kate Quote
Contributing Member ClayB Posted March 31, 2009 Author Contributing Member Report Posted March 31, 2009 I have heard a few guys talk about leather putty and plugs on here, I know that it is probably a very old idea but I have never heard of it. Could you talk me through how to do this. I like the outcome. I use a lot of leather putty in my work, this is the first time I've used plugs in a LONG time. If you look at the tutorial I did on the buffalo here on LW, you can get an idea of how the putty works. Basically, you stretch the leather from the backside, then fill in the cavity you create with a mixture of leather dust and rubber cement. Once dry it is pretty flexible and you can mold and shape it by using tools on the front of the leather again. It works really well for things like animals where you want to create muscles etc. and you want a lot of stretch in the leather. Plugs are pieces of leather or cardboard that you cut to shape, a little smaller than the carving, and glue to the back of the leather piece you are carving. They worked really well under the initials on this piece because I just wanted them raised a little. I started by carving the piece normally, then I traced the pattern again and cut it out a little bit smaller than the lines. You can usually see your beveling marks on the back side of your leather, and you glue the plug inside that line. Then you bevel around the plug on the front again to make it stand out. You can add more layers of plugs if you want your carving to stand out more, and you can shape your plugs by skiving if you want more detail. Al Stohlman wrote a book on embossing that explains the process of using plugs very well. I knew I should have taken some pictures of the back of this before I put it together. I hope this gives you some idea though. Quote ClayB Badlands Leather Art blog Badlands Leather Art Website
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