What do you tool your leather on?

[Whaleman]

Getting back into leather working and wondered what is the best or most practical to use to tool leather on? Back in the day I had a Poundo mat from Tandy but I’m not sure where it went. I see that Tandy sells quartz slabs to use and would they be an alright choice?

thanks.

[arashikage]

Stone is your best option. I would check your local kitchen remodeling shop and see if they have any scrap. I was able to 12"x12" slab of sample granite for free from a local shop. All I had to do was take the other samples to the dumpster.

Edited April 22, 2019 by arashikage

[garypl]

Agree with granite - I use a sink cutout my neighbor gave me hen they had new countertops installed.  Check with granite suppliers and you are likely to find one that will give you a cutout for free or at least very low cost.  Thicker is better.

Gary

[DJole]

My tooling slab was a free piece of granite scrap. The counter makers wondered why I wanted a broken piece of granite, but it meant they didn't have to take it away. it has a nice smooth surface and a curved edge. White marble might be sexier, but my stone was free. 

[Handstitched]

I have a piece of marble that I use.  Approx 2" thick  .It was given to me  in amongst some leather tools etc.  It was  originally too big for my work bench, so I got a diamond cutting wheel  and cut it in  half. So now I have 2 pieces  .  The piece I use on my bench ,  sits on a piece of  foam carpet underlay off-cut to cushion it to reduce any noise.  The other half was once used for leather crafting demo's  carried in a old but handy size  lap-top bag. 

I also have a piece of granite that I paid about $20- for  from a stone mason. Approx  4 " thick, and over 12" square....but its so heavy I can barely lift it, and its way too heavy for my bench. I'm sure I'll find a use for it one day   

HS 

[Rockoboy]

I could not find any kitchen re-modelers using stone in my area, so I ended up with some 20mm (3/4inch) granite floor tiles. I have seen some of these break when somebody is really hitting it hard, so I got some tile adhesive and stuck two together, I have given it a good workout, and its still "solid as a rock".