Tooling In The Desert (How To Keep Damp)

[bizbeblu]

I live deep in the Sonoran Desert in a house without air conditioning. That fact is important as A/C generally raises the relative humidity in a building. My shop is attached to the house and is cooled with fans (the house has a swamp cooler.) When it gets too hot, I just wait till morning or evening. My problem is with unfinished pieces holding over till morning. I think I have a fairly good casing technique. Run the piece thru a bowl of water watching for the bubbling to stop and in general just observing the color and texture of the leather. I then put it in a sealed plastic bag overnight at a minimum.

My problem is that when I'm working on a piece I often can't finish it in a single setting and the work is approaching too dry. I sponge both sides till it is darkened wet, put it back in the bag, leave it on the bench, and return in the morning. I'm finding that leaving it damp overnight causes much of the relief (background, pear shader, even beveling) to expand and remove the crispness of my work. I often have to go back and re-work everything.

Also as I work, the leather will often approach too dry - hard to describe - but it lightens and starts being harder to work. Too wet of course and it doesn't cut or stamp properly. I'm trying to sponge it when it gets this way but the results are uneven.

Does anyone have a work flow for a dry climate and in particular how to store pieces overnight?

Any help greatly appreciate.

[DoubleC]

I know some people leave the plastic on the part they aren't working on until they get to it. I don't know what you make so not sure this will work for you. Cheryl

[Northmount]

There are other posts on the same subject.

Dampen from the back side only, and bag overnight.

Keep in the fridge when not tooling so it doesn't go mouldy.

If you need to continue tooling and can't wait for it to soak through from the back, then mist with a little water as you go along with your tooling, as needed. Don't soak the tooled side.

And as CC says, cover the area you are not working on to hold its moisture.

Tom

[bizbeblu]

Okay, thanks for the tips. I've always re-wetted from both sides. I'll try just the back and doing the fridge over night. Keeping part of the work covered would be a real challenge. I tend to move the work around a lot so my eye and hand are in the right position. I'll try experimenting with a small sandwich bag or something. The spray bottle is a great idea. Wonder why I didn't think of that? For whatever reason, I'm on my 7th straight billfold with someone's name on it. One of the checkers in the grocery store saw my billfold - a fairly old piece that I took a shine to - and asked if I could put a name on it. Apparently word of mouth works. Can't price it locally for what outsiders would pay, but the real pleasure folks seem to get can't be bought.

Thanks, I'll keep experimenting.

Robert

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

I just use a sponge. Mojave desert here.

[oltoot]

If you can visit a vet clinic and get some used xray films, they are a good size, stiff and you can easily keep them over the areas you aren't working on. You can even cut a special shape with ordinary scissors. That, with the other tips should help. I live in a dry climate, too but it is a cold desert, not Sonoran (Southern Wyoming)

[bizbeblu]

I just use a sponge. Mojave desert here.

Yep, been in Moapa Valley. Plenty dry. I have something in the back of my head that says re-wetting leather alters color, makes it less supple, and in general is "not a good thing." Still, I can't find away to not to keep wetting the work. (It's suppose to be 111 and 14% humidity tomorrow. Really looking forward to that oltoot, that's a totally new idea. I'll see if I can find a dentist.

Robert

[Northmount]

Dental X-rays are too small! Unless he had a patient with a huge mouth!

Tom

[DoubleC]

Just a piece of seran wrap should do to cover it, don't have to keep it i n the bag. Cheryl

[benlilly1]

Find a local Chiropractor. Their x-rays are 14x17. I get mine from their trash... Or maybe a damp dry towel laid on the area will help.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Yep, supposed to be 115 this weekend.

Surprised that are tossing X-rays, most places send them out to get the silver reclaimed.

[Bob Blea]

I live in the high plains desert and have this problem all the time. I keep all my projects in bags and try to only bring out what I'm currently working on. Also, I've started using plastic wrap to cover areas I'm not working on while they are out of the bag. Also, something I've found that really seems to help is adding glycerine to my casing water. It supposedly helps keep the moisture in the leather. I just finished carving a legal sized notebook that was full floral on the front and basket stamped on the back. It took almost two weeks to complete and other than using a sponge to add moisture along the edges and corners where it was drying out, I only once added moisture to the rest of the carving. It seems to make a big difference adding the glycerine, at least from my experience.

Bob

[bizbeblu]

Plastic wrap. Doh. Wonder why I didn't think if that. Cheap, completely flexible, easy to move around. I think I'll go with spray bottle wetting and wrap. Today will be a good test as it's supposed to hit 116-118. Even here we consider that warm.

Robert

Oh, have to try Bob/s glycerine trick too. Does anyone know what a product like Tandy's "easy carve" does to leather? I've used it some, but the work seems to have a sticky quality after awhile. Don't know what's in it.

Edited June 28, 2013 by bizbeblu

[benlilly1]

I tried Tandy's easy carve and didn't like it...

[bizbeblu]

I tried Tandy's easy carve and didn't like it...

I agree. It gets gooey and sticky as it dries. It also doesn't seem to stay active for very long - i.e. it dries out faster than the leather. Nice idea. Wish it worked.