BUY ALL THE THINGS!!!! Or "All the crap I wish I didn't waste money on."

[immiketoo]

1 hour ago, brmax said:

Thanks!

This is just the information a lot of us appreciate.  Many times these tips we miss because of other silly choices through our day. 

I could easily hear more in this topic. Say slightly toward separate stamping and a dye areas, stations or whatever ya call it. 

 

Good day

Floyd

Hey Floyd,

If you're like most of us, you started in your kitchen or basement or wherever you had space.  Entire projects are built in one tiny space.  Great for conserving living areas but potentially bad for leatherwork.  For example, you finish tooling, and now its time to color.  You clean up your tools (or push them off to the side most likely) an break out your dyes.  You begin coloring your piece and all of a sudden you knock over a bottle of dye ALL over you finished piece.  After the appropriate cuss words are spoken, you clean up your space, the floor as best you can and you try and save your piece.  Then, you realize you can't save it so you start over.

Whilst tooling, you begin to see little spots of color you spilled showing up all over.  On your hands, on your leather, even on your face.  How did THIS happen?  Answer.  Dyestuffs are insidious, vile beasts that must be kept caged and properly harnessed.  The are a powdery substance suspended in water or alcohol that when dry can sit, invisible to the eye, on any surface, including tools.  When moisture is added, they activate and stain whatever they come in contact with.  That's their job.  The problem is what they are in contact with.

Off the leash, they lie dormant until you put a big red fingerprint on a piece that was supposed to be natural.  Or black where it was supposed to be tan.  You get the idea.

So, the rule of separation is formed.  NEVER shall dye touch my tooling surface again.  NEVER shall dye touch my cutting surface again.  Dye, being the asshole that it is shouldn't even know the rest of your shop exists until its time to place it directly on the piece you want.  

So now, I have a cutting table and tooling slab that don't ever get dyes placed on them.  I have holders for my dye bottles so I don't knock them over, and the problem is solved.  Dyes stay on the dye bench.  Sequestered.  Forever.

[Sheilajeanne]

Having a tiny perfect leather working station, I control dyes by carefully measuring them with a 1 ml. syringe into a heavy-bottomed shot glass that's hard to knock over. I also use lots of newspaper on my work area. Bottles are immediately tightly recapped, and moved back into a corner where they can't get knocked over. I also frequently wipe caps and the bottles themselves to help prevent drips, and make the caps easier to take off next time. Nothing pisses me off more than having to fight with the caps on these bottles to get them open! It's an accident looking for a place to happen when you have to use that much force on them!  Don't ya wish they could design these bottles better? I'd like to see bottles with a dropper tip, similar to a glue bottle, instead of the ones you have to press down and turn. 

 I also move bottles out of the work area as soon as I think I'm done with a particular colour of dye.

Worst accident I had was when my cat knocked one over. It leaked, he stepped in it, and tracked it all over the floor!  I've been more careful with the bottles since, and don't leave them where he can do that again. The one part of the floor I couldn't get the stain off of already had some burn marks from the wood stove, so at least the stains match!!  

[KingsCountyLeather]

2 hours ago, immiketoo said:

Hey Floyd,

If you're like most of us, you started in your kitchen or basement or wherever you had space.  Entire projects are built in one tiny space.  Great for conserving living areas but potentially bad for leatherwork.  For example, you finish tooling, and now its time to color.  You clean up your tools (or push them off to the side most likely) an break out your dyes.  You begin coloring your piece and all of a sudden you knock over a bottle of dye ALL over you finished piece.  After the appropriate cuss words are spoken, you clean up your space, the floor as best you can and you try and save your piece.  Then, you realize you can't save it so you start over.

Whilst tooling, you begin to see little spots of color you spilled showing up all over.  On your hands, on your leather, even on your face.  How did THIS happen?  Answer.  Dyestuffs are insidious, vile beasts that must be kept caged and properly harnessed.  The are a powdery substance suspended in water or alcohol that when dry can sit, invisible to the eye, on any surface, including tools.  When moisture is added, they activate and stain whatever they come in contact with.  That's their job.  The problem is what they are in contact with.

Off the leash, they lie dormant until you put a big red fingerprint on a piece that was supposed to be natural.  Or black where it was supposed to be tan.  You get the idea.

So, the rule of separation is formed.  NEVER shall dye touch my tooling surface again.  NEVER shall dye touch my cutting surface again.  Dye, being the asshole that it is shouldn't even know the rest of your shop exists until its time to place it directly on the piece you want.  

So now, I have a cutting table and tooling slab that don't ever get dyes placed on them.  I have holders for my dye bottles so I don't knock them over, and the problem is solved.  Dyes stay on the dye bench.  Sequestered.  Forever.

You sound like a very messy person indeed! 

[JLSleather]

These are quite good.

https://www.hobbylinc.com/paasche-jar-w:cover-gasket-3-oz-airbrush-accessory-h-193

 

 

[Sheilajeanne]

Thanks for the suggestion! They'd be hard to knock over with that shape, too.

[immiketoo]

32 minutes ago, KingsCountyLeather said:

You sound like a very messy person indeed! 

Hardly.  But when I first started, I was very enthusiastic and my supplies and projects quickly outdid my limited work area.

[rodneywt1180b]

Great tips!

Thank you!

[KingsCountyLeather]

53 minutes ago, immiketoo said:

Hardly.  But when I first started, I was very enthusiastic and my supplies and projects quickly outdid my limited work area.

Only kidding, your work looks perfect! 

[immiketoo]

The work doesn't mean I couldn't be a slob in my work area, and I WAS when I was on my kitchen table.  Not so much anymore.

[alpha2]

3 hours ago, Sheilajeanne said:

so at least the stains match!!  

Ah, yes! It's very important that the stains match! When Maynare the Wonder Cat was still with us, we became experts at matching stains. Didn't want to, HAD to. Now that he's gone on to his great reward, we've replaced the carpet throughout the house.

If I had room, I'd have a dedicated dye table too. I have to make do with what I have, and the spray "booth" is the rear deck, when it's "NON winter".

Jeff

 

Edited April 29, 2018 by alpha2