Deluxe Leathercraft Kit Delivered Today Need Help!

[LilRay]

Hey Folks , Got my kit in the mail today, and I've spent about about an hour practicing on some scrap I got from a leatherworking friend.

First question I've got is how do I hold the tools level? I have Cerebral Palsy and this is proving somewhat a challenge. I used a veiner for instance and my impressions weren't even. Heavy on the left or right side.

I tried a seeder and between mallet strikes I moved the tool and got two seeds slightly off.

I need practice tips. Where are some good tips to try and start from 0?

HELP!

God Bless, Ray

[Luke Hatley]

GREAT THAT YOU GOT THR TOOL SET. Something that will help you is the book

"Craftool Tech Tips". Tandy has it........

[bkingery]

Hey Folks , Got my kit in the mail today, and I've spent about about an hour practicing on some scrap I got from a leatherworking friend.

First question I've got is how do I hold the tools level? I have Cerebral Palsy and this is proving somewhat a challenge. I used a veiner for instance and my impressions weren't even. Heavy on the left or right side.

I tried a seeder and between mallet strikes I moved the tool and got two seeds slightly off.

I need practice tips. Where are some good tips to try and start from 0?

HELP!

God Bless, Ray

Howdy LilRay,

Glad you got the kit, don't give up this stuff is hard for most of us without any disabilities. A couple of questions, are you having a hard time with holding the tools because they are too small or could it be because of weakness in your fingers because of the palsey. You might just have to learn to hold the tools a differant way than with your fingertips. I've been working on some ergonomic handles with my physical therapist brother and the sculpy I told you about earlier might be the way to go, you could maybe "build" in the angle that you need. When I can find my camera I'll take some pictures to show you what I mean. Keep on truckin and you'll get the hang of it.

Peace

Bryan

[pete]

Hi and welcome!!!! Great people here and a lifetime of learning and advice!

Check out a number of books- hang out at a Tandy book section!

You will find to your delight that a number of tools are SUPPOSED to be held at an angle whereby you only use the corner of the tool!!!! YIPPEEE!!!!

Stay with it and stay in touch- there are no stupid questions... (left....I've asked them all!)

pete

[LilRay]

Thanks guys!

Bryan, I'm having a time trying to "keep" a tool in the same spot between mallet strikes, or keeping it straight.

But as I read, Apparently my leather wasn't wet enough. I barely wet the tooling side, and didn't wet the underside at all. And the scraps I was given to practice on are THICK! I'm guessing 1/4in. I whopped the snot outta this stuff and barely made impressions with everything but the seeder.

I'm up for round 2 manana, after some more reading here.

Thanks again all!

God Bless, Ray

[radar67]

What surface are you working on? You need a solid surface with no bounce to get a good strike. Hold a little pressure down on your seeders to help keep them from bouncing. On the smaller stamps a single good hard hit is best. On the veiners, hold pressure to one side for the first strike, then rock the tool to the other side for the second strike.

My first attempts were on a TV tray and that was a fail. A rubber hammer is a fail as well. A good poly or leather mallet is best.

[LilRay]

What surface are you working on? You need a solid surface with no bounce to get a good strike. Hold a little pressure down on your seeders to help keep them from bouncing. On the smaller stamps a single good hard hit is best. On the veiners, hold pressure to one side for the first strike, then rock the tool to the other side for the second strike.

My first attempts were on a TV tray and that was a fail. A rubber hammer is a fail as well. A good poly or leather mallet is best.

I've got a Pressure Treated 2X12 until I can get to a local granite supply for a cheap slab. Kit came with Poly Mallet. I think I just need lots of practice and detailed education on the basics.

I'm reading as much as I can, and I'll give another go on some more scrap tommorrow.

God Bless, Ray

[radar67]

What type of scraps are you using? My first scrap were farm remnants. They worked somewhat, but was hard to get a good lasting impression. When I got my first real piece of vegi tanned leather, the difference in tooling was night and day.

[HellfireJack]

Don't worry Ray, it's normal. It's probably not the CP that's the problem as I did the same things when I started out. Who knew beating crap with a mallet could be so difficult?

It's all practice practice practice. Don't worry if your tooling sucks. So does mine. I tend to shy away from pictorial work as those skills along with my knife work aren't up to par yet and I lean towards basketweaves and geometric patterns and I continue doing practice carvings to get close to decent with it.

But even then there are other ways to decorate leather without carvings into it. You can use spots, spikes, conchos, dyes and stains and sewing and never once pound a tool into the stuff and still make a beautiful item.

[Chief31794]

Ray,

One tip that might help, the stamping tools have to be held firm, I suffer from some Arthritis and one thing I do to give me a little better grip is I wrap the handles of the stamps with duck tape. It gives a cushion and a little more diameter that makes it easier to hold on to.

Keep at it, takes practice, practice and then some more practice.

You should also read the articles under "How do I do that" on casing leather, properly cased leather will accept the impressions much better and result in cleaner impressions as well.

Good Luck,

Ken

Edited February 25, 2011 by Chief31794