reddevil76 Report post Posted January 3, 2011 This board saved me from another potential pile of junked leather. I have ordered some geometric stamps and would have gone ahead without thinking about leather stretch till i read about it here. I knew about stretch,but just that without this board, it wouldn't have occurred to me in my eagerness to start. Anyway, seems the most popular method would be to glue the leather piece to cardboard. My question is,, if the flesh side would be exposed in the final product, won't the customer see bits of glue and card board all over the flesh side? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bkingery Report post Posted January 3, 2011 I used to glue posterboard to all of the stuff that I tooled and I was always getting the rubber cement all over, and I just think its messy but after reading on here about people using shipping tape on the back i tried that and it works great, so far all of the pieces that i have used it on have not stretched at all and i've tied it on everything from basket weaves to those huge tripoints and no stretch, i found that if you put it on one direction and then put another layer on the other direction then it works pretty good, the only problem I had was it was slippery on my board so I just put some masking tape on it and it quit sliding around. Of course the one drawback was it fuzzes up the back a little bit but not so bad that it looks bad on the stuff I do. Good luck hope this helps. Bryan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
reddevil76 Report post Posted January 3, 2011 Yes sir! Masking tape it is! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gawdzilla Report post Posted January 3, 2011 bkingery, when you say "shipping tape", what exactly to you mean, please? The brown cellophane tape? The fiber-inserted "strapping tape"? I guess I'm asking, "what's the name on the label"? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fredo Report post Posted January 3, 2011 SHipping tape, the only kind I have used is the clear, seems to work best. Now I have seen one of the teachers at the local Tandy use self sticking shelf liner that seemed to work even better. It also releases a lot easier when done. I'm going to try that next. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sdkid Report post Posted January 3, 2011 I use the clear packing tape, no fibers. I have used the dollar store stuff with no issues, although a wallet has been my largest project. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JRodz Report post Posted January 3, 2011 I have not tried shipping tape but I do use painter's tape or masking tape in two layers, one going the length and the other the width. May be overkill, but it works for me and controls the stretch effectively. Don't be afraid to experiment, it's how most of us have settled on our process along with using what is readily available and affordable. Best of luck. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gawdzilla Report post Posted January 3, 2011 Blue painters tape would be my choice then. It doesn't leave residue behind. Thanks kindly! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TinyL Report post Posted February 1, 2011 I found contact paper, (shelf liner) to be excellent. A roll can cover large projects and it goes on in one piece and comes off the same way. Same price for painters tape but more product. Doesn't leave any residue either. Chris Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Big Steve Report post Posted February 7, 2011 Hiya, i thought i would add my method, i use 2" plastick box tape clear or brown, then i put 2" double sided tape onto that (just the cheap stuff) and then stick the hole lot onto some card, overkill you may think.. but the card gives you something to hold you design onto pattern onto, when you have done and its totaly dry, peel the card/tape off the leather, not the leatherfrom the card, this as most will know will cause the leather to stretch, when you have done there is no glue on the leather, and no stretch, works for me, Regards, Steve.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mendedbowl Report post Posted February 7, 2011 I use clear packing tape for belts, and I use the clear plastic shelf liner for anything larger. Duck brand peel & stick clear laminate. Big Steve's advice about pulling the backing from the leather instead of the leather from the backing to prevent stretch is very wise. The only trouble I've ever had with packing tape was when using a cheaper tape (with cheaper glue) it released from the leather around the edges after casing the leather. I solved that problem by using a better tape. ken Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites