Looking For Alternatives To Veg Tanned To Save Money

[Imaya]

This is one piece I am considering using. It is cheap, already distressed, dyed with a light color and probably doesn't need a full paint job, just some actual white stain or maybe some white oil paints will lighten it up and still keep the mottled effect.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Leather-Cow-Oil-Tanned-Project-Piece-6-1-Square-Foot-Sand-10-ounces-Buffed-N-/141417093695?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20ed1d9a3f

However... it is oil tanned leather? Can it be formed and shaped like veg tanned, by wetting and baking? Is there another method that needs to be used? It is 10oz, but doesn't appear unreasonably thick.

Is it something I can work with?

[Imaya]

Sunday bump!

[electrathon]

I have only skimmed through all of the posts, but the above listing is oil tanned and oil tanned will not work. It will not form and harden like veg tanned. Also, to keep the temp lower than 170 degrees when hardening in your oven simply keep removing it as it is drying. You should be able to hold it in your hand, barely. If it feels lik it will burn your hands, keep it out of the oven for a bit till it starts to cool.

[Imaya]

Thank you! I goggled around, but couldn't seem to get an answer on whether or not I could tool that thick piece of oil tanned leather.

I found a few tutorials on baking leather, and all use pretty much the same methods on baking, just as you describe. Pop it in on the lowest temp, pul it out, shape it, check for hot spots or burning, pop back in, repeat every four or five minutes.

I spoke about the mask to a friend who has made some leather armor, and he was insistent that the leather would not harden correctly in the oven, and that I must put it on a form, oil it, and let it dry over a few weeks. It doesn't need to be as hard as armor, but the quick method of using the oven seems like it does the job for masks... right? It was mentioned here, as I have read in other places, that masks don't harden enough if you don't use enough heat or if you try to air dry them. Should I be treating the leather (such as oil) with anything to assist with the hardening process, or will it be fine? The tutorials I went over did nothing to the leather beyond wetting, baking, forming, and ending with an oil stain. The only difference is I will use acrylic, not oil, to paint it. From my fine art background, I know you can't paint acrylic over oil without undesirable results, but you CAN paint oil over acrylic and achieve improved results over plain oils. Will not adding something with oil before or after the baking be bad for the leather?

He was quite insistent that the process I will use would leave the leather only stiff, not hard... so he has caused me to question my approach.

[electrathon]

Heat will harden it pretty firm, not rock hard, but very firm. Oil will soften it, if you want it as hard as possible stay away from it with oil.

You need to practice, bad. Not on your mask, but something else. Make a bowl or something easy. Once you do it a few times most of your questions, including the ones you have not been asked will be answered.

[Imaya]

Ok, I will order some practice leather too (it's a good price where I am getting the leather piece).

Other than a bowl, what else are good practice projects for molding and shaping? Maybe a simple face mask? What else? There won't be any tooling for the mask, but I will go ahead and make the simple cloth armbands out of leather for practice as well, mostly for the paint practice. They will need a little simple tooling. No shaping on them, however.

The initial shipping charge is ghastly, so I am throwing in rawhide as a backup. At the least, I am going to cut some lacing from it to use in the armbands. I would make a sheath too, but the party I am going to most definitely won't allow even fake weapons.

[Imaya]

Got everything in from Zack White... looks great!

I am about to finish what I hope is the final foam prototype, and have a question about 'pinning' the leather in place.

With the foam, I am able to glue and pin in place before I sew. But the leather will be too thick to pin, and I am not sure if any glue is safe to put in the oven. I need a way to hold everything in place while I sew, and it is too awkward to clip into place. I would only be able to clip on the ends, but need to steady stuff in the middle too.

So... how do I stabilize the leather in place so I can line it up and sew it correctly? Is rubber cement or hot glue ok, even though it will go into the oven?

The practice leather is pretty thick, all between 4 to 8 or 10 oz... trying to figure out what to make for practice. Nothing I can think of involves molding. I did get one piece (maybe a 5oz piece or so?) big enough for a regular face mask... maybe just make a simple mask molded to my face?

[Imaya]

Yay! Everything went smoothly on the test mask (other than the fact it was a fugly and hastily put together design to begin with ). Cut it out, learned some things about cutting. I made a test mask with much more cutting detail than the plague mask so I could practice. Baked it and molded it. I was nervous the first 3 or 4 times out of the oven it didn't hold shape, but then it started to begin to stiffen, and near the end, I could do a lot more molding that held! Yay! The plague doctor mask is much bigger and bulkier, so I imagine it will take much longer to bake. Only really need to mold some curve into the beak, the rest of the mask holds its shape nicely on it's own per the foam demos. I did some minor freehand tooling on the test, none is needed on the plague one.

Taking the plunge, cutting out the mask and will work on the stitching for the next couple of hours. Wish me luck (I'm still a bit nervous...)

[electrathon]

post pics...

[Imaya]

I am happy how it turned out! The party was a disaster of a night, but the mask was great. It needs some tweaks, but I was in a hurry and didn't have time to adjust. It needs some of the sides around the face trimmed (it is long ends by the straps stick out awkwardly), and the goggles need some more cutting down on the plastic and to be glued in so they stay in place. For a first mask, I am pretty pleased.