Beveling

[Butch]

Does anyone have any real good tips on beveling? I've been working with leather for awhile but just can't seem to get a real clean/crisp looking bevel. I even spend a lot of time with a modeling tool, but it just never comes out very good. I know that practice is supposed to make perfect, but I don't think my practice is perfect.

(Sorry I don't have any pictures)

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Butch

[yaklady]

I teach leather craft to 4-H kids, and they ALWAYS have trouble with their beveling. Most of the time, they pound REAL HARD to get some depth. This leaves tiny ridges and deep pockets, even if you are walking the tool. Once you do that, there's no going back. So here's what I try to get them to do. In fact, it's how I do it.

You know how to walk your beveller, right? At first, don't worry about the depth, that can come later. Walk the beveller fairly lightly, concentrating on smoothness. Make sure you don't have the beveller right against the leather, but rather slightly above it. Now go back over the same beveling, but hit it harder. The depth will be coming in now. I often rebevel after I have used the other tools. Here in Colorado it's dry, and I always have to redampen the leather. That takes the depth right back out, so I spend a lot of time beveling. It gets me the results I want, so the extra time is worth it to me. Always go back with a modeling spoon to round out the edges of your pattern when you're through with all the tools. You may be surprised at how this improves the pattern.

Hope this helps!

Kathy

[CitizenKate]

I second Kathy's advice. And here is the list of tips I share with my students:

Getting rid of track marks:

- Make sure the overlap between impressions is at least 2/3 the width of the toe. This way, any given point along the line is struck at least three times by the tool.

- Make sure the leather has the right amount of moisture. If it is too dry, track marks will abound, no matter how perfect your strokes are, and they will be very difficult to flatten down even after adding enough moisture.

- Avoid striking the tool too hard; more specifically, avoid allowing the sharp side-edges of most bevelers make an impression in the leather.

- If track marks are present on one side of the impressions, it is possible the beveler is not perfectly square across the bottom. Try leaning the tool slightly to keep the tool face level on the surface of the leather. (This is an exception to the rule about holding the tool straight up.)

- Make extra passes over the track marks to flatten them down as much as

possible and gain more depth.

[Butch]

Thanks Ladies, I will give your techniques a try.

I appreciate it.

Butch

[Patrice]

I can sure benefit form this short tutorial myself

If i can propose something, i'm more a visual kind of guy. So, with images, maybe this tutorial will be more easy for some people like me.

When you say: above the leather, how high is this? I tryed it from various high, but did not notice any rebound of the tool on the leather.

I'm prety sure that my technique is wrong.

[Cowboy316]

howdy Guys and Gals heres a video clip from my friend Wayne at Standing bear Trading post

hope this helps http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.myvideos

Cowboy316

[Butch]

Thanks Cowboy316. I don't have a myspace account though and it never came up.

Butch

howdy Guys and Gals heres a video clip from my friend Wayne at Standing bear Trading post

hope this helps http://vids.myspace....n=vids.myvideos

Cowboy316

[yaklady]

I can sure benefit form this short tutorial myself

If i can propose something, i'm more a visual kind of guy. So, with images, maybe this tutorial will be more easy for some people like me.

When you say: above the leather, how high is this? I tryed it from various high, but did not notice any rebound of the tool on the leather.

I'm prety sure that my technique is wrong.

I'll work on a tutorial for you, but it's not going to show "how high". I have it slightly above the leather. Maybe I could slide a piece of paper in there, but nothing else. Some people can use their pinky finger as a shock absorber underneath the beveller, but I can't do that. Really, how high is dependant on the person.

[crissy]

shucks, now I want to see what your all talking about. can't wait to see the tutorial.

[HideShop]

Does anyone have any real good tips on beveling? I've been working with leather for awhile but just can't seem to get a real clean/crisp looking bevel. I even spend a lot of time with a modeling tool, but it just never comes out very good. I know that practice is supposed to make perfect, but I don't think my practice is perfect.

(Sorry I don't have any pictures)

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Butch

Here is a place where a good quality tool really makes a difference. If you look at a Barry King, Bob Beard or any of the pro quality tool makers bevelers you will see that the heel of the tool is rounded unlike lets say a craftool. This will help quite a bit to eliminate tracking as you can lean the tool back just a bit to help walk the tool. The moisture content of the leather is also very important and don't be in a hurry, take your time only advancing the tool 1/4 of the length of the tool with each impact, using the largest beveler you can for the area. Don't get discouraged as everyone has been there.

Just my 2 cents worth

Richard