Make a Celtic Cross, they said. Make it tiny, they said.

[YinTx]

It'll be fun, they said!  

GAAAHHH!  6 hours later.....mind in a knot trying to tie a Celtic knot in leather...

Dime for scale...

My hat's off to those that manage to tool tiny things.  My tools didn't even fit in here!  If you stand far back, you can't see I made a mess of it, LOL!

YinTx

[CaptQuirk]

My hat is off to you Sir! I had one fellow who wanted a rifle sling to match a holster somebody had done for him. It had a diamond shaped Celtic knotwork on it. I should say it did not work for me. Several hours of trying to draw it out, and I had an excedrin headache of biblical proportion. I ended up ordering the stamp from Tandy

[Horsemint]

I always get myself into doing impossibly intricate designs in miniature too. You'd think I would learn sooner or later

[DarkGoku]

What swivel knife blade are you using? I found a 1/8th ss blade at Tandy's for around $20 bucks! It did a great job in those tight spots, and even add a little enjoyment to miniature carving.  I also used modeling spoons and tools for things like that. you can also check out Peter Main, he makes a great tool for tooling.

hope I helped alittle  

[YinTx]

I used a standard 3/8" Tandy swivel blade, and a fat modeling spoon that I have.  Didn't really know there was a 1/8" blade out there!

I have marveled at fully detailed horses that are all of 1" tall, absolutely amazing.  Clearly they are using different tools and better skills than I! I think if I wanted an image of a dime, I'd probably hammer one into the leather for the impression!  Sadly, the lettering would be backwards.  Tiny swivel knife blade is in my list of wants, but I think I'll tool larger things to earn the $$ first.  I also want a different matting tool, different bevelers... etc. 

YinTx

[Bob Blea]

I think you did a good job.  Small stuff like that is not easy and takes a good eye.  I've done several things like this and the size of your tools, especially the bevellers, is critical.  I have a set of Robert Beard figure bevellers that I use for all my Celtic knot work and I frequently need the smallest sizes I have.  The face of those bevellers measure about a 1/16" of an inch and one that is a little smaller.  They have a steep angle so you can work on the lines of the knot without much impact on the parts right next to them.  Barry King also makes extra steep Sheridan bevellers down to that size that would work well too.

[YinTx]

 

4 hours ago, Bob Blea said:

Small stuff like that is not easy and takes a good eye.

Got to try out my new glasses that I just got that day on this one.  What a difference.  Couldn't have done it without them.  Now I know why folks say get some magnifying headgear to do tooling.  Might just have to.  Thanks for the compliment, also!

4 hours ago, Bob Blea said:

The face of those bevellers measure about a 1/16" of an inch and one that is a little smaller.  They have a steep angle so you can work on the lines of the knot without much impact on the parts right next to them.

That would be incredibly useful.  Considering Mr. Beard's pricing, that would probably be about $500 worth of stamps at least.  I'd have to have a lot of orders for Celtic knots to justify that!  However... I do have a grinder, and some tiny nails...might have to grind some out if I have any other call for tiny stuff like this.  Even the flower pattern and letter "A" on the left was a challenge with my tools.  I was reasonably happy with how they turned out considering, even though I still see all the flaws and places I'd like to improve on.

YinTx

[Sheilajeanne]

I think you did a good job, Yin Tx!  I have some Tandy modelling spoons and a really small tear-shaped backgrounder that I use to get into tight spaces like that.

 

Just ordered some Celtic Craftaid patterns, so will be doing some Celtic crosses and knotwork myself, but am NOT planning to reduce the patterns in size after reading your post! :D

I also have a really powerful light on a gooseneck arm that I use when I'm tooling, plus a really strong pair of reading glasses, which I bought especially for leatherwork. Eyes aren't quite as good as they used to be when I was younger, and every little bit helps! 

Edited December 8, 2017 by Sheilajeanne

[YinTx]

Thank you Sheilajeanne.  This was a Tandy Celtic cross pattern that they give away for free, but it is supposed to be like 10" tall, not this lil bitty thing.

I have lots of lights shining on my work so I can see what the heck I'm doin.  Here in south Texas, that means the A/C has to stay on in the winter.

YinTx

[Bob Blea]

15 hours ago, YinTx said:

 

Got to try out my new glasses that I just got that day on this one.  What a difference.  Couldn't have done it without them.  Now I know why folks say get some magnifying headgear to do tooling.  Might just have to.  Thanks for the compliment, also!

 

I bought reading glasses a long time ago to help with threading needles and lining up the awl for hand stitching.  Then I discovered how much it helped line up geometrics.  It just made everything easier, so now I don't tool without them.  Getting to where I need them to read too!

Edited December 8, 2017 by Bob Blea