Low budget Leather working

[Daes]

Hey guys!
 

So, right now I'm in a bit of a spot, having only recently gotten into leatherworking months ago, I've become self-taught and still lacking a lot of information. Excluding what I can find online. Eventually, when time and space permits it I plan to have a workshop to work in, but right now I'm limited to roughly an 8-foot square space to keep my tools, workbench, and leather projects. The biggest thing I'm looking for is tips and tricks on not only getting started in leatherworking but growing into te community online and locally. I live in a small town in North Carolina and sadly the nearest place that I can find good leather supply in person is an hour away at the Tandy leather Outlet. I'm hoping to learn from experienced people like those here on solutions that maybe you've used to solve limited space and more efficient ways of being able to work. Right now leatherworking is a hobby and really I'd like to try it out as a small business on the side.

There are still many things I'm trying to learn, like the different leather weights and what's good to make what, so far I've been fairly decent at making drawstring bags with some very thin leather I found on Amazon and saddle stitching.

[zuludog]

Welcome to things leathery!

There are lots of Threads about leather on this Forum, plus loads of videos; watch as many as you have the stamina for

In particular, these two instructors are frequently recommended - Nigel Armitage and Ian Atkinson/Leodis Leather. This is good - 'Leodis Leather Workshop Renovation' - it shows the sort of things that can be done

Have a look at the home page for Tandy Leather. At the bottom there is a heading 'Leather Buying Guide'. this shows a comparison of leather weights, and the sorts of things they can be used for

Do your costings & estimates; if you're starting out it will probably be worth buying into their discount scheme

I live in a flat and do all my leatherwork and other hobbies in my spare room, so I don't have a dedicated workshop either. I keep everything in a tool chest, the sort that mechanics use, so most things can be stored and packed away till they're needed. It doesn't have to be a top quality one as leatherworking stuff isn't as heavy as a load of engineer's tools 

[chrisash]

Dont forget Tandy offer a big discount for ex forces and others in the USA and also ex forces in the UK both get Elite prices

[bikermutt07]

You don't have to have a lot of space. And if you are anywhere near Charlotte, @nstarleather is a great surplus resourcer. He sends us all wonderful leather all the time at amazing prices. He has lots of stuff listed here in the for sale leather and lace section.

[Daes]

@bikermutt07 THank you! Im actually half an hour west of Charlotte, out in a small town called Gastonia, I will definitely look into his work.

 

And thank you @chrisash and @zuludog I will definitely take that information into account and poke around Tandy more as well.

 

Edited July 16, 2018 by Daes

[Stetson912]

Lots of good advice already. Being new I'm going to say some things that may sound counter intuitive. 

First, good leather is worth the money! Nstar has good stuff. The banner vendors do too. Cheap leather will really give you issues so don't stinge on leather. (Not that you can't find good leather for cheap either) If you would like to check, makers leather supply (out of Texas, great people) have wickett and Craig leather. Russett, natural tooling, and bridle in a few common weights. They even sell #3 tooling and bridle by the square foot. It is a bit more expensive but, I know for me at least, I can't always afford a whole side. 

Second, tools are important. Don't skimp here either. I'm not saying you need top line stuff. But, the better your tools the longer they will last and serve you. 

You only need a few tools to start out too. The main things you'll be doing are cutting, skiving, and stitching. That is every project. A couple good knives to cut and skive and a good set of stitching/pricking irons and a good awl will go a long way. Plastic or rawhide mallet, and maybe a decent hole punch set for snaps and rivets (if you decide to use them). These are the essentials. 

Finally, just time and practice. Don't rush yourself because you'll make mistakes and be discouraged. But, you also learn from the mistakes you will make, so that's ok too. There are a lot of good folks here willing to help. Never be affraid to ask. You'll find your niche soon enough. 

Welcome to the world of leather! 

[Railrider1920]

Next time you're at tandy, ask if they know of anyone in you're area. See if there is a way to contact them. Can't hurt to ask if you can watch what they do. Doesn't tandy have lessons too?

[Rockoboy]

On ‎16‎/‎07‎/‎2018 at 7:10 PM, nstarleather said:

I'm about 2 hours from you.

You're about 12,000kms from me, I would make the trip and pester you for hours days if I could manage it! Tandy is 4000kms from me, so no chance there either. There's a couple of local stores within an hour, but their tools and available hides are very limited.

@Daes Buying online can be your best friend sometimes. Search the forums for some 'go to' names and buy carefully.

As suggested by @bikermutt07, start with a small item, like drink coasters or wrist bands, make a batch of 10 or 20 or more. Practice practice and more practice.

[Sheilajeanne]

If you buy a beginner's kit from Tandy, it comes with 8 weeks of free lessons! That's how I got my start, and our instructor was top-notch. I was firmly hooked by the time the 8 weeks were up!

[Sheilajeanne]

On 7/15/2018 at 2:38 AM, Daes said:

There are still many things I'm trying to learn, like the different leather weights and what's good to make what,

Have you seen this? https://www.tandyleather.com/en/leather-buying-guide.html

There's a lot of information out there for free on the net!

Leatherworking videos can be a huge help to someone who lives too far away too attend classes. 

Here's a couple of examples: Learnleather.com  (Mike is a member here. You can subscribe to his videos, but some of them, such as the celtic video below are available for free.)   

https://vimeo.com/276945563

 https://www.tandyleather.ca/en/leather-craft-abcs.html  

 

Edited July 18, 2018 by Sheilajeanne

[Daes]

Thank you everyone! all this information is wonderful, I think leather carving is the next thing on my list to learn. Been practicing with drawstring bags and decent with them. As for material, I figured it would be best to just save up for full hides

[Riem]

Here's a link to a 2016 thread with very useful information about doing cost effective leather work.

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[johnv474]

You can get pretty far on basic, inexpensive tools, because a big part of leathercraft is developing the skills you use and not just acquiring tools. To illustrate Eric Clapton can make a student beginner cheapo guitar sound pretty good, but a beginner can't make a $3000 guitar sound good.

As a work surface, contact a local granite countertop installer. Usually you can get a free or near-free cutout from a sink.

For cutting, a rotary knife is helpful. A good quality box cutter (with plenty of spare blades) works also. A clicky retractable snapoff razor knife can be a skiver. A McKay knife ($9) can be used for most cutting and some skiving. You can save up for a round/head knife ($60+) but there is a big learning curve. Shears work up until 6 iz if you buybgood ones like Gingher ($22). I find a small hawkbill knife, a thin skiving knife, and a knsfe for cutting rubber can cover most needs, and cost under $30 total. Xacto knives also are good and have many attachments.

For stitching, the inexpensive stitch forks available online do a fine job, considering you can find a set for about $17. Cheaper is the awl haft with fixed blade made by Osborne, for about $10 online.

For thread, it's hard to beat Maine thread for the price. 70 yards is about $7.

Osborne needles should cost about $7 for a pack of 25. Size 2 is a good general purpose size unless you only do holsters.

Hardware store contact cement is a good adhesive and readily available.

Grocery sacks work for pattern material.

This site has a wealth of patterns and tips.

Many of the tools out there are dor decoration (tooling), for setting hardware or reinforcing (rivets etc), or for consistency (skiving, sewing machines, punches). A lot can be improvised or sewn, for example, instead of using rivets, etc.

Hope this helps!