Tooling Letters

[KingsCountyLeather]

1 hour ago, immiketoo said:

Sorry for the hijack!  Yes paid content can be contentious topic to some.  The reality is this.  Its all out there for 'free' if you're willing to spend the time to search for the good stuff and money to buy the books where all the free information is.  Then, you need to apply that reading or viewing to leather.  What I can tell you is this.  Take Al Stohlman's figure carving finesse book.  I bought it year one.  20 bucks at Tandy.  I read it.  I tried the techniques.  My carving looked nothing like Al's.  Then I practiced for a year.  Read it again and I was amazed at how much more I got out of the book when I had more experience.  Then I read it again a year later and again another year later.  Each time I got more and more out of it because I had grown as a tooler.  

Now, take into account that not everyone has the time or resources to follow that path.  There are wonderful tutorials here, and I have learned from them as well, along with solid advice from the members here.  The paid part is where the instructors I use have decades of experience in their respective areas of expertise.  Many of them are Stohlman award winners or industry leaders in their own right.  They are professionals.   Each of them can distill their years of experience into highly focused segments where you the viewer gets exactly what you need to help you make that next jump that took them years to figure out.

Sharing what we have learned is essential for the craft to grow and flourish.  I probably have 15 private conversations with people on FB or LW at any given time where I am sharing information specific to their needs.  I don't mind at all.  However, to do a comprehensive video on a topic that takes an hour to an hour and a half requires a considerable amount of work.  As an example, the video I shared above is like 15 minutes, but the processing took an hour or more.  The longer the class, the more work it is to edit and process.  

There will always be folks who don't want to pay for knowledge.  That's ok.  There are many paths to enlightenment, as they say.  
 

Well said. Thank you.

[immiketoo]

You're welcome.  Also, feel free to ask me any questions you might have about tooling or whatever.  I am happy to help.

 

[Squilchuck]

All great info! One question: After you trace the lettering from the pattern, do you first cut the letter outline w a swivel knife, then proceed w bevelers?  Or, are you using bevelers or modeling tools to outline letters? --John

[immiketoo]

1 hour ago, Squilchuck said:

All great info! One question: After you trace the lettering from the pattern, do you first cut the letter outline w a swivel knife, then proceed w bevelers?  Or, are you using bevelers or modeling tools to outline letters? --John

For me it depends on the size of the lettering.  Larger then half inch, I cut.  Smaller I only bevel.

[shedhunter]

I appreciate all the help and information!!

[Lionhammer]

Are the bevelers you recommend available through Tandy?

[immiketoo]

On 6/22/2018 at 3:38 AM, Lionhammer said:

Are the bevelers you recommend available through Tandy?

No sir.  You can find them only from Robert Beard.  However, you can get decent figure beveler and checkered beveler from other sources.  Barry King and old, pre-letter craft from Bruce Johnson are an excellent place to start for less expansive tools.