Cutting Two Pieces Identical

[Cyberthrasher]

  On 6/21/2013 at 3:21 AM, TomG said:

I've used a number of things to apply the 50/50 res. What I like best is an old cotton shirt - not a tee shirt but a dress shirt type material. I used a small square folded in half. I put it on the edge of the bottle, tip the juice onto the cloth. Then I strike a quick stroke on my newsprint that I use to see how much I'll be laying down and then wipe the surface of the leather.

I used to do that with some lint free rags. Then I got to a point at one time where it let me down and wasn't applying as evenly as it should. That's when I started just using the sponge religiously instead. Never failed me before, but that one time where I almost had to start from scratch on the entire order really made me say "not worth it". It was one of those times that was probably a fluke and I was in a hurry not doing something like normal, but I just can't help but say to myself "well, if it happened once it can happen again. Guess I better change."

[Eternal Custom Designs]

When you use the bluejeans... do u use the inside or the out side?

[Cyberthrasher]

Doesn't really matter. They're pretty close in abrasiveness. I have some bad phone pictures of my process that I'll try to get uploaded to show.

[Eternal Custom Designs]

Cool...so resolene has been a success so far...I'm doing the back today...as far as the other collar...I figured a way to make a good border...I was thinking to maybe put some texture from the border out to the edges...if I decide to do so should I try to smooth it out first and then tool it...and would u use a shader or a background tool? Thanks as always

[Cyberthrasher]

I would still try to get it uniform. May not need to get it as smooth as if you were leaving it with no border tooling. I would probably stay away from any of the hatched or checkered tools myself. They may not look right. If you have a seeder and maybe a Camouflage tool, that could work well. I've done some cool stuff with a seeder to make it look like rivets around the edge before.

[Eternal Custom Designs]

Actually I made the border...and smooth out the edges... it doesn't look bad...I've got to reburnish the edges and pay ATTN to my details...but its done a 180...thanks for the quick thinking!!!

[Eternal Custom Designs]

Now time for dye...should I do the edges first...then the front...I don't want dye on the back of this one..will a q tip work for the edges?

[Cyberthrasher]

Ok, so let's see if these crappy photos help out at all. I was doing some stitching practice last night and decided to edge it up for you real quick to take photos of the process. The seam is held together with seam tape, not glue, so that part could be better. Also, there is no resolene or other finish on the edge - it was a quick job. I think it took me about 5 minutes here.

First off, we have 2 pieces of 5/6 oz leather stitched together as close as possible to an even edge.

I've sanded up the edge to get it as even as possible with little to know sign of it being 2 layers. This was done with a small piece of 220 grit, followed up with a little 400 because I thought it needed a touch more smoothing.

I pulled out my #2 edger to knock off the corners - front and back. I think I should have used a #3 here, but we'll make it work.

because I had a little bit of a ridge from beveling the edge (the "mohawk" effect), I went back to the sanding real quick to even that out and make it a rounded profile like it should be.

Once I'm happy with the profile and the smoothness, I get ready to burnish. Here you see my bar of glycerin saddle soap that I've rubbed into many edges - hence the groove. I don't get it wet at all, some do. I find I get better results this way.

  On 6/21/2013 at 3:42 PM, Eternal Custom Designs said:

Now time for dye...should I do the edges first...then the front...I don't want dye on the back of this one..will a q tip work for the edges?

I usually do the front first and then the edges, but it doesn't really matter. Q-tip should work fine. What you're about to see in the next round of pictures is a quick way to do it that doesn't offer the best coverage. Just make sure the edges are well burnished first as you'll see here

[Eternal Custom Designs]

That makes a lot of sense..and the pics help tremendously... if I can seeing I can usually simulate it...I'll post a pic on fb if you wanna see what I got...or I can text it to you??

[Eternal Custom Designs]

And as far as the holes for the buckle to slide in do I do them last and just dab some dye in the carefully?? Sorry I forgot to ask earlier