newbie Getting started saving money!

[Chevans93]

Hello, i am just starting out and i figured out real fast that this is a VERY expensive hobby starting up, but I've found and made some things to cut cost that i wanted to share with yal to help out, ill label whats free, and what i payed for and how much.

1. FREE... wine box from any liquor store.just ask them if they have one to give to you, they just throw them out. Makes a tool holder, storage box.. anything you want, just be creative.

2. CHEAP...Bar soap containers. 1$ at walmart... for holding all your small stuff you want to keep separate. Like the swivel knife and stamps.

3. CHEAP/FREE.Trash bags/walmart bags. Used to lay down under leather when dying. Be careful with walmart bags though, alot of times they'll have holes and not as flat.

CHEAP... tool storage boxes.. bought a pack of 4 of them at walmart for 9 bucks. Good for keeping things organized.

FREE/CHEAP... old white t-shirts.. instead of throwing away the old white work shirts. Keep them cut them up. Good for tons of stuff.. buffing towels, speading glue and dye, what ever you can think of.

CHEAP... stanley box knife. Couple bucks at wal mart and you can get 50 blades for 5 bucks i believe.

FREE/CHEAP... BOOKS! Scribd.com 8 bucks a month and you get a ton of books(including al stohlman)..you can also download them onto your phone, using your free 30 day trial(wink, wink).. and if you cancel membership before the month is over you dont pay a dime. Again (wink wink) its not letting me put up the pics so if you want to see them, or have any questions, send me a message and ill send them to you somehow!

 

 

Addition! Ill add stuff as i think of them and do them... 

The internet/youtube!! I have already learned a ton of stuff off youtube, and when you have a better understanding of what your doing and how to do it you'll waste less products and save money...

Tandy leathers offers a free beginner's class go take it!!

Edited June 20, 2017 by Chevans93
Add ons

[cjartist]

All good advice.  Tandy's Leathercraft Library has some free patterns but not much to choose from.  The user JLS here on this forum has some great free patterns for holsters and wallets too.

It is the raw material and tools that cost the most.  Some people will strip leather sofas they see on the side of the road.  Not very helpful for the kind of stuff I make though.

[billybopp]

That wine box is more expensive but far more fun to buy full then empty yourself.  And you get the benefit of corks which are great for protecting your awl blades and holding needles, as well as backing your awl when sewing thinner leathers.  

Most folks already have straight edges lying around and cutting boards.   Just don't let the other half catch you taking from the kitchen.  

Many tools can be repurposed too.   I turned some old beat up sold chisels into my best solving knives with a little work on stones.  For awhile I used an old paring knife as well.

Bill

[fredk]

5 hours ago, cjartist said:

...  Some people will strip leather sofas they see on the side of the road.  Not very helpful for the kind of stuff I make though.

Many years ago a young artist I was working with said something which I carry through even yet.

She liked to paint very modernist work, but week after week she painted people and pet portraits. I asked her about this. She said for every portrait she did she got more funds for doing the painting she really wanted to do.

I follow this thru by making small items in upholstery leather [No, I don't scavenge]; these I sell at modest prices, profits go towards buying the more expensive leathers or tools for the higher priced range of goods.

[zuludog]

I also use a Stanley knife. Although the blades are disposable they cut better if you resharpen them on a fine stone & strop when they become blunt. This is because you polish them, and reduce the shoulder of the bevel

There is a sharpening section on this forum, or you can Search YouTube

In fact the key to good leatherwork is to have razor sharp tools, but you will quickly realise that you can spend a lot of money on stones, and there is a bewildering choice from diamond, ceramic/water, and oil. Because they have been around for longer you can usually find oilstones in secondhand tool stalls in markets. I got mine for £3

You can make your own strop from oddments of wood & leather, this will be just about the easiest leatherwork project you'll do. But treat yourself to some proper honing/stropping compound. It's not that expensive, and a bar will last you for years. I use Veritas Honing compound #05M08.01. Again, search YouTube

You will also need another knife. This can be just about anything you want, and is used to cut string; open parcels; sharpen pencils; and so on. It's purpose is to make sure you use the Stanley knife (or whatever else you use) exclusively for cutting leather

 

John Lobb make very expensive hand made shoes. I saw a TV programme about them a while ago; they keep their rivets, eyelets, and similar small components in old jam jars

http://www.johnlobb.com

Edited June 21, 2017 by zuludog

[bikermutt07]

For sharpening I use sand paper on a piece of quartz. Sandpaper is cheap.

[Dan Miller]

2 hours ago, zuludog said:

I use Veritas Honing compound #05M08.01.

And when you order this, or anything else, from Lee Valley, you get free brown kraft paper to lay on your bench when dying leather.

[Chevans93]

BOOM! put it in a pdf, and was able to upload. Let me know if it doesn't work, also great advise yal. Thanks yal!

imgtopdf_generated_2106171316054.pdf

[MikeG]

On 6/21/2017 at 6:30 AM, bikermutt07 said:

For sharpening I use sand paper on a piece of quartz. Sandpaper is cheap.

+1 on sandpaper.  I use wet/dry sandpaper up to 2000 grit (from auto supply store, although the big W now carries it).  I use a glass plate scavenged from an old refrigerator shelf.  I spritz a little WD-40 on the glass, and lay the sandpaper on it.  Keeps the paper in place.  Then another spritz on the sandpaper and sharpen away.

Once you sharpen a tool, you should only need to hone it regularly to keep it surgically sharp. 

Here is a good source for this sharpening method.

Good luck!

 

[Grumpymann]

Not sure if you all will laugh at me for sharing this or gather with pitchforks and torches. but we share what we have that is the way a community grows. But first I have to give a caveat. The wife collected these for some of the local kids and the parents didn't want them to have them. So I took some big lego blocks turned them upside down cut a hole in the top 2 glued a stack 3 high and used them as tool holders. (Better then them ending up in the trash. They work GREAT! Just have to use a plastic glue. You can make many different configurations, levels and shapes for almost any application. 

Not sure what I mean? check out This link. 

Still not sure what I mean let me know will take a pic when I get out of the salt mines.

Edit 3 Dollar Maul thread 

 

Edited June 22, 2017 by Grumpymann

[Chevans93]

Lol! +1 for the legos! Thats good stuff! Nothing works better than the stuff u rig yourself.. also addition to the tool holder i made... i wood clued a piece of cardboard in between the top and bottom and cut holes in it so the tools wouldn't shift around.. ill upload pics.. works great now

tool holder

[Chevans93]

Also ill be drilling holes in the top of the winebox for the mauls and adding straps for the rulers into the winebox... lol this is also great stuff if you live in a tiny apartment like me and have no room for storage..