Tooling 4-5 oz. leather?

[rookie]

I was wondering what I problems I might run into tooling the lighter ounce leather? Does anyone one have any suggestions or tips? I have only tooled the heavier ounce leathers.

[Hilly]

I would think the biggest problem would be stretch. Make sure and tape the back well, or RC it down. I think the second biggest thing would be not to cut too deeply with your swivel knife. Don't expect as much relief in your work as you would using thicker leather.

I've carved and tooled 4-5oz. with no problem. You just can't get as much relief as when you carve heavier leather.

[rookie]

I understand taping, not to clear on what RC means. Thank you for the help.

[Crystal]

I understand taping, not to clear on what RC means. Thank you for the help.

Hi Rookie - RC - rubber cement.

Crystal

[rookie]

Got it... Thanks, I was a little worried about trying the lighter ounce leather.

[Crystal]

Got it... Thanks, I was a little worried about trying the lighter ounce leather.

4-5oz is what I am learning on. (All I have.) You do need to be careful about getting too deep and going through it. I would imagine that you will need to do casing and rewetting a bit different than the heavier weights. (Guessing that not sure.)

Good luck! Let us see what you do!

Crystal

[skip]

I was used to heavy saddle skirting leather and did a checkbook cover of 4 oz and when I was done tooling I held it up to look at it in the light and realized that I had been using too much force and could see several spots where I had gone all the way through. you have to be really careful and check you work from both sides so you don't make the same mistake I made. good luck

[David Genadek]

Depth is an illussion created by the lines and how you shade them. If you can let go of the notion that you have to carve deep and focus on createing the illusion you will find thinner leathers offer a wonderful opportunity to create depth just in a different way. However,this same concept should also be used when carving heavy leathers.

David Genadek

[Cecil]

Depth is an illussion created by the lines and how you shade them. If you can let go of the notion that you have to carve deep and focus on createing the illusion you will find thinner leathers offer a wonderful opportunity to create depth just in a different way. However,this same concept should also be used when carving heavy leathers.

David Genadekillusioncreating

Is there a good reference that addresses how to create the illusion of depth? Specifically how you draw, carve, and tool the lines. The references I have seen don't address this from the aspect of carving and tooling except in general terms. The shading is addressed in the books and sections covering coloring and dying. Is there anything you should do during tooling, before coloring like burnishing, to influence the shading of the work?

Edited April 21, 2008 by Cecil

[David Genadek]

Is there a good reference that addresses how to create the illusion of depth? Specifically how you draw, carve, and tool the lines. The references I have seen don't address this from the aspect of carving and tooling except in general terms. The shading is addressed in the books and sections covering coloring and dying. Is there anything you should do during tooling, before coloring like burnishing, to influence the shading of the work?

Cecil,

Any drawing book would introduce you to the concepts. I would also say that Stohlman covers it in his books but it is interwoven in all the instruction. Take another look and you might see it now that you are looking for it. Peter Main and and Paul Burnett also have it inter woven in all their instruction. Go to Peters site and look at his work a lot of which is done on thin leathers. The big thing is to let go of your preconceptions and emotional attachments and just see what is actually there. Do the cuts vary in thickness or are they the same thickness through out? Do the lines radiate from a point or are they helter skelter? What is happening with the pear shadeing is it a single hit or does it start big and gradually taper down? Is the beveling all the same widthe or does it widen and narrow depending on where it is on line. Is anything on top of anything else? When things come together is it beveled so it looks like the beveling keeps going or does it abruptly stop? Just a few questions to ask.

David Genadek