Finishing English Bridal Belt Edges

[arz]

3 hours ago, gmace99 said:

Sounds as if you are using to much glue   I put about a teaspoon into an inch of water in a jar. 

I normally dip my fingers in and if they feel a little sticky then that is enough 

i don't understand why you need to sand your edges  I use a plough gauge to cut my edges bridle makers in the trade mak hundreds of straps a week   They never have to sand.  

Ejeffries have a good video online showing inside their factory you can see the speed we work at in the trade

I use the wood strap cutter. To me the edges are not OK, just not as smooth as I would like. Maybe if I used a plough gauge it would be better. I just can't invest in one at the moment.

I agree that I probably used too much glue. I will try again. I also found some beef tallow, that will probably fill in the voids I am sanding out now. I found it at a fancy food store  

Thank you for all your help! -Adam

[gmace99]

Ok I see why you are sanding. In my younger years we use to just stain then glue water then rub with a rubbing stick hard we found tallow did the job much faster

[arz]

9 minutes ago, gmace99 said:

Ok I see why you are sanding. In my younger years we use to just stain then glue water then rub with a rubbing stick hard we found tallow did the job much faster

I will give the tallow a try! If it is more efficient, great  -Adam

[Clintonville Leather]

On 9/5/2017 at 5:14 AM, gmace99 said:

Sounds as if you are using to much glue   I put about a teaspoon into an inch of water in a jar. 

I normally dip my fingers in and if they feel a little sticky then that is enough 

i don't understand why you need to sand your edges  I use a plough gauge to cut my edges bridle makers in the trade mak hundreds of straps a week   They never have to sand.  

Ejeffries have a good video online showing inside their factory you can see the speed we work at in the trade

I had the same problem.  I saw your video and bought some hide glue to try.  It turned white and cracked the next day.  I will try less glue.  I like your videos, they are candid and real and have lots of valuable information for those of us who are younger.  I also sand the edges to get the little fibers off.  I have been doing leather work for 9 years and after burnishing it seems the fuzzy fibers start standing up after a few weeks.  That was why I tended to sand them off first but it is an expensive task.  I am hopeful the pearl glue will make it less necessary.  Thank you.

[gmace99]

Another thing that works instead of pearl glue is pva glue it is called white glue in some countries 

 

put it it on the edge let it dry for a minute or two then rub.  This gives you a shiny edge and holds the fibres down

[Geoff]

On 9/5/2017 at 2:03 PM, arz said:

I use the wood strap cutter. To me the edges are not OK, just not as smooth as I would like. Maybe if I used a plough gauge it would be better. I just can't invest in one at the moment.

I agree that I probably used too much glue. I will try again. I also found some beef tallow, that will probably fill in the voids I am sanding out now. I found it at a fancy food store  

Thank you for all your help! -Adam

Using a wooden strap cutter should give a neat, square edge providing that you use a sharp blade. Also, adjust the cutter to the thickness of the strap. To avoid the wood edge from marking the strap, you can glue a bit of thin leather inside.

[Basically Bob]

Your concern is well founded and I struggled with this as well.  I find that many leather workers have edge finishing techniques look great on the bench but like you, I want an edge that looks great after a lot of real life use.  

Here’s what I am doing at the moment with bridle leather belts.  

Bevel, sand lightly & dye.  Let sit for 24 hrs.  Burnish.  

I finish with resolene (cut 50/50 with water) - lightly burnishing after each of 3 or 4 coats.

I have been wearing a belt finished using this technique, daily,  for almost 6 months and the edge still looks good.  Not like new, but it is the best wearing edge that I have found.

 

 

[arz]

Sorry I haven't posted in a while  I have used my belt for almost a year and it still looks great. I used hide glue on mine and bees wax for my brother in laws. Both look good. Using the hide glue works well, just make sure not to put too much on or it will get sticky.

I now sand, use Tokonole, and then use 50/50 bees wax/paraffin. I found it was important to make sure I used enough wax. Also, using my heating iron works very well to spread the wax. Of course the smoother you get any edge the better. Also, I apply Tokonole, sand, apple again sand..etc....this will get a very very smooth edge. AFTER that apply bees wax etc. So far our wallets/clutches are holding up well.

You can see some of our edges here on our Instagram account :atelier_zander Atelier Zander

Hope this helps! -Adam

 

[YinTx]

On 5/26/2018 at 4:16 AM, gmace99 said:

Another thing that works instead of pearl glue is pva glue it is called white glue in some countries 

 

Finally found pearl glue, or "Hide Glue" which I presume is the same thing.  Turns out there are a variety of strengths: 165 gram, 192 gram, 251 gram, etc apparently made for piano and violin repairs.  And from who knows what to rabbit skin for the source.  And $20-25/lb or so.  Does it matter what variety to use?  Will one get hard and brittle and crack, or not slick up nicely?  Would suck to have a pound of glue I can't use laying around... but want to try this stuff out to see how I like it.  Thanks for the pointers!

YinTx

[garypl]

49 minutes ago, YinTx said:

Finally found pearl glue, or "Hide Glue" which I presume is the same thing.  Turns out there are a variety of strengths: 165 gram, 192 gram, 251 gram, etc apparently made for piano and violin repairs.  And from who knows what to rabbit skin for the source.  And $20-25/lb or so.  Does it matter what variety to use?  Will one get hard and brittle and crack, or not slick up nicely?  Would suck to have a pound of glue I can't use laying around... but want to try this stuff out to see how I like it.  Thanks for the pointers!

YinTx

I think it might be more trouble to use hide glue than it’s worth.  I use hide glue for woodworking and it works great for gluing up chairs because eventually you can reverse the bond using alcohol or warm water and reglue the joints.  Downside is that you have to mix the dry glue with water and heat it to dissolve the glue.  You have to keep it hot while using it to keep it in liquid state. I have an electric glue pot that keeps it at a constant temp.  

I think there are easier ways to seal edges

Gary