Another Guitar Strap

[Chief31794]

I got an order from a Bass player in Columbus Oh, and I keep a couple already cut and ready to be tooled and dyed, so I knocked it out this afternoon. He wanted it black because his Bass is black. I dyed it red first and then block dyed it black so that the tooling and letters show up a little better.

[mugwump]

looks great, keep it up... the only suggestion i might have, and dont take it the wrong way, is that you might want to not use as much pressure when your laying out your lines with the scribe/calipers/etc... just my opinion... the strap still is great though... i like the red/black combo... take care...

eric

[Chief31794]

looks great, keep it up... the only suggestion i might have, and dont take it the wrong way, is that you might want to not use as much pressure when your laying out your lines with the scribe/calipers/etc... just my opinion... the strap still is great though... i like the red/black combo... take care...

eric

Eric,

No way would I take it the wrong way, I appreciate the advise. I do not see as well as I used to and I've been toying with the idea of using a small plastic T-Square (12") and instead of marking the layout lines for tooling, then id the measurement from the edge and move the T-square down after each impression and align the tool to the T-Square. I would appreciate any ideas on how other folks do this to prevent the layout lines from showing. They are particularly bad on antique dying or highliting. As they are they are barely visible to me now when I'm tooling and I have trouble following them, I definitely can't make them any deeper so some sort of auxillary method without laying out a line is probably what i need to do. I may experiment with it unless someone can suggest a better way.

Thanks,

Ken

[mugwump]

Eric,

No way would I take it the wrong way, I appreciate the advise. I do not see as well as I used to and I've been toying with the idea of using a small plastic T-Square (12") and instead of marking the layout lines for tooling, then id the measurement from the edge and move the T-square down after each impression and align the tool to the T-Square. I would appreciate any ideas on how other folks do this to prevent the layout lines from showing. They are particularly bad on antique dying or highliting. As they are they are barely visible to me now when I'm tooling and I have trouble following them, I definitely can't make them any deeper so some sort of auxillary method without laying out a line is probably what i need to do. I may experiment with it unless someone can suggest a better way.

Thanks,

Ken

thanks for understanding... i havent had any issues here, but on some boards people get their back-hairs up at the drop of a hat. so.... as far as the lines, i've tried a few diff. methods with three types of tape that might be a little bit hard to locate (i dont know what area your in) first type... the black 'crepe' tape (it looks like black masking tape) that you can find in camera shops... it's low tack, and ph balanced. #2, is a white-waxed(?) paper tape that's for the freezer, it's got a 'rubber'-type of backing that is also low tack, a little more grip than the black photo tape... and finally #3, the one i use most often... if you have a local hobby/model shop, the brand is 'tamiya', it's their brand of masking tape. it's very thin, yellow-coloured, with moderate to low tack, low or no issues with leather. it's made to be used for masking when your airbrushing models on fresh or fragile paint, and leave no residue or lift the previous layers of paint. which is why i use it. of coure ymmv, but they work for me when i dont want to etch a guide line, or if i think the line wont get covered-up. one word of caution, always test on scraps before using on your main event... sometimes the various tapes can raise the 'nap'(?) remove a bit of the top coat/layer on the un-finished leather... which could be an issue (somethimes) if your going to leave the leather 100% natural, and un-tinted, but if it's always been covered-up when you go through the various stages of dye/burnish/sealers/etc... hope that helps you somewhat...

eric

p.s. i've gone to installing an white led light bar a couple of inches of the work surface to help illuminate the leather when i stamp/tool, the light is angled down at the surface and not sideways so the light stays on the object, and not in my eyes... led's... low power use, color-temp specific, cheap (enough), and no (or very low) heat.... take care...

[Chief31794]

Thanks,

I'll try to find some of the tape you mentioned.

I've got very bright lights, just very old eyes. I don't think the lights would help.

Ken