How Do I Keep The Leather Flat When Stamping?

[Travis The Red]

Hey everyone, I've made a few simple designs on leather in the past few months and everytime after I'm done the leather always curves up around the edges. Sometimes its almost like a bowl shape. I've seen on the Tandy site a video where the guy glues the leather to some card board and I was thinking that maybe that would help keeping the leather flat after I've finished, but wouldnt something like that underneath the leather defeat the purpose of my granite block? Recently I tried stretching the leather out some after I've finished and this helped to a point, but it still doesn't lay flat. I'm assuming this is a rookie mistake since I can't really find any information on this problem, so any help on this is appreciated. Thanks.

[DaveT]

As you have found, the action of stamping/tooling leather will stretch it. You can use rubber cement to glue the leather to a backing material (cardboard, plastic, wood, etc.). Most folks use something like mylar film (Tracing film or used x-ray film works well). A lot of us use clear packing tape on the back. Remove the tape after you're done tooling. One word of advice though, if you use tape, buy the good stuff with a thick base material. Cheap packing tape works, but will tend to shred when you try to pull it off. The better tape comes off in a single piece. You can also rubber cement the leather directly to your tooling stone. Just makes it a bit tougher to turn and tool.

As for the use of a stone, it is to provide a firm surface to tool on. The heavier the stone, the less noise you'll make and the less the table will bounce. The mass of the stone also makes it easier to get nice deep tooling.

Hope this helps.

Dave T.

[terrymac]

Travis,

Get some 3M packing tape, it works well. After putting on the back of the leather, rubber glue the tape to a piece of plexiglass. The plexiglass is hard enough, that when used on your stone, it is hard enough to have good tool impressions and burnishing. You can get the plexiglass at Lowe's or Home Depot, and it is not very expensive and cuts fairly easy. Cuts the same way drywall does. If you can find at least 1/4", the better. The lighter can still bend upwards, but the leather is not stretching.

Hope this helps,

Terry

[hidepounder]

Travis,

I recommend using the 1/4" acrylic that the others mentioned. That is what I use whenever possible. When I can't use the acrylic I use the 3M packing tape on such things as belts and strap work where using the acrylic is impractical. I have never used poster board or cardboard for backing and can't comment about it, but I know it is popular. It has never appealed to me for the exact reason you mentioned. When I'm tooling I want a backing that has absolutely no give. That is one of the reasons I prefer the acrylic. Hope this helps....

Bobby

[BearMan]

Good Morning everybody,

Bobby, Terry, & Dave, are all absolutely correct,,, stabalizing the back is abosolutely essential. Back many years ago, before I knew about stabalizing the back, I had the same problem with cupping & stretching. Once I started taping & glueing the back, I noticed something else,,, my tooling had a lot more depth & definition also! What I believe happens, is since the leather cant stretch, it has no other place to move, when tooling, it can only moves up, or down. But, just as important as stabalizing the back,,, proper Casing, is just as important. To get the best tutorial for that,,, Bobby (hidepounder)has the best proceedure. Travis, if you follow these two tips, your tooling willl improve by leaps & bounds!

Ed the"BearMan"

[oldandbold]

I haven't engraved for a long time, but I always used self stick shelf paper on the back of my leather. The paper holds the leather from stretching, and is reasonably easy to remove

old and bold.

[Julius]

The packing tape tip is a great and easy method to keep your leather from distorting

[KatieG]

I use packing tape. I don't glue it or anything, I just put tape on the back and tool on my slab

Nary a problem!