- Joined
- May 7, 2006
- Messages
- 58
Hi All!
I am new to leatherworking and have very much enjoyed the collective wisdom and talent expressed in this forum. In my acquisition of "Leathercraft" tools, testing them and finding what works best for me I have come to some conclusions and discoveries that I have not seen mention of on any of the leatherworking forums I have recently read from begin to end; Here are some of my elementary findings;
Bone Folders: Being unable to find a "Real" bone folder locally and lacking the proper raw materials "On-Hand" to make one I started "Keeping My Eye Out" for a likely substitution. I was at the local "Harbor Freight" store and noticed these non-marring pry bars on the shelf for a couple of dollars, the design of them appeared to have promise in their use as a "Bone Folder" for leatherwork. They in fact work very well and double as a "Detailing" tool or large "Modeler" if my terminology is correct. Here is a photo of what I speak of. So far I am very happy with them and have stopped looking for a "Real" folder. I did spend 5 minutes with a sanding sponge to remove the flashing lines from the sides of the tools and further "Polish" the edges but it probably did not need doing. The hard phenolic resin these are made from shapes easily on a disc sander, just be careful not to get it so hot is starts "Smearing" and you will be able to shape and contour these tools into any shape that you like best.
I am very happy with this alternative for only a couple of bucks.
Poundo Board:
Good Lord! The price of these things one would think that the Queen had marched down it before they sold it, now I am not the most learned fellow in the world but growing up on a soybean farm I know a piece of over priced baler belt when I see it :jerkit:; Here is a picture of a "Lifetime Supply" of Pounding material you can buy for a couple of dollars a foot at your local agriculture or Tractor supply store; The gal at the local Tractor supply winked and simply gave me a 2 foot "Cut-Off" that I further divided and contact cemented together for a 5/8" or so thick DIY "Poundo" board.
Here is also a nice little "Baby Poundo"
that I buy by the dozen for anti-Skid and anti-vibration feet. I thought they would be handy on the leather bench and danged if they are not. They easily "Fit" into cramped areas and cut easily on the bandsaw into custom shapes and sized. At ten bucks a dozen you can afford to be "Creative" with them. They drill nicely and will also turn well on your metal or wood lathe using a sharp tool. Hell! As a bonus you can even play hockey with them! 
It does not take much effort to make a non-marring "Bench Block" from one of them. A regular wood router using HSS or carbide bits will have the black chips flying into whatever contour you desire. I like them on the drill press table, cutting a "V" into one of them really makes a nice Pipe or rod drilling fixture.
A Stack of "Baby Poundo Pucks"
Leather Skiver;
I bought one of these from the local Tandy store and it works "Alright" if you can keep a sharp blade in it.
Personally, I think the leather really dulls the blades on these way too fast and stopping to strop them so often makes it a real pain to keep the work flowing. The design, angle and geometry of the tool prevents you from seeing what you are doing and finally, the sharpened "Angle" of these razor blades simply cant hold up to the tough leather for long.
The 25deg angle of a wood chisel will flat get with and stay with, the program. Before using the wood chisel I was getting aggravated, thinking there has to be a better way, not to "Toot my own horn" I reached for one of my very sharp, hair popping sharp, 1.25" bench chisels and never looked back as I tossed the twelve dollar Tandy Goat Shaver :barf: in the trash can
;
Using a wood chisel I proceeded to pare down a 3" x 3" area of 10 oz. leather in about three minutes. I had seen somewhere that its nice to follow up with a broken piece of glass to "Finish" the skived area, I promise you, if you get a properly sharpened wood chisel and use it as a leather skiver you will convert. In my opinion, it really does work that well and is soooo much more controllable. It also occurred to me that a low angle block plane might work well in this situation. I will save that experiment for a rainy day, for now I am quite content with the chisel method of skiving.
Thanks again for sharing all of your knowledge, beautiful work and words of encouragement.
"There is a helluva lot of "Information" on the internet but it's sorely lacking in "Knowledge & Wisdom" "
J. Honeycutt
Republik of Konnectikut
I am new to leatherworking and have very much enjoyed the collective wisdom and talent expressed in this forum. In my acquisition of "Leathercraft" tools, testing them and finding what works best for me I have come to some conclusions and discoveries that I have not seen mention of on any of the leatherworking forums I have recently read from begin to end; Here are some of my elementary findings;
Bone Folders: Being unable to find a "Real" bone folder locally and lacking the proper raw materials "On-Hand" to make one I started "Keeping My Eye Out" for a likely substitution. I was at the local "Harbor Freight" store and noticed these non-marring pry bars on the shelf for a couple of dollars, the design of them appeared to have promise in their use as a "Bone Folder" for leatherwork. They in fact work very well and double as a "Detailing" tool or large "Modeler" if my terminology is correct. Here is a photo of what I speak of. So far I am very happy with them and have stopped looking for a "Real" folder. I did spend 5 minutes with a sanding sponge to remove the flashing lines from the sides of the tools and further "Polish" the edges but it probably did not need doing. The hard phenolic resin these are made from shapes easily on a disc sander, just be careful not to get it so hot is starts "Smearing" and you will be able to shape and contour these tools into any shape that you like best.
I am very happy with this alternative for only a couple of bucks.
Poundo Board:
Good Lord! The price of these things one would think that the Queen had marched down it before they sold it, now I am not the most learned fellow in the world but growing up on a soybean farm I know a piece of over priced baler belt when I see it :jerkit:; Here is a picture of a "Lifetime Supply" of Pounding material you can buy for a couple of dollars a foot at your local agriculture or Tractor supply store; The gal at the local Tractor supply winked and simply gave me a 2 foot "Cut-Off" that I further divided and contact cemented together for a 5/8" or so thick DIY "Poundo" board.
Here is also a nice little "Baby Poundo"
that I buy by the dozen for anti-Skid and anti-vibration feet. I thought they would be handy on the leather bench and danged if they are not. They easily "Fit" into cramped areas and cut easily on the bandsaw into custom shapes and sized. At ten bucks a dozen you can afford to be "Creative" with them. They drill nicely and will also turn well on your metal or wood lathe using a sharp tool. Hell! As a bonus you can even play hockey with them!
It does not take much effort to make a non-marring "Bench Block" from one of them. A regular wood router using HSS or carbide bits will have the black chips flying into whatever contour you desire. I like them on the drill press table, cutting a "V" into one of them really makes a nice Pipe or rod drilling fixture.
A Stack of "Baby Poundo Pucks"
Leather Skiver;
I bought one of these from the local Tandy store and it works "Alright" if you can keep a sharp blade in it.
Personally, I think the leather really dulls the blades on these way too fast and stopping to strop them so often makes it a real pain to keep the work flowing. The design, angle and geometry of the tool prevents you from seeing what you are doing and finally, the sharpened "Angle" of these razor blades simply cant hold up to the tough leather for long.
The 25deg angle of a wood chisel will flat get with and stay with, the program. Before using the wood chisel I was getting aggravated, thinking there has to be a better way, not to "Toot my own horn" I reached for one of my very sharp, hair popping sharp, 1.25" bench chisels and never looked back as I tossed the twelve dollar Tandy Goat Shaver :barf: in the trash can
;
Using a wood chisel I proceeded to pare down a 3" x 3" area of 10 oz. leather in about three minutes. I had seen somewhere that its nice to follow up with a broken piece of glass to "Finish" the skived area, I promise you, if you get a properly sharpened wood chisel and use it as a leather skiver you will convert. In my opinion, it really does work that well and is soooo much more controllable
. It also occurred to me that a low angle block plane might work well in this situation. I will save that experiment for a rainy day, for now I am quite content with the chisel method of skiving. Thanks again for sharing all of your knowledge, beautiful work and words of encouragement.
"There is a helluva lot of "Information" on the internet but it's sorely lacking in "Knowledge & Wisdom" "
J. Honeycutt
Republik of Konnectikut
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