Help needed for first time tooling

[JuntoPi]

Hello everyone. First timer here looking for some help with tooling.  As you can see from this Holly Hobby project, things didn't go well my first time out.  I watched various videos and read articles about casing leather and basic beveling and didn't come close to the results I was expecting.  To case the leather I submerged the piece it until there were only a few bubble coming out and then let it dry on my slab for about an hour.  It was a little damp and cool to the touch when I started tooling.  I bought myself a 2' x 2' piece of 8/9 oz veg tanned leather from Tandy to practice on.  There's a couple things going on here:

• There is zero burnishing on this. I wasn't expecting it to look like I'd been at this for decades, but I was expecting something.
• My beveling is shite.  I tried to tip it like the videos showed to just get in the the cut to give it a nice edge. That didn't happen.  Even when I used as delicate a touch as I could.

 

I'd love to have your suggestions and help to talk me back from the edge of this soul crushing experience.

 

Edited September 11, 2019 by JuntoPi
grammar

[JLSleather]

Okay, gotta start somewhere, right?  If you haven't made a mistake, means you haven't tried.  

STEP 1:  Throw out that BS about "cool to the touch".. that means less than nothing.  My shop stays about 74°.  Somebody else works in a space about 85°.  That guy will feel my leather and think it's "cool to the touch" even if it's completely dry.  Maybe go by that if you're tooling outside in Arizona...

Next... I usually recommend multiple parallel lines to a beginner.  But the design you're using ACTUALLY WOULD DO the same principle, so I won't bore you with that here.  

Beyond that, it's tough to tell where you placed the tools.  Lower left almost looks like you had the beveler turned 90°... instead of having the long end of the slanted face IN THE CUT.

So... what leather did you buy, and where are you located?

 

[Sturme]

ok, i would start here. these are 3 ebooks that will help you get off on the right foot.

https://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/product/1120/leatherwork-manual-by-stohlman-patten-wilson

https://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/product/1111/basic-leatherwork-by-paul-burnett

https://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/product/1116/how-to-carve-leather-by-al-stohlman

remember to take your time, and practice, practice, practice. working leather takes time and patience, so don't get frustrated. just relax and start with these basics in the books. Welcome the leatherworker.net

[JazzBass]

Fear not, and don't give up. My first "experiments" looked similar.

My first mistake was to "practice on something cheap". No, Tandy "craft sheets" are not cheap in cost, but trust me when I say that you can get top quality, Hermann Oak tooling leather, in specified thicknesses (not offered by Tandy), from Springfield Leather, for similar prices. This alone will take leather quality/consistency  out of the equation.

Casing, for me, was also the most frustrating at first, as it is so subjective. I found that, relatively speaking, I want the leather damper when carving, and noticeably drier on the surface for tooling. This allows smoother, deeper cuts when carving, BUT - you MUST wait for the surface to return to near its original color, with good moisture under the surface, to see the burnishing that you want.

I think your cuts are a bit narrow and shallow, probably due to casing, knife sharpness, and/or pressure. A wider "trench" to bevel will really help as you learn the beveler.

JLS mentioned the 90deg mis-orientation at the bottom left. On the rest of it, and in general, the visibility of individual tool strikes, means that you're moving the tool FAR too much between strikes. You're also trying to get the bevel in a single pass...yeah, I did that too. Try this -

Cut a single, straight line in a fairly damp piece. Wait till the surface dries to near its original color. Now take your beveler - make SURE that the toe is in the groove, and tap it as lightly as possible. Move the tool a QUARTER of its width, and again, tap as lightly as possible. You're creating a small shelf, that will make indexing the tool on subsequent passes MUCH easier.

It's my impression (no pun intended), that you tooled too wet (no burnish), struck the beveler too hard, and moved it far too much between strikes. Believe me...the guys who can do it in a single pass and make it look smooth and easy, have been doing it for decades! You and I need to go a little deeper and a little smoother with each of several light passes.

 

[Handstitched]

I had no idea what I was doing once upon a time, and now I have a small business. 

It looks like you've got the beveller  around the wrong way at one point but soon got the hang of it , but you have got the veiner right though . And where the veiner points join, you could experiment  with a seeder, or a 'camouflage' (or a cammo)  between the joins . Experiment with your tools, have some fun with them , emphasis on fun  .  Thats what I did.  I just messed around with a heap of scraps. With the  help of the very few books I had at the time ,   I  soon made my first key ring , and then a book mark , and then a belt,  and it grew from there.  Youtube do have a great deal of vids to help with tooling. 

As for casing, everyone is different. I use a spray bottle.  I saturate the leather, wait for it to  go back to original colour, then stamp away. 

 We are here to help . We all had to start somewhere. 

Welcome to the world of leathercraft btw     But just to let you know...its addictive    

HS 

[JuntoPi]

Thanks for the replies everyone. you've convinced me to keep tying.  @JLSleatherI'm in Everett, WA and I got the leather from a Tandy Leather store.

[Handstitched]

On 9/16/2019 at 9:02 PM, JuntoPi said:

you've convinced me to keep tying.

 Thats music to our ears     

[Sturme]

@JuntoPi please keep us posted, I for one am interested in seeing your progress. And welcome to leather working. welcome to leatherworker.net

[EthiopianBone]

Hi JuntoPi,

If I'm correct in the assumption you went to Tandy in Shoreline (im in edmonds), you might call and ask if they still hold beginner classes.  When Andy ran the place, they did classes on Saturdays that would go over basics for carving, tooling, stitching, dying, etc.

Strictly learning through trial and error like i (foolishly) do can get expensive fast, so the free classes are probably wise.

[JuntoPi]

@EthiopianBone, yes I'm talking about the one in Shoreline.  I think they do still have those classes, at least they did the last time I was there.  I'm trying to keep this as simple as I can and not get carried away getting a lot of tools all at once. I'm sticking to what I need to build a skill, then build on that.