The merits of quick casing. Or how to start a fight with Leather workers :)

[garypl]

4 minutes ago, immiketoo said:

So the real fight in this thread is gonna be over pizza?  Thin or thick?  New York or Chicago?  Lets get ready to rumble!!!

HaHa!  I have to respectfully disagree with you Bob.  I grew up in Chicago but have spent a good deal of time in NYC and in my book the Chicago thin crust beats everything I have had up in the Northeast!  Atlanta pizza is generally pretty mediocre, so anything up North is better!  

Gary

[immiketoo]

See, I'm a deep dish Chicago pizza fan.  Love thin crust, but if you're in Chi town, might as well do it right!  Besides, everyone knows the best thin crust can be found in Rome, Italy.

[BDAZ]

No fight or arguments, just like debating the speed of light. It is what it is. There are round flat breads cooked in pans with tomato and cheese goop, thick doughy cakes with tomato and cheese goop and don't even get me started on Pineapple.

There's Brooklyn style Pizza (AKA NY Style) and then all the other stuff. 

As they say, no accounting for taste and some folks drink Bud light..lots of em. If you can see through a glass of beer, I don't drink it and if a slice cracks when you fold it, I don't eat it.

Bob

Is this quick casing or traditional??

Edited May 12, 2018 by BDAZ

[BDAZ]

54 minutes ago, garypl said:

HaHa!  I have to respectfully disagree with you Bob.  I grew up in Chicago but have spent a good deal of time in NYC and in my book the Chicago thin crust beats everything I have had up in the Northeast!  Atlanta pizza is generally pretty mediocre, so anything up North is better!  

Gary

There was a food show that took real New York Pizza, Boston pan "pizza" and Chicago thin crust "pizza" and did taste tests around the rest of the country. 9 out of 10 preferred the NY Pizza. It is what it is..The speed of light is 186,000 mps give or take and it's not an opinion.

Just to address Immiketoo's comment about Rome. I will of course make an exception for Napoli Pizza since they invented what I would consider the precursor and also have the right attitude maintaining strict controls of what can and can't be called pizza.

http://www.pizzanapoletana.org/en/chi_siamo

So I would accept Napoli Pizza as the great grandfather of New York Pizza. BTW I don't eat at Panda Express, Taco Bell, Opah! or most  sushi places. Speaking of Chicago I spent a week in Greek Town..GREAT food! You can even get Retsina.

Bob 

[Chain]

I grew up in the city with the largest Greek population of any city in the world outside of Greece

[garypl]

Good points Bob - I think we agree all pizza is good, some better than others.  I think the biggest problems with pizza in Atlanta are the lack of proper spices (i.e. fennel) and crust that is too doughy.  I binge eat pizza whenever I visit Chicago or the Northeast and stick with good barbecue when in the South!

Gary

[immiketoo]

Shit.  Now I want pizza.

[garypl]

5 minutes ago, immiketoo said:

Shit.  Now I want pizza.

I’m in Chicago for two more days Mike - I’ll have a piece for you!

[immiketoo]

Please do!  I'll have to suffer with the place here run by a dude who went to pizza school in Italy

[BDAZ]

3 hours ago, garypl said:

Good points Bob - I think we agree all pizza is good, some better than others.  I think the biggest problems with pizza in Atlanta are the lack of proper spices (i.e. fennel) and crust that is too doughy.  I binge eat pizza whenever I visit Chicago or the Northeast and stick with good barbecue when in the South!

Gary

Then we have the problem of BBQ sauce. I am a fan of East Carolina BBQ sauce but will accept the brown stuff in a pinch..  Now where's my spray bottle, I have some leather to case!

Bob

[Bodean]

BBQ, pizza, and leather. Sounds like heaven to me.

[immiketoo]

You have forgotten booze...

[JD62]

Course now some dude went and came up with BBQ pizza  and Buffalo chicken pizza

[JRLeather2]

From my copy of Lucky Seven published in 1955...

[BDAZ]

54 minutes ago, JRLeather2 said:

I was looking at this one last week at my local Tandy store, still in print. I have the Lucky 8. Now costs $9.99

Bob

From my copy of Lucky Seven published in 1955...

 

 

Edited June 4, 2018 by BDAZ

[immiketoo]

I wouldn't use a sponge to add more moisture once you've started carving, as it tends to go too deep and spread the swivel knife cuts.

[fredk]

I use a sponge, as

a/ It can be guaranteed I have a clean one handy

b/ I can squeeze it out easier

c/ I only dab it on the leather to apply water, I don't wipe it or swipe it around

[JRLeather2]

I use a spray bottle unless I am wet molding...I also keep a hair dryer plugged in by my bench If it takes to long to get where I want it...

Edited June 4, 2018 by JRLeather2

[immiketoo]

Thats actually a good idea about the hair dryer.  Might have to give that a try sometime.

 

[BDAZ]

Currently 5% humidity in my workshop so I am constantly spritzing as I carve.

 

Bob

[Big Sioux Saddlery]

17 hours ago, BDAZ said:

Currently 5% humidity in my workshop so I am constantly spritzing as I carve.

 

Bob

I didn't know 5% humidity was even possible!  I run dehumidifiers more months out of the year than not.  Two or 3 days of 80 and 90 degree temps with humidity in the 60% range, and without dehumidifiers, I have a huge problem in the shop.

[BDAZ]

Early summer in Arizona. 107 outside and 7% and inside cooler and dryer. I have converted a bathroom and shower to a humidor with a humidifier made from a 5 gallon pail, fountain pump, computer fan, hooked up to the shower head which keeps the bathroom at exactly 60% where I store leather and musical instruments. Generally wet molded items are bone dry and rock hard in an hour. Of course casing and carving requires lots of ongoing moisture.

Bob

[YinTx]

1 hour ago, Big Sioux Saddlery said:

I didn't know 5% humidity was even possible!  I run dehumidifiers more months out of the year than not.  Two or 3 days of 80 and 90 degree temps with humidity in the 60% range, and without dehumidifiers, I have a huge problem in the shop.

 

6 minutes ago, BDAZ said:

keeps the bathroom at exactly 60% where I store leather

Ok, I'm confused. One person has problems at 60%, another stores stuff at 60% humidity.  I would think mold would be an issue at that range?  What other problems do you get?  I was quick casing, and put just one spray too much and had to wait nearly 2 days for the leather to come back running refrigerated air (which helps dry the air) here on the coast.

YinTx

[fredk]

Summer, Northern Ireland, today, my area; 17 - 18 degrees C,  [63 F] ,  77% humidity - and this is one of our hottest days!!

It takes days for leather wetted for carving to dry, it takes weeks for wet moulded items to fully dry out on the mould - both times; unless mildly warm air is circulated over and around them. Big problem keeping mold from growing on the wet leather. I've tried a de-hum machine but they just can't cope

I've been varnishing some wood with acrylic water based varnish - supposed to take 1 hour to dry - taking at least 4 to get touch dry, overnight / 8 hours between coats.

[BDAZ]

7 minutes ago, fredk said:

Summer, Northern Ireland, today, my area; 17 - 18 degrees C,  [63 F] ,  77% humidity - and this is one of our hottest days!!

It takes days for leather wetted for carving to dry, it takes weeks for wet moulded items to fully dry out on the mould - both times; unless mildly warm air is circulated over and around them. Big problem keeping mold from growing on the wet leather. I've tried a de-hum machine but they just can't cope

I've been varnishing some wood with acrylic water based varnish - supposed to take 1 hour to dry - taking at least 4 to get touch dry, overnight / 8 hours between coats.

Just received a post from musician friends at an outdoor session in Liscannor Sunday. All wearing Sunglasses! I didn't know they sold them in Ireland! I have had black leather wet molded items reach 71C while drying in the sun. As for mold, the spores have to be in the air before they can germinate on the leather, and here in Arizona, they don't survive unless there is a constantly damp area, like a leaking toilet.

many of the homes here don't have A/C but instead use a swamp cooler, essentially a large fan blowing through a wet pad and then into the house. The evaporation cools the air 25F when it is hot an dry and is much cheaper than A/C. However, later in the year, when the monsoons move up from Mexico, they are less effective as the temperature drops and humidity climbs to 30-40%.

Bob