Leatherworking: it puts the lotion on its skin

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > Leatherworking: it puts the lotion on its skin

TopherCStone: Feb 27, 2013; I am very important and deserve your attention

I watched How It's Made yesterday and saw the assembly of leather attache cases, which really got me interested. I love bags, and other containers, even wallets. I think I'm going to get some leatherworking supplies! I'd also love to make loafers/moccasins at some point

# ¿ Aug 6, 2013 00:50

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 13:55

TopherCStone: Feb 27, 2013; I am very important and deserve your attention

Pagan posted:

Actually, Tandy's tools are cheap. And unfortunately, you get what you pay for. A good solid beveler from some small manufacturers is $25 for ONE tool. http://www.barrykingtools.com/page5.htm Worth it, though.

The thing about your stitching groover and wheel, you only need to buy them once, and they last forever.

Can you recommend a bare minimum beginner's setup that doesn't cost a lot? Imagine I just want to start making some basic patterns, no carving and whatnot

# ¿ Aug 6, 2013 17:10

TopherCStone: Feb 27, 2013; I am very important and deserve your attention

Pagan posted:

Well, what kind of basic patterns do you want to make? Tandy has a ton of pre-made kits, where you just start assembling stuff. I'd do at least one of those so you get the hang of it. After that, you'd need a few things.

First, a knife or good scissors. If you're just cutting straight lines, a utility knife is a good investment. If you want to cut curves, a round knife is essential, but expensive.

Next, you'll need a sewing setup. Needle, thread, groover, stitching wheel. You could skip the awl if you have a dremel and don't mind cheating like I do, but the other stuff is pretty important.

You'll also need a hole punch and some rivets, along with a rivet setter. That isn't too expensive. Buckles and dye to finish off the project, and not counting the leather, I bet you could get all of this stuff for between $50 and $100.

I'm mostly interested in bags, wallets, and maybe maybe when I'm good trying some loafers or something.

I have a book on stitching by Al Stohlman, and he recommended:
- Egg eye harness needles (size 4 or 5)
- awl for stabbing holes
- overstitch wheel
- stitching groover

But those are just for stitching, so in addition I'll need sharp things to cut leather with (I have no shortage of utility knives), hole punch, rivets, and rivet setter? I don't have a dremel, but I've considered getting one for various reasons. Could I replace both the hole punch and the awl with a dremel?
I've heard that the stitch holes need to be at a 45 degree angle. Do you do that with the dremel or just drill them straight?

Thanks for the help!

# ¿ Aug 7, 2013 03:19

TopherCStone: Feb 27, 2013; I am very important and deserve your attention

I just ordered a hand stitching kit (it seems there are no leatherworking stores here in NJ, not that I can find on the internet at least). I think my brother has a good quantity of leather around, so I can mess with that to practice my stitching before I start any projects

e: a lady at work who is generally very crafty has pointed me to a store relatively nearby that sells Tandy products, including the leather. There used to be a full Tandy shop, but they went out of business. I will stop by when I get my stitching kit and grab some scraps of various sizes to practice on

TopherCStone fucked around with this message at 21:14 on Aug 9, 2013

# ¿ Aug 7, 2013 21:06

TopherCStone: Feb 27, 2013; I am very important and deserve your attention

Baron Fuzzlewhack posted:

Recently picked up some tools, and I have a question regarding awls.

I've seen an awl used at least two different ways: a) holding the leather vertically and pushing the awl through horizontally, b) laying the leather flat horizontally and lightly hammering the awl in vertically (similar to a chisel).

For either method, should the awl blade basically be sharp as your typical knife blade, or, if I'm going to push/hammer the awl blade in like a chisel should it not be as sharp?

I know for pushing you want the awl as sharp as it can be. No idea on hammering, but I usually see it done with a multi-pronged apparatus rather than with the normal awl

# ¿ Aug 16, 2013 20:25

TopherCStone: Feb 27, 2013; I am very important and deserve your attention

I've been on kind of a hiatus from practicing my leatherwork because it's super inconvenient for me to get to the only leather store in the state when its open. I've ordered some scrap leather off ebay to tide me over until I'm ready to buy a whole side or whatever.

# ¿ Aug 29, 2013 15:26

TopherCStone: Feb 27, 2013; I am very important and deserve your attention

How about stitching leather on a sewing machine? We have one in the house, a Brother, but I'm not really sure how to use it. My fingers are usually sore after a long day of manipulating paper and then practicing guitar, so hand stitching is actually painful for me

# ¿ Sep 5, 2013 02:51

TopherCStone: Feb 27, 2013; I am very important and deserve your attention

TheNothingNew posted:

Pretty much out of the question unless you are working with chrome-tanned "fashion-weight" leather, or your sewing machine predates World War 2 by a good bit.

Well, I can't do anything about the age of the machine but I guess I can get some wimpy leather. Just for fun I tried putting a bit of leather through the machine (not threaded, just piercing it with the needle) and it seemed to have no problems. I might get a leather needle and give it a try.

# ¿ Sep 5, 2013 15:20

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 13:55

TopherCStone: Feb 27, 2013; I am very important and deserve your attention

Mr. Mailman posted:

While it may have pierced it, it won't last. The motor just can't handle that much resistance, and you'll burn it out fairly quickly, and/or strip the mechanical bits inside.

That's what I thought, which is why I only played with it a bit instead of actually stitching. I have a side of garment leather, so I will use that until such an occasion as I can get more

# ¿ Sep 5, 2013 22:01

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