Few beginner questions about making a hoslter

[Dwight]

 

I'm curious about dipping. How do you go about this, and how much waste is there? Also, is there an issue with excess dye bleeding out afterwards?

Actually it is pretty easy, . . . I've got 3 of them there 9 x 14 x 2 inch deep cake pans.  One black, one brown, one that showed up and ain't been used yet.

Pour about 2/3 of a quart of dye down in the pan, . . . start one end of the belt through the dye, . . . takes all of about 3 minutes to get the whole thing through it.

I've got a piece of cardboard I lay on the work bench, . . . lay the belt on the bottom edge, . . . sitting on edge, . . . leave for about 10 minutes.  That's usually the time to pour the dye back in the bottle and clean up the pan.   Turn the belt over onto the top edge, . . . shut off the lights and go in the house.

NEVER, EVER, ever hang up a freshly dyed belt, . . . unless you want a belt that is real light colored on one end, . . . dark on the other, . . . and normal in the middle.

And don't ask how I wound up with a whole hand full of belts like that, . . . (sometimes lessons can be costly to learn).

I would imagine I sponge out maybe an ounce of wasted dye and toss it as I clean the pan, . . . but it is a "cost of doing business", . . . and I just march on.

May God bless,

Dwight

[RadekSkylark]

 

Heh.  No way I can finish a belt in one day.  For me it is more like this:

Cut blanks.

Clean leather.

Dye leather.  set aside, go to sleep, go to work.

Come home, put neatsfoot oil on leather.  do other work, leave overnight while sleeping.

Go to work.  Come home, put leather conditioner/sealer on leather.  do other work, leave overnight while sleeping.

Go to work.  Come home, punch buckle hole in leather.  Skive ends.  Dye buckle hole.  do other work, leave overnight while sleeping.

Go to work.  Come home, mark stitch lines in keeper.  Edge, sand and burnish keeper.  Stitch keeper.  Go to bed.

Go to work.  Come home, mark stitch lines in belt.  Contact cement keeper into belt, contact cement back layer to belt.  Leave overnight while sleeping.

Its Saturday.  Edge belt, sand, dye edges, burnish.  Now, start stitching, 12-14 inches per hour hand stitching.  Which, for a 44 inch belt is 88 inches of stitching, so 6-8 hours of uninterrupted work, which means usually Tuesday or so to be finished.

I like the end result, but they do take a long time, and hard to sell one to make it worth my while.  Maybe with practice and retirement I could make one in a couple of days!

 

 

YinTx

That belt looks awesome! 

[CaptQuirk]

Thanks guys, those tips are something to try someday. I am just concerned that there may be some bleed issues.

[YinTx]

Thank you Skylark.

Also, Capt., the black belt was done with Vinegaroon.  No bleeding issues to be concerned with.

I did a red belt, it has not bled at all.

Or you could do the lining leather without dye, again no worries with bleeding.  But I suspect it would discolor over time.

YinTx

[Steve75]

On ‎8‎/‎6‎/‎2016 at 4:18 PM, Dwight said:

Don't, . . . and I'll say it again, . . . DO NOT attempt to make your own colors of dye.  You will waste or discard more than you would have saved.

A 4 oz bottle (the little bottle) makes 8 oz of dye when cut with thinner, . . . plenty enough for several projects.

Having a multitude of colors will cause you to make mistakes.  Pick 2 or 3 besides black, . . . stay with them.

I have British Tan and Saddle Tan as my choices.  Once you learn how to use these, . . . you may move on, . . . but ALWAYS use the dye as is, . . . don't play around trying to make custom dye colors, . . . the reward is no where beginning to be worth the effort.

EDIT:  You will also find that dip dyeing will be THE MOST consistent, . . . it also gives a deeper and richer color than daubing or spraying.  Spraying results in a very thin film of dye, . . . the first scratch that comes along will usually go through it.  It works on some really exotic dye jobs, and does so very well, . . . but for daily stuff, . . . dip it, hang it, . . .  you've got it.

May God bless,

Dwight

If I am after tan I apply a coat of Neats Foot Oil and allow it tan in the sun.  This creates a nice tan color.  I dip dye to create brown and black.  I dip dye in coffee to create a rich brown color.  For black I dip dye in vinegaroon.  I keep it simple.  If I run out of Neats Foot Oil I substitute Extra Virgin Olive Oil.   I don't have to worry about running out of a dye.  This is important as the nearest Tandy is over 30 miles away, and as Murphy's Law would dictate is closed when I need something leather related.

[Dwight]

36 minutes ago, Steve75 said:

If I am after tan I apply a coat of Neats Foot Oil and allow it tan in the sun.  This creates a nice tan color.  I dip dye to create brown and black.  I dip dye in coffee to create a rich brown color.  For black I dip dye in vinegaroon.  I keep it simple.  If I run out of Neats Foot Oil I substitute Extra Virgin Olive Oil.   I don't have to worry about running out of a dye.  This is important as the nearest Tandy is over 30 miles away, and as Murphy's Law would dictate is closed when I need something leather related.

AND, . . . the most important part is that your colors are 95% of the time absolutely repeatable.  Sometimes a piece of leather will take the dye different that another piece did, . . . but generally stated, . . . using the same process time after time, . . . standardized, . . . makes for better results whether it is cutting, stitching, or dying.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Steve75]

6 hours ago, Dwight said:

AND, . . . the most important part is that your colors are 95% of the time absolutely repeatable.  Sometimes a piece of leather will take the dye different that another piece did, . . . but generally stated, . . . using the same process time after time, . . . standardized, . . . makes for better results whether it is cutting, stitching, or dying.

May God bless,

Dwight

The biggest challenge I have is finding the right size container to perform the dip dye in.