Returnee With Questions

[splinters]

Thanks mlapaglia.

[splinters]

That's the good thing about belts -- no matter HOW bad you mistake it.. fella's never out more'n $10

Hi JLS,

My belt blank cost more than twice that so would you mind letting me know where I'm going wrong....... Lol

Thanks,

Pat

[splinters]

I came upon Bob Park's Finishing Edges document and decided I would attempt to follow his approach. The Fiebing's soaps arrive in the mail today so I got start. Really like how it seems to be working though I don't have other experience to judge it by. I do have a question about how long to wait after the burnish step and before applying the dye to the edge.

Nice clean work makes one think of being in a tack room.

[splinters]

Question about acrylic resolene; if sprayed from an air brush do you clean the air brush with water or.......... ?

Thinking about applying the acrylic resolene over neat's-foot oil compound as sealer.

Thanks

[billybopp]

When I spray resolene, or any other acrylic, I clean the airbrush with a mixture of water, a little white vinegar, and a few drops of dish detergent. That's a formula that somebody here on LWN suggested and it seems to work well ( I apologize, I don't remember who) . I follow up by disassembling the airbrush and cleaning it in an ultrasonic cleaner ... The ultrasonic is probably overkill, but hey. I already had the cleaner, might as well use for something other than cleaning jewelry once a year !

Bill

[splinters]

When I spray resolene, or any other acrylic, I clean the airbrush with a mixture of water, a little white vinegar, and a few drops of dish detergent. That's a formula that somebody here on LWN suggested and it seems to work well ( I apologize, I don't remember who) . I follow up by disassembling the airbrush and cleaning it in an ultrasonic cleaner ... The ultrasonic is probably overkill, but hey. I already had the cleaner, might as well use for something other than cleaning jewelry once a year !

Bill

Thanks the reply Bill. Why not use your ultrasonic cleaner too. Some of these air brushes are not what you would call inexpensive. Sounds like some quality insurance to me.

[JLSleather]

Hi JLS,

My belt blank cost more than twice that so would you mind letting me know where I'm going wrong....... Lol

Thanks,

Pat

I buy backs (side with belly removed). These generally run in the $180 range after shipping. But from that I can cut off the shoulder for holsters (8-10 of those) and still cut belts 1.5" wide and end up with about 18 of those (give or take two, depending...). Making each strip $10 (ish), after shipping.

If you're going with solid colors, black / brown / tan / russet / chestnut ... and some others, I recommend W/C drum dyed backs (the prices mentioned are for theirs).

[Geneva]

I would not use Neetsfoot oil on a belt it is not a sealer and it can cause the leather to stretch. I use a tallow concotion for my belts the leather does not loose oil when it is tanned it looses fats the tallow helps restore some of it.

I use bees wax on the edges after dyeing and burnish of course.

I use Resolene to seal my finished belt.

Good luck.

[mlapaglia]

There are many ways to accomplish the same thing. I always use NeetsFoot oil on my belts, in fact all my leather. Avoid heavy coats when applying. 2 light coats are better. I have never had a problem with the leather stretching due to the oil. Maybe over oiling might cause this. Something is needed to replenish the oils/fats in the leather that are lost during the making of the belt, wetting the leather, etc. NeetsFoot or Olive oil are what I use.

FYI, I never use Neetsfoot COMPOUND on my leather products. Neetsfoot compound contains mineral oil or other petroleum-based material that is not good for the leather.

The EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) vs Neetsfoot oil vs a lot of other stuff was covered here in this post. The thing to remember is to use whatever you do use sparingly. Oils will spread as they sit so only cover one side with a light coat. Let that soak in over night and then put another light coat on and let it soak in again. I use resoline on my belts most of the times and it works great. I also use a mixture of Neetsfoot oil, bees wax and carnuba wax as a finish that works really well also. The only reason I do not do it all the time is that it is more labor intensive to apply so I use it for the more expensive things I make. Part of the justification for charging more for the product is the hand rubbed finish. YMMV

Edited June 28, 2015 by mlapaglia

[splinters]

I buy backs (side with belly removed). These generally run in the $180 range after shipping. But from that I can cut off the shoulder for holsters (8-10 of those) and still cut belts 1.5" wide and end up with about 18 of those (give or take two, depending...). Making each strip $10 (ish), after shipping.

If you're going with solid colors, black / brown / tan / russet / chestnut ... and some others, I recommend W/C drum dyed backs (the prices mentioned are for theirs).

Thanks JLS. You've added to my education. Much appreciated.

[splinters]

There are many ways to accomplish the same thing. I always use NeetsFoot oil on my belts, in fact all my leather. Avoid heavy coats when applying. 2 light coats are better. I have never had a problem with the leather stretching due to the oil. Maybe over oiling might cause this. Something is needed to replenish the oils/fats in the leather that are lost during the making of the belt, wetting the leather, etc. NeetsFoot or Olive oil are what I use.

FYI, I never use Neetsfoot COMPOUND on my leather products. Neetsfoot compound contains mineral oil or other petroleum-based material that is not good for the leather.

The EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) vs Neetsfoot oil vs a lot of other stuff was covered here in this post. The thing to remember is to use whatever you do use sparingly. Oils will spread as they sit so only cover one side with a light coat. Let that soak in over night and then put another light coat on and let it soak in again. I use resoline on my belts most of the times and it works great. I also use a mixture of Neetsfoot oil, bees wax and carnuba wax as a finish that works really well also. The only reason I do not do it all the time is that it is more labor intensive to apply so I use it for the more expensive things I make. Part of the justification for charging more for the product is the hand rubbed finish. YMMV

Thanks for your information. The thread you provide was an interesting read. I have a small stack of notes from that read that I'll add to my shop notebook now. That notebook is beginning to be a treasure.

Pat

Edited July 1, 2015 by splinters

[splinters]

Found the following leather tool. It was in with some of my original leather tools I still have. Is it call an Edge Beader by any chance and how is it used?

[billybopp]

Looks like an edge beader to me. One "blade" follows down the edge of the leather, the other cuts a fine decorative line down the face of the leather.

Bill

[splinters]

Thanks Bill. I was playing around with some scape in that manner. Does cut a nice line.

[splinters]

What would be the minimum weight of leather a beginner should attempt to carve and/or stamp?

Thanks

[JLSleather]

Should be simple enough to carve 3/4 oz.

[splinters]

After reading Bob Park's Edging pdf I began to look through the threads here trying to decide on a mechanical burnisher. My decision came down to the Hole Master Tip 1/4" 1/8" Pro Edge Burnisher that I'll be trying in my Foredom flex shaft rotor tool. I may add one of their larger units for the drill press at a later date. The cocobolo wood they use makes for a very attractive tool.

All I need to do now is start practicing on scrap leather with some of these new tools I have started acquiring and begin to try to understand how to case, crave, stamp, etc.

P.S. BTW JLS, thanks for your input on the minimum leather weight question. Much appreciated.

[Bob Blea]

If your flex shaft tool has variable speeds start off at the low end. It's easy to over burnish the edge giving it a ragged or burnt look. As always practice on some scraps. Same with all those tools. Sounds like you are getting a nice collection.

[splinters]

Hi Bob,

I do have a variable speed foot control on the rotary tool which makes for easy low RPM running.

Got to try the BK swivel knife yesterday for a short period. I think I'm really going to enjoy learning to use it. I tried both blades, 3/8 & 1/4, after putting each on the strop for a few pulls. A very smooth carve through some of my test cased scrape leather. Now if I can just get some of these domestics out of the way for more time in the shop......... LOL

Thanks for your input. Always a help.

[splinters]

Took some scrape 3/4 oz. leather and made a squeeze pouch for the new swivel knife. Now, would some one please tell me how to calculate the length of thread needed to stitch a given distance for a given number of thicknesses? In doing this little project I came up short using a measurement 4 x length. I wonder if I miscalculated by not adding a couple of inches for threading each needle?

Anyway, a few photos of the project.

[billybopp]

I always add a foot or more for the tails so that you have room to turn the needles around, threading, etc. If it is a light colored thread, I add even more to give some that can be eliminated if it picks up some stray dye, dirt from hands, etc.

Bill

Edited July 12, 2015 by billybopp

[splinters]

Thanks Bill.