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  • Contributing Member
Posted

Nice work! But you weren't holding your tongue just right....you should make a couple more. ;)

Mike DeLoach

Esse Quam Videri (Be rather than Seem)

"Don't learn the tricks of the trade.....Learn the trade."

"Teach what you know......Learn what you don't."

LEATHER ARTISAN'S DIGITAL GUILD on Facebook.

  • Members
Posted (edited)

Nice work! But you weren't holding your tongue just right....you should make a couple more. ;)

Oh, I did. I'm surprised to see this old post show up again. I'm addicted to working with exotic hides....but still a novice. I've done a fair amount with alligator, shark, and elephant. I recently got into stingray, which is an entirely different monster. My personal preference is with inlays, but don't mind working with overlays.

post-28681-0-45362700-1417741413_thumb.j

post-28681-0-77966400-1417741425_thumb.j

post-28681-0-22679000-1417741438_thumb.j

post-28681-0-55319200-1417741452_thumb.j

post-28681-0-93831800-1417741467_thumb.j

Edited by Matt Alsaker
  • Contributing Member
Posted

When you work with 'ray, are you having issues sewing it? I've got a piece that I haven't used yet, and found some advice to sand down the 'beads' where I'm going to sew. I'm just curious if it's really necessary.

Mike DeLoach

Esse Quam Videri (Be rather than Seem)

"Don't learn the tricks of the trade.....Learn the trade."

"Teach what you know......Learn what you don't."

LEATHER ARTISAN'S DIGITAL GUILD on Facebook.

  • Members
Posted

Some very nice looking pieces there, I want to try some inlay but every time I think about it someone else shows up and trying not to be a slave to leather all the time I am suppose to be retired, but it keeps me out of trouble and the extra $$ is nice.

Papaw

Indiana Calumet Area Leather Guild

Happy to be old enough to know better, but young enough to still do it !!

  • Members
Posted

When you work with 'ray, are you having issues sewing it? I've got a piece that I haven't used yet, and found some advice to sand down the 'beads' where I'm going to sew. I'm just curious if it's really necessary.

I don't do anything special to sew it, other than run it very slowly through by Cobra 4. If doing an overlay, the stitch line many not appear perfectly straight. The needle will move slightly side to side as it glances off the hard calcium deposits on the hide. The lines generally are straight, but you get that occasional deposit that pushes the needle minimally off line. Most leather craftsmen notice it right away, most who don't have the eye for that level of meticulous detail don't even notice it. With inlays, I don't have the same issue. The stitch line is visible on the outer piece of leather which have enough give to accommodate the movement of the needle, but the leather seems to straighten the stitch out (at least that's how it appears on the leather).

The bigger issue for me is....finishing the edges. Cutting the fine edges (along an edge where leather and the stingray meet) is a pain. I used shears and heavy scissors. When I went to sand the edge (wear a mask if you don't already, you don't want to breath in all the calcium dust), those calcium deposits were tough on my sanding drums. In certain situations I start with a small grinder on my Dremel, then switch to the sanding drum.

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