Securing Design for Tooling

[AndyL1]

Hey All,

What is a good way to keep your design from moving as you trace it down into the cased leather? I print my designs out on velum and place it on the leather but it tends to move as I trace over the lines. I tried taping the edges of the velum to the leather but after peeling the tape up there is a residue and it also messes up the smooth finish of the leather.

Edit: I am using the blue painters tape. Is there something with a lower tack that could work?

Thanks,

Andy

Edited April 10, 2009 by AndyL1

[Tkleather1]

I use my other hand to hold the patterns

[AndyL1]

yabbut... sometimes I need to turn the piece to draw the lines. How can I hold it securely on there and keep both hands free?

[Tkleather1]

one thing I have done in the past, I use packing tape alot to back my cased leather I sould leave the tape oversized and the pattern oversized so I could stick the pattern to the tape. But beware as it still has the ability to bubble up and move a little bit. that is why I now just use my hands. There will be way more proficient toolers chime in and be way more help thanI am

[CitizenKate]

What is a good way to keep your design from moving as you trace it down into the cased leather? I print my designs out on velum and place it on the leather but it tends to move as I trace over the lines. I tried taping the edges of the velum to the leather but after peeling the tape up there is a residue and it also messes up the smooth finish of the leather.

I've been sticking the "purple" painter's tape on leather for years, and it always comes up clean. It is less tacky than the blue painter's tape.

Another thing that might help. After you lay the vellum down, and before you begin tracing, take a scratch awl and poke holes through the vellum into the leather in several places outside the boundary of the pattern. This will create registration marks that you can use to re-align the pattern in case it moves while you're tracing.

Kate

[budd4766]

Have you tried taping to the back of the leather (when possible), and letting the film fold over?

Just a thought.

[Tstarsmith]

If the leather you are putting the design on has a stitch line or locations for snaps, conchos, or rivets, I use thumbtacks in those places to hold the tracing film in place. The tack holes in the leather are covered with stitches or metal in final assembly. I can't use it on every project, but it works well on the ones I can.

[TomSwede]

I use my other hand to hold the film down and I've learned how to follow the the pattern at all times without having to spin the project.

Tom

[Casey Jordan]

I sometimes tape the leather to my bench and use beanbags to hold down the (oversized) tracing paper. Or tape the velum to the bench too.

Hope this helps.

[AndyL1]

Thanks everyone for the excellent suggestions. I'm fairly new to tooling so I haven't quite figured out a good process, what works, what doesn't etc. I think the taping the excess velum to the backside sounds like a good way to go. I think on projects where my leather is larger than the velum I can tape on extensions to the velum and tape that to the back. When I get as good as Tom, maybe then I can let go of the tape and say "look Ma, no hands!"

I like Kate's method too of "printing" on the leather. That may help as well.

Cheers,

Andy

[DG Leather]

I am new to tooling as well....I have been using dollar store masking tape in order to old my paper still on the leather. I am about to make a "lazy susan" because i spin the piece alot when using knife or bevel tool.....its working so far but I am wondering if i do this a bit much.

I find a very light squirt of water around the out side of the image (not getting image wet nor the leather directly under) helps to hold the paper still....it acts like a adherant somewhat which i then use tiny tiny pieces of tape to hold 4 directions on outside where i had watered lightly.....

Thanks everyone for the excellent suggestions. I'm fairly new to tooling so I haven't quite figured out a good process, what works, what doesn't etc. I think the taping the excess velum to the backside sounds like a good way to go. I think on projects where my leather is larger than the velum I can tape on extensions to the velum and tape that to the back. When I get as good as Tom, maybe then I can let go of the tape and say "look Ma, no hands!"

I like Kate's method too of "printing" on the leather. That may help as well.

Cheers,

Andy

[TomSwede]

Heey I still use my hands, lol!!

I do also spin my piece of leather alot when I carve except for stuff to big to spin around.

Doing the fine lettering for my rodtubes was extremely difficult because I couldn't spin the leatherpiece. The first rod tubes lettering needed massive touching up with the modelling spoon after it was carved and tooled. I think the modelling spoon is very important. It can't make up for a poorly cut line but even the straightest/most accurate line I can carve still looks better after a bit of modelling spoon touch up and also I use it to round of the contours a bit.

Tom

[MADMAX22]

I agree with Tom on how I do mine. I have learned or taught myself to be able to draw lines from any direction with my hand. Its not the naturel way of things as you allways want to draw a line in a certain direction. So basically you gotta start teaching yourself to be able to draw the line say up from the bottom instead of down from the top or from starting on the right instead of the left (for right handed English writing folk)

[mendedbowl]

I have a DVD of Robert Beard doing some carving...he used an oblong tube shaped bean bag to help hold his design steady while he transferred it to the leather. I haven't made one of those for myself yet, but i plan to soon.

ken

[BearMan]

Hi everybody,

I've never tried any kinds of tape to hold a pattern. I either just hold it in place with my other hand,,, Or I used my lead shot filled leather bag. As a weight to hold down the pattern. If it's a hand drawn pattern, where the pencil lead might rub off on the weighted bag, I put the bag in a zip loc bag, so that I wont transfer anything onto the leather later, while I'm using the weighted bag to hold the leather in place while cutting & tooling.

Ed

[mendedbowl]

Hi Ed (BearMan),

do you mind telling me more about your lead shot bag? I've been considering making one for myself, but i'm unsure about how big or heavy i want it.

do you find yours very useful? does it get in your way any? any suggestions on improvements, or what not to do? any help would be much appreciated.

ken

[hidepounder]

"To tape or not to tape", that is the question. I'm going to throw in my two cents worth. To begin with, I almost always adhere whatever I'm tooling to a piece of 1/4" acrylic. I have several sizes cut out that fit most everything I want to tool (saddles and larger pieces of gear being the exception here...those pieces are heavy enough and large enough that stretching is less of a problem). So, when my leather is cased and slicked and mounted to a piece of acrylic, I have a lot of surface on which I can tape my pattern down. I use the blue painters tape. Now, I don't have to worry about my pattern moving when I answer the phone, or respond to the commands of the General. My attitude is, that the more accurately I can transfer the pattern, the more accurately I'm likely to cut it, and lets face it, besides the actual composition of the design, cutting is easily most important step in tooling!

Now, to stray a little from the point of this thread, I want to say that a side benefit of this process is, that during the course of tooling, if I need to leave the bench, I tear off a piece or two of plastic wrap and seal it to the acrylic, trapping all the moisture in the leather. It sticks right to the acrylic and makes a tight seal. When I come back, nothing has changed. My leather is just as I left it...or maybe a little more moist do to a little condensatioin. Additionally as a side, side, benefit (yes that was two sides) whenever I find I need to re-moisten the leather, sealing it in the plastic wrap gives the added moisture a chance to spread evenly through the leather, essentially re-casing it.

So, while voting for taping a pattern in place, I'm also advocating gluing to the acrylic panel at the same time, which makes taping easy and results in several other benefits, aiding to the pleasure and quality of tooling! But wait...I'm not finished preaching yet...There is a side, side, side, benefit! In addition, because there is a rubber cement residue on the back of the leather, you now have to line it with piece of 2/3 oz (or whatever is appropriate)...which is what should be done to everything in the first place, to enhace the beauty and quality of the project, making it a truely proffessional job! Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it! :soapbox:

All that from taping down a pattern?!...I need a job!

Bob

[Jordan]

One of Stolhmans books cites a piece of heavy metal bar wrapped in thin leather and stitched. I use paper can't stand that curly velum.