Members juxtaposed2 Posted April 3, 2013 Members Report Posted April 3, 2013 Wow thank you so much for posting this! I've been casing my leather wrong for years (soaking overnight then immediately into ziplocks in a fridge for another 24hrs) and my results have been amateur at best; inconsistent carving attributes and very, very stiff when dry. Your process makes much more sense. Thank you immeasurably, Jim
Members Harag Posted April 8, 2013 Members Report Posted April 8, 2013 Many thanks for the article. I'm just starting out in the leather crafting world and waiting for my tools to arrive. I'm planning on using this way for casing, but a lot of videos I've seen seem to simply "wet" the leather with a sponge. I plan to use brown packing tape on the back of the leather to help stop it from stretching, so my question is, while carving, can I simply add more water to the top of it? also if it's going to take a while, can I put the leather back in the bag and leave it overnight again? again, thanks for the article. I will re read it again when my tools arrive.
Members Troy Burch Posted December 14, 2013 Members Report Posted December 14, 2013 Hi Bobby, I have a problem with my cased leather not drying equally. Some places will be ready to carve and right beside it will still be to wet. Dries splotchy, any suggestions? Thank you Troy
Members BDAZ Posted December 18, 2013 Members Report Posted December 18, 2013 Is working in the AZ humidity an issue? Thanks! Bob
Members oltoot Posted December 19, 2013 Members Report Posted December 19, 2013 I do it a little different but not really. My main difference comes from years of total project management. I wet pieces by throwing in the tub and leaving till no more bubbles then set them out flat for a little while till the surface is uniform, then plastic wrap over night to get all fibers uniformly plumped. Then lay them out again till they are ready to tool. I do test with my thumbnail to be sure that I'm not letting them get to dry, then plastic wrap again till time to start. I have gotten several exposed XRay films from a vet friend and on large pieces I lay them around to keep the areas I'm not working on from drying out and when I take a break, (I'm my own boss so I can approve a break any time I want to), I cover the piece on my marble slab till I'm ready to resume. And I too try to keep rewetting to a minimum and when I do need to rewet I apply the additional with a fairly dry sponge on the flesh side and give it a few minutes to migrate up a little. Thinking back I guess this all stems from time I spent in a shop where the boss cut out all the saddles I was assigned, soaked them and put them in my individual locker, I was expected to work out of there and rewet very little. So the initial soaking served as the fitting wetting and the other steps were developed to go from fitting to tooling then final work up. In a two man operation we didn't need to work that way but he had worked in Porters in Phoenix, AZ at the heighth of its glory days when there were about 20 folks working. They had specialists who didn't do anything but sew horns and cantles, and assembly men, and carvers and he tried to incorporate as much of that familiar routine as he could into our way of going.
Members oltoot Posted December 19, 2013 Members Report Posted December 19, 2013 PS And we were also continually in a race to stay ahead of mold forming. Had to clean out the lockers with bleach between every 3rd or 4th saddle. Lockers were the old time casing boxes with rubber bicycle inner tube gaskets.
Members oltoot Posted December 19, 2013 Members Report Posted December 19, 2013 I want to piggy-back with freedom13. I have some old hides and would like to know the answer also. If I hadn't found this forum, I might have thrown away perfectly good, but old, hides. Maybe an answer: I have never had to deal with 3 yr old hides but terribly dry pieces I would oil lightly on flesh side with Lexol NF and let set for a day or so, if they weren't noticebly better, another coat, then soak in HOT water. Some oil may come out and scum up the surface of the water but that will just mean you have enough oil in it. Then proceed. As to the mildewed hides, if it were extensive I would probably be inclined to discard. I have had some luck with mildew stains by soaking up the piece, taking it out and laying flat then attacking stains with Oxalic acid applied liberally on sheepskin with vigorous circular rubbing.
Members Troy Burch Posted December 19, 2013 Members Report Posted December 19, 2013 Thanks for the help oltoot, I think my problem has been wraping the leather while it was still too wet.
Members wlg190861 Posted February 14, 2014 Members Report Posted February 14, 2014 I've tried tooling, not very good, too shaky. But what I think works well is like bob said, use very little water and but it in a vacuum bag over night
Members FoamerAce Posted February 22, 2014 Members Report Posted February 22, 2014 Just getting started in leather work here. I'm gobsmacked to learn that it's wrong to case with a sponge. This is new information to me. The pdf in the initial post raises more questions than it answers for me. What is the step by step I should be doing? Is it important to leave it overnight?
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