Oval Outlines for Monograms

[superpacker]

Sorry if this should be in the stamping section, but I've often seen leatherwork done with monograms in a nice oval, and border pattern of veiner tooling or camo tooling. But HOW do you get this oval outline and make sure the tooling will perfectly fit around it? 

[Bob Blea]

When I do something like this I just use a clear plastic circle or oval template (like you would find at an office supply or art supply store) and trace the size of oval I want.  Then I cut the oval with a swivel knife and bevel that along the outside of the oval.  Then I will pick whatever cam or border tool I want to use and stamp it by starting at opposite ends of the oval and working the stamp towards each other.  As you get close to meeting (say the last three or four stamps) you can use the tool to space the impressions without making marks and figure out where to place them so they look even.  Once you see the spacing that looks best you go ahead and stamp them in.  It sounds complicated but it's really not.  You just eyeball the last few stamps to they look even with each other. Practice it a bit and you'll get the hang of it pretty quick. It's the same way you run a border stamp around the edge of any area and make the stamps come out looking fairly even.

This picture is of me doing basically the same thing around my maker's mark.  I didn't bevel the border of the oval in this case.  I just stamped the cam tool around the line of the oval I lightly drew on the wet leather.  If you look closely on the left side you can still see traces of the line inside of the cam impressions in places.  This mark is only 3/4 of an inch across so this view is pretty magnified.  It's not my best effort at doing this as I messed up a little on the lower left side and didn't get them even, but it's the only picture I had handy.

Hope this helps

[Rockoboy]

Another way to deal with this issue is to have a makers mark made to your specification with the camo or veiner stamps spaced and set out exactly where they should be. Several very good custom stamp-makers on this site, and some are very good value.

[mikesc]

Measure the stamp you want to use across it's base ( the part that you want sitting on the oval line ) that is "x" ..the just draw an oval which has any multiple of that figure as it's circumference = "x"n..n being the number of stamp impressions that you want to be "around" the oval..Then if you stamp carefully the stamp will fit exactly..whether you want 7 stamps around 11 stamps around etc..if you want to mix stamps..say two of them...just measure both of them "x" and "y"..add the two to get your figure, "x+y", then make an oval that has a circumference that is any multiple of that "x+y"n ...but ( and this is crucial ) subtract either 1x or 1y from the final "x+y"n..So "x+y"n -x or "x=y"n -y...if you don't do that, you'll get two x stamps or two y stamps side by side..You don't want that..

More than two different stamps, same process..

 

Most software that can draw circles, can draw ovals, and you can usually set a radius or the circumference in the dialogue boxes..

if you are using a template ( like the ones with lots of ovals) pick the nearest circumference to the above formula..always ( if there is not an exact match ) pick the next "bigger" and adjust, not the next "smaller"..

HTH :)