Contributing Member wolvenstien Posted July 17, 2007 Contributing Member Report Posted July 17, 2007 I didnt mean to steal the thread TRM started about organizing tools and turn it into a casing discussion. I started by damping my leather with wet sponge, but I found that I was not getting an even penetration by doing it. So after discussing with some people about this issue, it was suggested to me to immerse the leather to get an even penetration of water through out the leather.... Yes, I have to prep the leather about 8-12 hours before I intend to do the work to it, depending on the thickness and size of the leather, but I have found that once I allow it to dry back to almost dry, but still moise enough to where I can feel the moisture in my cheek when I feel it, I get great depth, and my carving stays where it is. If I try to tool before it is dryed to the right point, it will expand after tooling and the carving will be messed up.... but once I got the hang of getting it at the right point, I have not had any problems, and I dont have to re wet the leather while working with it as long as I am done with it in 4-5 hours.... if I have to leave it for a period of time, I will cover it with my plastic cutting board. This helps give it longevity so I can come back later and continue to tool it without it getting too dry. Quote "The miracle is not how two adults can create a child, the phenomenon is how quickly a child can create two adults." -- VYBE Her: Hit Me Him: Do you want me to use the knife? Her: No, When you hit with a knife, that's STABBING!
Moderator Johanna Posted July 17, 2007 Moderator Report Posted July 17, 2007 I know some carvers who wet the leather by immersing it and then keep it in a plastic bag in the fridge between work sessions. The leather looks mushy to me. I know others who put water on with a damp sponge or spray bottle as needed, and don't worry if the leather dries out in the meantime. I am interested to hear what you folks think, and why you do what you do, concerning casing. For the stamping i do, the spray bottle method has worked fine for me, but that's how i was taught; it's not like I ever knew any other ways. Johanna Quote You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus. - Mark Twain
Members Peter Ellis Posted July 17, 2007 Members Report Posted July 17, 2007 Much of what I do involves 13-15 oz. saddle skirting. I have not been happy with spraying or wiping down with a sponge on leather that heavy - the water doesn't penetrate and then the tooling doesn't either. My work schedule is such that I find I can drop a piece in the tub in the evening before I hit the sack, take it out in the morning before I go to work, and have it ready to tool when I get home. At that point, if it is drying out too much, a damp sponge works, because it's the surface that's getting too dry. Inside there's still moisture enough. When I work with lighter stock, then I may go to the damp sponge. Generally though, I find the soak and wait method to work pretty well for me across the board. I fits well with the rest of my schedule. Quote Peter Ellis Noble Lion Leather
Members joet Posted July 17, 2007 Members Report Posted July 17, 2007 I didnt mean to steal the thread TRM started about organizing tools and turn it into a casing discussion. I started by damping my leather with wet sponge, but I found that I was not getting an even penetration by doing it. So after discussing with some people about this issue, it was suggested to me to immerse the leather to get an even penetration of water through out the leather.... Yes, I have to prep the leather about 8-12 hours before I intend to do the work to it, depending on the thickness and size of the leather, but I have found that once I allow it to dry back to almost dry, but still moise enough to where I can feel the moisture in my cheek when I feel it, I get great depth, and my carving stays where it is. If I try to tool before it is dryed to the right point, it will expand after tooling and the carving will be messed up.... but once I got the hang of getting it at the right point, I have not had any problems, and I dont have to re wet the leather while working with it as long as I am done with it in 4-5 hours.... if I have to leave it for a period of time, I will cover it with my plastic cutting board. This helps give it longevity so I can come back later and continue to tool it without it getting too dry. When I first started leather crafting over 30 years ago, I would case by putting it in water until the bubbles stopped coming out. It would take many hours to dry and if I was in a hurry, it just wouldn't do. I then went over to using the sponge or dipping the leather for just a few moments and that seemed to work fairly well. Then I sprayed the leather. I found there would be areas that got more water than others and I would have to spray again. I have gone back to the sponge and bowl method with ProCarve casing solution and I find this to be - for me - what works the best. If I will be working on a project for a long time, I put something, tracing film or some other type of plastic, over it until I am ready to work on it. I will re-case my project just before I place the plactic over it; and it will be ready to go the next day. Quote
Members leathernut Posted July 17, 2007 Members Report Posted July 17, 2007 i had only been doing leather work a few yrs.not long at all.but my two cents are,i take leather on the flesh side run warm water until its good and wet.stick in the fridge over nite in a plastic bag.and the next day when im gonna tool.let it return it to color and go ahead and tool.i was taught the warm water would pentatrate good.dont know if it does any better than cold water.works for me,happy usually way it comes out. Quote http://hellbentcustomseats.blogspot.com/
Ambassador The Major Posted July 17, 2007 Ambassador Report Posted July 17, 2007 See this is the beautiful part about our craft/trade. There really are no right and wrong methods for doing most things. Just personal experiences and what works for you. As far as casing goes, another thing to consider in your casing method is the quality of leather you are using. This plays a big bearing on how well it will take the casing solution. Quote Shawn Zoladz (The Major) dba Major Productions Everything Leather Saddles and Shoes Excluded You can lead me. You can follow me. Or you can get the hell out of my way. -Gen. Geo. S. Patton
Members Go2Tex Posted July 18, 2007 Members Report Posted July 18, 2007 .........My work schedule is such that I find I can drop a piece in the tub in the evening before I hit the sack, take it out in the morning before I go to work, and have it ready to tool when I get home.......... Wow, now that's got to be some mushy leather if you soak it all night. Are you sure you didn't mean to say you drop in the tub, then put it in a sack until the next morning? What are you tooling, rawhide? Quote Brent Tubre email: BCL@ziplinkmail.com
Members Peter Ellis Posted July 18, 2007 Members Report Posted July 18, 2007 Wow, now that's got to be some mushy leather if you soak it all night. Are you sure you didn't mean to say you drop in the tub, then put it in a sack until the next morning? What are you tooling, rawhide? Nope. Wrote what I meant. 12 hours after it comes out of the tub, I'm home from work and it's ready for me to tool. I frequently get about 19 functional hours out of a 24 hour day. No smiley for burning the candle at both ends and in the middle Quote Peter Ellis Noble Lion Leather
Contributing Member wolvenstien Posted July 18, 2007 Author Contributing Member Report Posted July 18, 2007 The thing with leather is that you immerse it until it stops bubbling like I do, and pull it out, or leave it in all nite it is going to absorbe the same amount of water... it cant absorbe more than it can.... so it wont be more soggy or mushy than it would be with just holding it under for several minutes until it stops bubbling... kind of like a sponge... And yes, the quality of leather and thickness would have to do with casing methods too.... When I wrote this I did not take into account the differances in leather.... When working with older harder thick scrap that is hard to cut.... it is getting immersed... no question about it. But when working on fresh thiner leather like the piece of 3/4oz that I worked on tonight I will use the sponge.... wet it thichly, and flip it over and wet it thickly on the rough side.... let it go for 30-60 minutes and then ready to work on.... lately I have been working with nothing but 8/9 and 9/10 ounce and even though it is newer and very easy to cut, I immerse it and work with it the next day... I am working a piece tomorrow that I took pix of tonight before casing it..... the piece is 11 by 10 and has alot of branding on it.... I will take a few pix once I am done and it is dry and ready to be dyed and finished then again after finishing.... see what you think about the tooling depth and all from start to finish.... And Major, you are absolutely correct! thats why I love this place! Quote "The miracle is not how two adults can create a child, the phenomenon is how quickly a child can create two adults." -- VYBE Her: Hit Me Him: Do you want me to use the knife? Her: No, When you hit with a knife, that's STABBING!
Members skipj Posted July 18, 2007 Members Report Posted July 18, 2007 The thing with leather is that you immerse it until it stops bubbling like I do, and pull it out, or leave it in all nite it is going to absorbe the same amount of water... it cant absorbe more than it can.... so it wont be more soggy or mushy than it would be with just holding it under for several minutes until it stops bubbling... kind of like a sponge... And yes, the quality of leather and thickness would have to do with casing methods too.... When I wrote this I did not take into account the differences in leather.... When working with older harder thick scrap that is hard to cut.... it is getting immersed... no question about it. But when working on fresh thiner leather like the piece of 3/4oz that I worked on tonight I will use the sponge.... wet it thichly, and flip it over and wet it thickly on the rough side.... let it go for 30-60 minutes and then ready to work on.... lately I have been working with nothing but 8/9 and 9/10 ounce and even though it is newer and very easy to cut, I immerse it and work with it the next day... I am working a piece tomorrow that I took pix of tonight before casing it..... the piece is 11 by 10 and has alot of branding on it.... I will take a few pix once I am done and it is dry and ready to be dyed and finished then again after finishing.... see what you think about the tooling depth and all from start to finish.... And Major, you are absolutely correct! thats why I love this place! I'm curious about the "older harder" leather, I assume that it hardens as it ages. Is there any way to judge the "carveability" of a piece of leather before buying it, or do you just trust the source? As to casing, always a problem for me, would a wood moisture gage work? Perhaps sometime I blame my casing for problems when it's the quality of the leather that causes stamping and carving problems. SkipJ Quote
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