Another Bible Cover

[bruce johnson]

Must be the time for Bible covers. I just finished up this one. In the last few weeks I have had some requests that were a bit out of the norm for me. I did some coonhound silhouette stuff, and got this request for a Bible cover from these folks that raise show lambs. We took the logo off their trailer and I added the cross in behind it.

I am quite happy the way the logo came out. I really like the new TLF Hiliters. The finish on this one came out very well. I oiled it and let it for a day. I did two coats of Leathersheen. I then 'washed it with Briar brown HiLiter about 1:3 with water. After it dried, I did a light coat of Leathersheen again. I have done this one the last several things, and am liking it a lot. I like the stitching, nice tight smaller stitches. Seeing everyone else's "fine" work has me shortening the length and using smaller thread.

Now the ol' three things I see wrong with it. The letter spacing on the last name could be better. The basket stamping below the last name has a "hump". A border stamp inside the bead line might have helped it some (or busied things up, I am still not sure on that in my mind).

[Rawhide]

Must be the time for Bible covers. I just finished up this one. In the last few weeks I have had some requests that were a bit out of the norm for me. I did some coonhound silhouette stuff, and got this request for a Bible cover from these folks that raise show lambs. We took the logo off their trailer and I added the cross in behind it.

I am quite happy the way the logo came out. I really like the new TLF Hiliters. The finish on this one came out very well. I did two coats of Leathersheen. I then 'washed it with Briar brown HiLiter about 1:3 with water. After it dried, I did a light coat of Leathersheen again. I have done this one the last several things, and am liking it a lot. I like the stitching, nice tight smaller stitches. Seeing everyone else's "fine" work has me shortening the length and using smaller thread.

Now the ol' three things I see wrong with it. The letter spacing on the last name could be better. The basket stamping below the last name has a "hump". A border stamp inside the bead line might have helped it some (or busied things up, I am still not sure on that in my mind).

That's very nice Bruce. I too like the highlighter stains from Tandy. They seem to penetrate very evenly and manage to keep me from screwing up a good carving/stamping job.

Marlon

[ArtS]

Beautiful job Bruce!

ArtS

[jwwright]

Extra nice job Bruce. JW

[Dually]

Very nice Bruce. At what stage did you do the dark color on the cross and lower legs? I have never tried leathersheen as a pre- stain. I am going to try that hiliter, it looks great. Thanks!

Randy

[lindatt]

You are too hard on yourself.... I don't see anything wrong! Very nice basketweave. I think it looks fabulous.

[bruce johnson]

Randy,

Here is the way I finish most all of the personal goods. After I am done stamping, I dye whatever needs it like the cross, figures or lettering (black Sharpie markers). After it has dried for a few hours, I oil. I use NF oil with med brn ProDye added for now. I give it a day or so for the oil to even. Then I do a coat of LeatherSheen, and when almost dry, I do another. This is the resist for the HiLiter. I have used quite a bit of SuperSheen too and truth be known, it may all be the same. When the second coat is dry, I apply the diluted HiLiter. I found that Briar Brown about 1:3 to water gives me what I am looking for. I apply it with a sponge, and let it sit and settle into the low areas. A firm sponge will remove excess from the high spots before it dries. When it is dry, usually a few hours or overnight, I wipe over everything with one more coat of LeatherSheen to seal it. For those who liked Drake's, this is a pretty similar look, just more steps.

A few things I am learning as I go with this. I need to be a bit more sparing around the letters for stuff I am photographing. The dye job was pretty good on the lettering, but the HiLiter makes it look rough around the edges in the pics. In real life, the black dye contrasts with the HiLiter and looks a lot cleaner. In the pictures it all runs together. However in most cases, I can see more stuff wrong in a picture of my stuff than I do in real life. Anybody else notice this? Maybe we are so close to the action we aren't stepping back often enough to take it all in.

These new HiLiter colors are pretty handy. The old HiLiter was too black, and the Leatherglow was too light. I find the diluted Briar Brown gives me a nice medium brown highlighting effect in the cuts and deeper impressions. They are sure enough easy to use.

[jbird]

Hi Bruce I love your bible covers how do you do the inside can you post pics.

[bruce johnson]

Joshua,

Here are the pics of one I just finished up earlier. I fully line them all. The lining is "lining pigskin" from TLF in the biscuit/straw/golden color. I like it. It is thin and a bit of stretch to it. It doesn't wrinkle too much if glued down well. You can see where a little glue solvent has soaked through at the spine area. That will be gone tomorrow. The pockets are 3/4 oz commercial oak from Siegels. It is a little stiffer vegtan leather. It is lightly oiled and allowed to even out. I seal it with LeatherSheen. I apply the sheen front and back with a sponge. While still wet I go over it hard with my slicker on both sides. It compresses and glazes the flesh side and slicks up the grain side well too. I apply another coat and let it dry. The sheen keeps the oil from bleeding off on paper. I do this for all my pockets - checkbooks, planners, portfolios, etc. I have one out 15 years with no bleeding. I have a little teeny edger I use on the open edge inside that isn't sewn. Makes a nicer feel than the square edge. Glue them, sew them, and then trim the excess and edge all around. Some Bible covers are a little sticky in the slip covers at first. I shake a little baby powder in the pockets, do the Hokey-Pokey, and dump it out. They'll slide then.

[jbird]

thanks Bruce looks nice

josh

[abn]

Bruce, beautiful work -- congrats! And thanks for posting such detailed information on the new Eco-Flo Hi-Lite Stains. I'll have to give them a try.

Alex