Leather Dust

[HandyAndy]

I read on this forum that someone had a tip for making leather dust by putting skiveing scraps in a coffee grinder. Well, I have started using a dremmel with a sanding drum to skive some peaces and I am making a lot of leather dust. I was wondering what I could be doing with this stuff.

[anne newkold]

I read on this forum that someone had a tip for making leather dust by putting skiveing scraps in a coffee grinder. Well, I have started using a dremmel with a sanding drum to skive some peaces and I am making a lot of leather dust. I was wondering what I could be doing with this stuff.

People use leather dust mixed with rubber cement to make a putty to fill in embossed areas such as animal heads, raised Scrolls. Ask Clay about using it I am sure he uses it quite a bit

[Jordan]

My dogs love the stuff I am constantly chasing them away while I cleanup aroung my belt sander. Nothing funnier than a jack russel with a leather dust covered snout sneezzing and running around in circles on a leather high.

[HandyAndy]

I had a Jack Russel Terror when I was young so I can see that perfectly!

[Ian]

I'm try to figure a use for all the hundreds of little punch outs from punching lacing holes

[Jordan]

Spacers for beading necklaces etc. Unless the dogs get to them first.

[ClayB]

Anne is right, I use a lot of it. Mixed with rubber cement to a consistency of peanut butter or bread dough, it works really good to fill in the cavity created when you do embossed carvings in the style of Robb Barr or Jan Schoonover. Bob Beard uses it to raise the scroll areas on some of his really neat floral carvings. There are some demo's here on the forum that I have done the explain the process. I also use the putty to create bark texture on trees, another thing I learned from Jan Schoonover.

Here are some photos of how I used it to create a bark effect. The first picture shows the putty mixed up in a plastic container. You have to be careful what you mix it in because rubber cement eats some things, like cheap plastic cups.

In this picture, I am starting to spread the putty mixture out on a piece of cardboard.

I want it to look something like a hole in a hollow log, so I pinched it up to form a ridge around the hole. The rest of the putty is spread fairly heavy, maybe 3/8ths of an inch thick. You want to be able to create ridges to simulate bark.

The putty is now spread out, ready to create the ridges

Now take some kind of tool and draw/scratch in the ridges to make it look like bark. I used a screw driver but you could use a modeling tool, a tooth pick, or whatever works.

Here you can see the bark beginning to take shape. It can be rough or smooth depending on the look you are going for

As it starts to dry, it may shrink and leave gaps, or you might have scratched too deep and taken away all the bark. No big deal, just smear some more putty over these areas. You might want to add more rubber cement to the mixture at this point to make it thinner.

Keep working the putty until you get it to look like you want it too. Bark is all different so there really isn't a specific way it has to look.

This is how my bark turned out.

Edited June 6, 2008 by ClayB

[Brandon]

I'm try to figure a use for all the hundreds of little punch outs from punching lacing holes

Sandwiched them between two pieces of leather and you have an Ostrich skin.

I was told that's how they do it in Thailand.

Edited June 8, 2008 by Brandon

[Hilly]

Anne is right, I use a lot of it. Mixed with rubber cement to a consistency of peanut butter or bread dough, it works really good to fill in the cavity created when you do embossed carvings in the style of Robb Barr or Jan Schoonover. Bob Beard uses it to raise the scroll areas on some of his really neat floral carvings. There are some demo's here on the forum that I have done the explain the process. I also use the putty to create bark texture on trees, another thing I learned from Jan Schoonover.

Here are some photos of how I used it to create a bark effect. The first picture shows the putty mixed up in a plastic container. You have to be careful what you mix it in because rubber cement eats some things, like cheap plastic cups.

In this picture, I am starting to spread the putty mixture out on a piece of cardboard.

I want it to look something like a hole in a hollow log, so I pinched it up to form a ridge around the hole. The rest of the putty is spread fairly heavy, maybe 3/8ths of an inch thick. You want to be able to create ridges to simulate bark.

The putty is now spread out, ready to create the ridges

Now take some kind of tool and draw/scratch in the ridges to make it look like bark. I used a screw driver but you could use a modeling tool, a tooth pick, or whatever works.

Here you can see the bark beginning to take shape. It can be rough or smooth depending on the look you are going for

As it starts to dry, it may shrink and leave gaps, or you might have scratched too deep and taken away all the bark. No big deal, just smear some more putty over these areas. You might want to add more rubber cement to the mixture at this point to make it thinner.

Keep working the putty until you get it to look like you want it too. Bark is all different so there really isn't a specific way it has to look.

This is how my bark turned out.

Pretty neat, Clay. Thanks for the tutorial.

I have one question, though........

How did that bear get inside the tree?

[ClayB]

Pretty neat, Clay. Thanks for the tutorial.

I have one question, though........

How did that bear get inside the tree?

I forced him in there at gun point! I know, I know already, bears aren't supposed to be inside trees and buffalo aren't supposed to have feathers. I took the bear back out of the tree, and he is just sitting around waiting for a better idea for a matt. But I like my buffalo with feathers, so I aint changing that one.

[barra]

I save all of my skiving scraps as well as the sliver of leather from when I edge. I just stick them in an old coffee can and when full I feed them into an old electric coffee grinder. I have found that if I try and use solid leather scraps eg the wads from punching holes that the coffee grinder has a koniption (sp). I then mix the dust much as has been mentioned above. I have various molds that I fill with the dust and when dry pop them out like a cake. I then am able to get perfect shapes that I then use for plugs/inlays prior to final covering with leather.

Barra

Edited June 8, 2008 by barra

[Windy]

I forced him in there at gun point! I know, I know already, bears aren't supposed to be inside trees and buffalo aren't supposed to have feathers. I took the bear back out of the tree, and he is just sitting around waiting for a better idea for a matt. But I like my buffalo with feathers, so I aint changing that one.

Clay,

I think you should put it back and tell everyone it is a monkey.

That is what I thought it was. I never even thought of a bear.

Really nice work and tutorial. I have just one question though,

where do you get peanut butter as thick and dry as bread dough?

Or why do you make your bread dough as thin and runny as peanut butter?

WINDY

[ClayB]

Clay,

I think you should put it back and tell everyone it is a monkey.

That is what I thought it was. I never even thought of a bear.

Really nice work and tutorial. I have just one question though,

where do you get peanut butter as thick and dry as bread dough?

Or why do you make your bread dough as thin and runny as peanut butter?

WINDY

If I remember right, in Robb's videos, he said to mix it to the consistency of peanut butter. In Jan's classes, he says to mix it to the consistency of peanut butter (Peter Pan, I think) It depends on where you are using it. For putty on the back of an embossed project, it can be thicker. If you are using it on the front of a project to cover the scar from cutting areas loose, it needs to be thinner.

[Hawk Scarbrough]

Sandwiched them between two pieces of leather and you have an Ostrich skin.

I was told that's how they do it in Thailand.

I would love to see a picture of that!

My dogs love the stuff I am constantly chasing them away while I cleanup aroung my belt sander. Nothing funnier than a jack russel with a leather dust covered snout sneezzing and running around in circles on a leather high.

Funny mental picture.

Anne is right, I use a lot of it. Mixed with rubber cement to a consistency of peanut butter or bread dough, it works really good to fill in the cavity created when you do embossed carvings in the style of Robb Barr or Jan Schoonover. Bob Beard uses it to raise the scroll areas on some of his really neat floral carvings. There are some demo's here on the forum that I have done the explain the process. I also use the putty to create bark texture on trees, another thing I learned from Jan Schoonover.

Here are some photos of how I used it to create a bark effect. The first picture shows the putty mixed up in a plastic container. You have to be careful what you mix it in because rubber cement eats some things, like cheap plastic cups.

hollow_l...__Small_.jpg

In this picture, I am starting to spread the putty mixture out on a piece of cardboard.

hollow_l...__Small_.jpg

I want it to look something like a hole in a hollow log, so I pinched it up to form a ridge around the hole. The rest of the putty is spread fairly heavy, maybe 3/8ths of an inch thick. You want to be able to create ridges to simulate bark.

hollow_l...__Small_.jpg

The putty is now spread out, ready to create the ridges

hollow_l...__Small_.jpg

Now take some kind of tool and draw/scratch in the ridges to make it look like bark. I used a screw driver but you could use a modeling tool, a tooth pick, or whatever works.

hollow_l...__Small_.jpg

Here you can see the bark beginning to take shape. It can be rough or smooth depending on the look you are going for

hollow_l...__Small_.jpg

As it starts to dry, it may shrink and leave gaps, or you might have scratched too deep and taken away all the bark. No big deal, just smear some more putty over these areas. You might want to add more rubber cement to the mixture at this point to make it thinner.

hollow_l...__Small_.jpg

Keep working the putty until you get it to look like you want it too. Bark is all different so there really isn't a specific way it has to look.

hollow_l...__Small_.jpg

This is how my bark turned out.

hollow_l...__Small_.jpg

Thanks for the great tutorial, but how about those long, almost hairlike leather strips from using a moderately fine edge beveler. Been saving them for some reason.

[Hawk Scarbrough]

I save all of my skiving scraps as well as the sliver of leather from when I edge. I just stick them in an old coffee can and when full I feed them into an old electric coffee grinder. I have found that if I try and use solid leather scraps eg the wads from punching holes that the coffee grinder has a koniption (sp). I then mix the dust much as has been mentioned above. I have various molds that I fill with the dust and when dry pop them out like a cake. I then am able to get perfect shapes that I then use for plugs/inlays prior to final covering with leather.

Barra

Thanks for the idea. It has earned a spot on my text sheet of "Really Good Leather Work Tips"