WIP: Chess board

[Schno]

Gorgeous work, Kate! Thanks for stepping through the process with us. I have a question...

I also ruined one once when I accidentally dropped the brush on theboard I was working on. But I haven't made that mistake since I startedairbrushing the dye onto the squares. The masking helps to prevent suchmistakes

What do you use to mask off the squares while air-brushing? How do you get something to adhere without marring the grain side finish?

[cem]

Wow that's coming along really nicely Kate, thankyou for showing the steps and I can't wait to see it all dyed up.

Gorgeous work, Kate! Thanks for stepping through the process with us. I have a question...

What do you use to mask off the squares while air-brushing? How do you get something to adhere without marring the grain side finish?

I'm interested to know the answer to Schnos question as well I've read on the forum before that you have used liquid latex but when I tried that it turned the leather a funny grey colour and wouldn't dye properly. The latex did have a strong amnonia smell and was oldish (was left over from a mold I was making a year ago ) so if you still do use liquid latex is there a certain brand that you use.

Cheers,

Clair

[CitizenKate]

What do you use to mask off the squares while air-brushing? How do you get something to adhere without marring the grain side finish?

For straight edges, there are a number of low/adhesive or medium/low-adhesive painter's tape products available that are designed for use with delicate surfaces (and leather certainly qualifies), or also described as "60 day clean release". Scotch Blue 2080 is one example. Painter's Mate Green also works well on leather.

These tapes are somewhat absorbent, so the dye doesn't tend to bleed under the edges, although if you spray the dye on too heavily, it can still happen. It's sticky enough to stay put while you're working, but then it comes off without tearing the leather grain.

I'm interested to know the answer to Schnos question as well I've read on the forum before that you have used liquid latex but when I tried that it turned the leather a funny grey colour and wouldn't dye properly. The latex did have a strong amnonia smell and was oldish (was left over from a mold I was making a year ago ) so if you still do use liquid latex is there a certain brand that you use.

The latex product I use for masking is not a liquid, but more of a heavy paste, which is designed for making casting molds. I use it for masking really complex shapes, but as you noted (as well as others who have PM'd me about their experiences with using a latex mask - some positive, and some not-so-positive), it does have some considerations. The product I use has not caused any discoloration on the leather, but it does change how the leather takes dye, so I have limited my use of it just to areas I don't plan to apply dye to.

Another approach I use for masking complex shapes, that is a great alternative to the latex, is to cut the shape I want to mask from a full-page sized self-adhesive label. I keep my art on my computer (mostly illustrator drawings), so I can just print the shape on the sheet, then cut it out with a hobby knife. These sheets are a little tackier than I like but so far, I haven't had any problem with them hurting the leather. Next time I have a project that involves this, I'll post a demo.

Kate

[TimDreamer]

Wow, looks great so far, Kate!! Very nice tooling, deep impressions and clean lines. (BTW, that's a TINY basketweave! 1/8 inch wide.... LoL.) Knowing the tendency of a swivel knife to not leave complete cuts when crossing or ending at perpendicular cuts, what is your technique on making these cuts look the way they do on your boards and how do you keep the same depth of cut for the complete line? Do you use straight, angled or hollow ground blades?

[CitizenKate]

To show a little of my process for some of the dye work, all the "maskable" areas of my game boards get the colors airbrushed on, so the first step is masking off the areas I don't want the dye to go. I use a modeling tool to tuck the edges of the tape into the lines to help keep the dye from getting under the edges of the tape.

Tomorrow I'll take it down to my garage and spray the dye on. It's very cold down there right now, and it's supposed to get warm tomorrow, so I decided to wait until then to do that part.

Knowing the tendency of a swivel knife to not leave complete cuts when crossing or ending at perpendicular cuts, what is your technique on making these cuts look the way they do on your boards and how do you keep the same depth of cut for the complete line?

It's easier to make photos than explain it. As you observed, the intersections of perpendicular lines tend to come up a little short of a perfect intersection because the end of the cut tapers off. I just take the swivel knife from the other direction and draw it from the intersecting line to the end of the other. I think there is a "rule" somewhere that says you shouldn't do this, probably because it's easy to make the end of the cut look very choppy, but with some practice you can make it perfect.

As for making the depth of the cuts consistent, that is just something I learned from practice. Having the leather at a consistent moisture level helps, as does having a well-conditioned blade that you aren't struggling with.

Do you use straight, angled or hollow ground blades?

For cutting the layout lines, I use a half-inch straight hollow-ground blade. I like for those lines to be fairly strong.

Kate

[terrahyd]

16 SQUARES?????? kidding.....realy nice am placing x'mas order now please..

Edited January 12, 2010 by terrahyd

[DaCodaBuchan]

Maybe that's a problem in places where the water is hard, but I haven't had any problems with it.

Does this mean that something like distilled or spring water(bottled water) would not cause water marks from the wetting of different small portions of a larger project? If so several Wal-mart bottles of water would cost about $10 and would be worth it.

[cem]

The latex product I use for masking is not a liquid, but more of a heavy paste, which is designed for making casting molds. I use it for masking really complex shapes, but as you noted (as well as others who have PM'd me about their experiences with using a latex mask - some positive, and some not-so-positive), it does have some considerations. The product I use has not caused any discoloration on the leather, but it does change how the leather takes dye, so I have limited my use of it just to areas I don't plan to apply dye to.

Another approach I use for masking complex shapes, that is a great alternative to the latex, is to cut the shape I want to mask from a full-page sized self-adhesive label. I keep my art on my computer (mostly illustrator drawings), so I can just print the shape on the sheet, then cut it out with a hobby knife. These sheets are a little tackier than I like but so far, I haven't had any problem with them hurting the leather. Next time I have a project that involves this, I'll post a demo.

Kate

Thanks Kate, thats what we call liquid latex in oz, I've used alot of it to make molds (which I hate doing cause they take so long compared to silicone) the only other stuff is dipping or balloon latex which would be too runny to do any sort of masking with it.

I might try some fast setting silicone I've taken impressions off sealed leather before and that worked without pulling any of the finish off so it might be worthwhile to see how a natural piece goes and to also see if it's able to be dyed afterwards. I'm finishing off a mold tommorrow so I will do some tests I've only got long set silicone at the moment but it should give me an idea whether it will work or not.

If not the self adhesive label might be the way to go I've got access to a small vinyl cutter so some testing on that might be in order.

Cheers,

Clair

[CitizenKate]

Does this mean that something like distilled or spring water(bottled water) would not cause water marks from the wetting of different small portions of a larger project? If so several Wal-mart bottles of water would cost about $10 and would be worth it.

I don't know for sure if that's the reason I don't get water spots when I re-wet a specific area of the leather. Another possibility might be that, since the entire piece is wet at the start, there might be enough moisture in the surrounding area to prevent clear water lines from forming.

I might try some fast setting silicone I've taken impressions off sealed leather before and that worked without pulling any of the finish off so it might be worthwhile to see how a natural piece goes and to also see if it's able to be dyed afterwards. I'm finishing off a mold tommorrow so I will do some tests I've only got long set silicone at the moment but it should give me an idea whether it will work or not.

That's an interesting idea. Hope you post the results!

Kate

[TimDreamer]

Kate, thanks for taking all our questions and providing answers! You're such a trooper. I feel like I'm taking a class on board making here..... LoL.