gum tragacanth

[Micah]

New to the forum, so hello to everyone! Have spent most of the evening reading through the posts and finding a lot of invaluable insight. I'm not entirely new to leathercraft but it has been about 20 years since I last worked with it (shop class and boy scouts). I grew up as a shop hand in my dad's custom auto upholstery business so I'm pretty familiar with a lot of things that are used and performed in this craft, but still getting my "leather legs", LOL. Ok, so on with my topic...

I'm making my first batch (of many batches I hope) of guitar straps using 7-9oz veg leather. Things are going fairly well so far but I ran into some questions about the flesh side of this particular leather belly. Some of the flesh side is nice and smooth while other areas are very rough (see attached pics).

Some members here have said to use gum trag to smooth these rough areas down. As I've not used this before, how extreme can the roughness be and still expect the trag to work well? Should I instead try skiving the roughest areas (where the little flaps of skin are), and if so should I use a knife or sandpaper?

I'm still toying with the idea of lining the underside with a lightweight split instead of finishing it, though at 7-9oz even a 2oz lining could make the strap too heavy/thick. I'm a little concerned about the potential for rub-off/alleries from the various finishes available, plus a lining would look/feel better and I could bump the price a little. There's a chance that at least one of these strap would be worn by a well-known artist and I'd hate to get a bill to replace a $700 shirt, LOL! What do you think, should I go with lining and accept the heavier weight? As a guitarist myself, I'm not put off by that but we each have our own preferences (and often to extremes, LOL!!).

thx for any help!

(left-to-right: rough top view, rough side view, smooth top view, smooth side view)

[Michael Sheldon]

I've used gum trag, but the method I ended up settling on is to use saddle soap.

I take an old washcloth or hand towel, dampen, rub it on a block of saddle soap to lather it up a little, then burnish the back side of the leather until smooth and slick. It takes some elbow grease, but it has worked quite well for me for a few years.

[JohnD]

I've made a couple of guitar straps for friends and the method I've used was to dye the backside, then I used gum trag and burnished The entire back with canvas or denim ( I use an old pair of Carhart work pants). Then I applied a couple of coats of super sheen, I'm sure any flexible finish will work.

I made these a few months ago and have had no reports of bleeding or rub off.

I hope this helps and welcome to the forum.

John

[Billsotx]

Micah,

You might contact Wicket Craig and/or Herman Oak and ask for a swatch (sample) of gummed back (sometimes called pasted back; HO calls it Moss back) strap or bridle leather. You can stamp bridle but may not carve well. This tannery finished back will save you a lot of elbow grease on future projects. The stuff penetrates deeply. Even if you split it down, you'll find it runs pretty deep and cleans up quick (as follows and is aforesaid). There's more than one way to skin this critter.

As far as what you're doing now a light touch with sandpaper will work well. A little moisture will help. The fibers will begin to matt down, go with the flow - there's a grain. Work from a coarser paper to finer grit, probably start about 180, then 240, 400 and then 1,000 or even 2,000 and finish it off with a slicker. This stuff is work if you want it nice. Finally, I use a glass slicker, some like plastic, some like wood slickers. I happened to have a piece of 3/8" glass that I've rounded the edges on so I just use glass. One of these days when I fumble and it breaks I've cut a plastic one from an old cuttin' board I'm saving; and round the edges with my router and a little sandpaper. For the moisture, use a sponge or spray bottle (less likely to leave water marks), and go light with this, you'll get a feel for it and you will end up with a nice burnished surface. It's easier to wet it a little more than to wait for it to dry out. Besides wettin' and dryin' and wettin' an dryin' is gonna dry out the strap and then you're gonna have to do more oil. I wouldn't dye it, not a guitar stap or a belt, i.e. not the lining or backside, because it might stain my $3.00 Hanes and I don't want to buy another ... lol. You'll probably get several methods on this from different folks. There's a lot of voo-doo in leathercraft ... lol ... seriously, there's a lot of ways to do this stuff and this forum always makes me say - Why didn't I think of that? What's be fuddlin' is those darn cows are all the same, but different and what works on one hides, don't always work on another. WC and HO is different - they tool and dye different, so you case them different. I make notes because, well because I can't ... re-re-remember ... lol

If you want that strap to kind of grab and stick then you may want to line it instead of slick and burnish it, and you might consider calling Seigel of CA about lining leather. Ask for Stephen if you call, and ask him about a piece of suede or kip, I think chrome tan - ask him which as he'll know, or at least he'll make a pretty good WAG ... lol ... at the right material. (That's a Wild A Guess if you lost your mechanics dictionary ... lol) Chrome tan won't tool or carve well but it holds dye good (shoes are chrome) and it's supple and tough. Maybe some of this'll help ya out. I never sling my ol' Taylor because I'm too lazy and I just make noise, but I carry my M1895 on my shoulder all the time ... lol ... straps are slings and slings are straps and you're on the right track with what you're doing here and this bunch of folks. Miss Jo's is a friendly place and crazy sometimes. Stay out of the adult area until you're old enough ... lol ... and let us know how it ends up. Good luck, ~Bill

[Regis]

Micah,

You got some expert views here so I'll just say "Welcome". I liked the question and the answers.....helped me too.

[The Major]

Great suggestions offered thus far. I can only add one more thing.

If you wanted to save some time and ensure you are getting an even back on your strap. Invest in a splitter.

[Luke Hatley]

Micah, Wewlcome

A Great Guitar Strap will be made with good Leather..

There is a Much better grade of leather to buy than

thoes Bellies. If you want to use the bellies Line them

with 1-2 oz natural pig skin.

If you use a better leather to make the straps do as

othere have said and use the Gum Tag.

Dont mean to be a Critic, I know what has worked for me.

[ETW Grumpy]

I tend to agree with Luke, get a better piece of hide to work with it will save you time and effort and be more profitable in the long run. If I get a shaggy piece like that, I use Super Shene and a slicker to smooth it out. Works like a charm.

[Micah]

thanks to each of you for your replies and welcomes! you've definitely given me a few options to consider and some new insights. I think what I may do is opt for lining the straps I cut from this stock, that way I get the pluses mentioned and the peace of mind to boot. But I will try each of these suggestions on the scrap I have leftover for future edification.

Bill, I think you also answered another question I had. Another strap maker said they get leather that is "specially prepared" on the back so that the little fuzzies don't come off onto your clothing. I had been wondering what they meant by that but now I think they're refering to moss back. thx!

Luke, no worries! I appreciate the honest critique. Most of the strap makers I found were using veg bellies so that's what I decided to go with (a safe bet my first time around, I figured). I had to buy it on the cheap too, but I guess it's better if I screw up this stuff than an expensive hide, LOL.

For what it's worth, I bought this belly through Leather Unlimited, if anyone has wondered what their quality is like. I probably won't order anymore through them now!

[Michael Sheldon]

I've never ordered from Leather Unlimited, but I'm not sure I'd blame them over the quality of belly leather. Belly leather is the lowest-quality piece on the hide. It's stretchy, inconsistent, and weak.

For strap goods, I use only back or shoulder. You want something that will not stretch or deform and can take a decent amount of stress. When I buy sides, the belly part usually just goes into my scrap bin. It's fine for testing new patterns on, or for small pouches that won't take any strain and other such things. But I wouldn't use it for anything I really cared about.

Just my opinion.

[abn]

I've never ordered from Leather Unlimited, but I'm not sure I'd blame them over the quality of belly leather. Belly leather is the lowest-quality piece on the hide. It's stretchy, inconsistent, and weak.

Yeah, I'd agree with that. Belly from anyone is going to be about the same. Works great for testing out dyes or testing stamps or carving techniques, but I wouldn't use it for final projects.

-Alex

[esantoro]

I tend to agree with Luke, get a better piece of hide to work with it will save you time and effort and be more profitable in the long run. If I get a shaggy piece like that, I use Super Shene and a slicker to smooth it out. Works like a charm.

I need to make myself and friends some belts. I'm not interested in dyeing the leather, just oiling it and applying some kind of protective sealer. For my briefcases I only condition, oil, and waterproof.

What are some of the protective sealers I should use? Super Shene, Neat Lac?

Ed

[Michael Sheldon]

I don't usually use sealers unless I've painted the surface. Especially with strap-goods, where the constant flexing tends to leave visible crazing of the finish.

My favorite finish is Fiebings carnuba wax. It comes in a liquid, and you apply it much like car wax. Wipe it on gently leaving a visible film, them polish it off after it dries.

[CitizenKate]

Or try spraying on a wax finish and burnishing. Wax finishes are great burnishing agents. For flesh side burnishing, I made a burnisher from a piece of scrap MDF with a piece of veg-tan wrapped around the edge and cemented.

Kate