Help! How long to finish a project?

[mikesherman]

Okay, first off I really wasn't sure if this belonged somewhere else, so here it is...

I know that completion time varies based on complexity, skill, tools, materials, etc. But, I'm just wondering how long you all think it takes on average to finish tooling a project. Just as an example, lets say something varying in size between a wallet and a holster...not including casing, dyeing, and drying times.

I'm wondering because I'm beginning to find that if I want really, really good results, especially concerning issues like cutting and backgrounding, that the time I require perform these tasks seems almost unreasonable. I just finished a small practice piece that's about 6in x 6in, and tooling took me like two hours. Granted, I was freehanding the whole thing, and trying to work out some things, but the minute amount (less than one square inch, very small areas) of backgrounding took took like 40 minutes. At this pace, casing is a moot point; the entire piece is bone dry by the time I'm ready to move to a different area of the work. Am I ridiculously slow? I'm hoping that patience is finally beginning to find it's place in my life...

[bikermutt07]

I have tried tooling. I didn't think I was any good at it and it made my hands hurt.

That said.... It takes awhile and of course you will get faster with time, tricks, and tools. 

An expert will be along shortly.

Good luck.

[kiwican]

Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Knowledge. Training. And experience make up skill. You will find that some leather tools better than other leathers. The more detail you need to tool the longer it may take to do. I'm not the world's best tooler but I made it a mission to practice for one hour a day everyday until I was happy with what I was doing. 

[cowboycolonel]

Sounds to me like you're right on track.  Of course it always depends on size and intricacy of design, but you will get absolutely nowhere by trying to do it fast.  If your leather is perfectly cased I find it goes much faster, but the long pole for me has always been the design and layout. Once you get it roughly laid in, the rest is pretty fast.  Using tap-offs can save about half the time of layout and tracing, as it eliminates a whole step, and it's almost always faster to do the "second" of any one design.  Use the right tool for what your working on and save time by not beveling every line -- just where need, but everywhere it is needed.  Can't say much more without seeing your design and tools. 

[mikesherman]

Bikermutt, Kiwican, and cowboycolonel, thanks for responding...I appreciate it. After more than ten years at this on-again/off-again, I'm beginning to find I enjoy the work much more when I move slowly and deliberately - but I still get anxious to finish a piece and ooh and aah at it. I'm working on it though.

Cowboycolonel, what do you mean by tap-offs? Never heard the term before, so I'm curious as to what I'm missing...?

Above is a picture of the project I'm currently working on (Wil Gormley Weeping Heart Bikini holster pattern.) I've moved much slower than ever before, and aside from a slip with the undercutting tool, I'm very pleased with the results so far. But I'm struggling with the leather drying out. I case my leather as best as I can using the wet/bag overnight/remove/tool when color and temp seem right method, but it seems to me that it drys and stiffens very quickly, say 30 minutes. I try to re wet the leather as little as possible, but I still can't seem to work this out...It's not the greatest piece of leather in the world either, but it's going to work out very well for this project, if I can keep from screwing it up.

As for tools, mostly Tandy stamps and tools, with a smattering of other stainless stuff I've taken a liking to along the way. Nothing special. The project above was done with a 1/4 inch angled swivel blade, B808 beveler,   A808-2 backgrounder, Tandy small modeling spoon, Tandy small stylus, and a stainless steel harbor freight carving tool for undercutting. I'll be finishing with some lettering and the medium Tandy pebble matting tool most likely. Then color, antique gel, wax and stitching.

Edited August 22, 2017 by mikesherman

[bikermutt07]

I have only read about tap offs. I believe they are deep line or inverse line drawing of your pattern. They are made out of leather and you tap them onto your cased piece.

Just Google them. I'm sure it will lead right back here for information on how to make them.

I'm currently in the off again mode. Just haven't been inspired the last few months.

[machinehead]

8 hours ago, mikesherman said:

Cowboycolonel, what do you mean by tap-offs?

 

[YinTx]

I think you might be a lot faster than me, if you can do a 6x6 piece in 2 hours.  Its taken me 5 hours to get to this point, and I still have to do the eagle:

YinTx

[cowboycolonel]

Tap-offs are cutouts of items you will use repeatedly .  Like if you're doing a floral pattern with several similar flowers in it, you cut out a flower and prepare it (I can tell you how if you decide to do this) and then when you want to add a flower, you

place the cutout and tap it with a broad-face hammer so that the imprint is transferred to the work piece, saving you the time  (and hand cramps) from having to trace or draw the item over and over again. 

The next item I'd suggest is to organize the stamps you are going to use and separate them from those you will not be using,  Then, to the maximum extent possible, try to handle each tool only once - twice MAXIMUM.  This saves time searching, etc.  The exception I make to this rule is in backgrounding.  I do my backgrounding  area by area, regardless of which tools I have to use.  I have a 1,3,5,7,9 bar backgrounder.  Start with the 9 and do all you can, then move to the 7, then the five.  I almost never get to the 3 and don't even bother laying out the 1 because I so rarely use it.

If I were doing the eagle piece above, I'd first smooth bevel everywhere required.  That would be everywhere a flower occludes with a leaf or a stem, and interior lines on the eagle.  Then I'd to all the pear shading, flowers first, then leaves, then stems.  Then background and move to the eagle. Checkered bevel all exterior lines, then model and shape the bird itself.  Decorative cuts with the swivel knife should be last and all done at the same stage.

Once you get accustomed to handling each stamp only once, you should be able to knock this out in virtually no time - depending upon how intricate you want to get with the eagle. 

[YinTx]

Also, to answer the original OP's question on leather drying out, as I had the same issue:  it seems we should be rewetting the *backside* of the leather as we work to keep it from drying, not waiting until it is too dry to work.  I experienced my leather tooling reversing when I added water to the front, just as this poster noted would happen.  Live and learn!

CowboyColonel, thanks for that info, it will help me out some.  I have tried to organize tools etc before I start, but I do tool slowly as well.  I have found I can do most of my backgrounding at once - should I not be doing that?

YinTx

[mikesherman]

Again, thanks all for comments and tips...thanks for clearing up my questions about tap-offs, I'll be creating some when I get the time to tool tools! And thanks YinTx for the article on casing...as usual, I'll be adjusting my process until I figure things out.