I’ve looked back but haven’t seen any recent classes for leather work. I have a project that would be greatly helped by some of the tools in Creative Arts but the cabinet has a sign indicating training required. The wiki tool page confirms this. Are there going to be any classes soon?
Well. @jnorine is the SIG leader, but I’ve heard he’s out of town. @HankCowdog knows boatloads, but he moved to Colorado ((with sporadic return visits). @Webdevel does a lot of leather (what are you doing currently?).
There’s not a team-leather that I see… There’s bound to be a few more folks who can address the issue.
Love it! (Snerk) Still… means there’s no one to stop me… JUST KIDDING! On the other hand, its HAND TOOLS owned by DMS and there are loads of you tube tutorials on their use. Seems a bit restrictive. As needed as it may be… there is no course for using a hammer. The chemical I could understand but it seems a bit restrictive to me. ANYWAY. I want to learn to make leather armor for cosplay. I only need a few tools and the ones in creative arts would be nice but I don’t have to have them.
(… Love this too!)
Aha! I will get him to give me the rundown, so that I can give others the rundown…
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The main reason for leatherworking training is so folks learn NOT to:
- use thru-cutting punches directly on the marble slabs
- use thru-cutting punches directly on the tabletop
- use marble slabs without poundo boards when tooling
- use poundo boards as backers for thru-cutting punches or knives
- use the HDPE cutting boards as trays when applying stain
- use the stamps on materials other than leather (eg copper, aluminum)
- use dobbers for stain and not clean them afterwards
- use Barge without being courteous to others in the CA space
That list of abuses is off the top of my head. All of these things have happened in the past with DMS leatherworking tools.
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So, if one is using the thru-cutting punches, what do you use as a backer?
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The cutting boards
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Yep. The white HDPE cutting boards take the damage without dulling the cutting edge of the tools.
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if its ok with @jnorine et al I’ll pm you the syllabus i’ve gotten and notify you when I’m expecting to be at the maker space to meet. I didnt realize I had somehow become the only person remaining for the time being when it comes to checking people off.
we might need to make a team leather tag. considering leather basically has 3 whole storage cabinets.
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I’d be interested as well.
I said I was sorry, and it was just a small spot. Why do you keep hounding me!!! 
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Ouch, nope. I did some dyeing one time and there was a hole in my butcher paper and I put a small stain on one board. I still feel terrible about it.
The real issue here is that using most of the leatherworking tools and equipment isn’t hard, however that also makes it really easy to ruin a $20 chisel/punch. This is our version of using fabric scissors to cut paper.
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I go back to my comment about hammers. There is plenty of possibility for abuse of resources and tools. However, I’d have to ask, of the atrocities listed… how many occurred AFTER people took a class? It will still happen. The Makerspace requires a certain amount of common sense to not burn the place to the ground. Personally, I live by the idea that if I break it, I pay for repairs or a replacement. Biggest issue, is that every group has its own level of “Training Required.” This cannot be a one way street. If training is required… then training MUST be AVAILABLE. The lock down has caused a huge reduction of classes. However, we are coming out of the “everyone stay at home”, so that is no longer a reason. Just looking at the talk board, there are a large number of request for training because training is not being reasonably scheduled. So it begs the question of WHEN was the last training class for using the leather tool scheduled?
Don’t disagree… but it looks like you asked and two people are working toward correcting the issue…
Believe me, I understand your frustration… not having access to tools for which you are paying monthly dues is frustrating. But I would argue that “common sense” is too low a bar; most people don’t live by the break it buy it motto, but rather break it not my problem [though I would guess Makerspace members are much better than the general public]. It is also impossible to know that you are breaking a “rule” if you aren’t told [some rules don’t always make sense - if you don’t know the reason].
The personally believe the two ways out of this spot are:
- More people step up to teach training-required classes! These are some of the easiest classes to teach, require the least amount of prep [the class is already developed], and DMS will often reward you with a $50 honorarium! Teaching a class a month is simple - just pick an area/committee and ask. As you state there is pent-up demand, and everyone can [and should] do it.
- Put more classes online, like 3D printing has. This could [probably] be done for leatherwork - but this requires someone to do it. So someone will need to champion the effort to develop the course and [hopefully] maintain it.
Both of these options require a little effort and dedication from a volunteer… getting people to volunteer their time has and will always be the crux of the Space. But it would go a long way if more would teach a single class a month, they are easy, fun, and a great way to give back.
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Hello! I’m interested also! I missed out on your sheath making class @brenly and was sorely upset! I joined in April having taken on leather crafting 1 year prior. I have reached out to Team Leather and submitted some pictures of my work in hopes that I could get access to the tools as well. @jnorine and @talkers were the folks I was referred to. Being such a newbie, I was a bit reluctant to offer to teach but if we have folks that are missing out because of classes then I’d risk volunteering. I’m especially interested in meeting other people interested in leather craft (lookin’ at you @steve_a ) and “carving” out some new friendships!
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Please let us know when you plan to teach.
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I’m giving this a few more hours, just to see if any of the regular leather teachers come forward.
And if they don’t, then I have a plan…