What if I cut a piece of smooth ceramic tile and mounted leather on it? It should be flat and resistant to warping. Any reasons for why I should not do it?
Printable View
What if I cut a piece of smooth ceramic tile and mounted leather on it? It should be flat and resistant to warping. Any reasons for why I should not do it?
Sure. Why not.
You could also visit the dollar store or michaels crafts and pick up some magnet sheets. I picked up magnet sheets 8.5" x 11" for about $1. The sheets are light duty fridge magnet material and can easily be cut with scissors.
Cut the magnets to size, mount one on the tile, (or a piece of wood or metal) and make up two or three more in various grits of diamond paste on leather.
That's a great idea, Matt. I'll definitely look into it. Planning on experimenting with several designs. I am assuming that pasted paddles take less pressure anyways. Now if I wanted to really stick the leather to the surface (or the magnet for that matter), could I use a construction adhesive like PL?
I'm not familiar with PL. I think any basic white glue, epoxy, just about anything will do. With thick leather it's unlikely that the glue underneath with cause problems with the surface unless you've got a big glob of it.
I'm talking about a thin coating of stuff that will hold a 5'x4' piece of drywall glued to a plaster wall with no other support necessary. It spreads easily, cures slowly and has an amazing holding ability. However once it cures, it becomes hard.
You might want to consider contact cement. I've had very good luck with it in attaching leather to most surfaces.Quote:
Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT
Ed
Thanks Ed. I'll be hitting the HD anyways so I'll look at all of the options.
Sorry to rain on your parade but I really doubt that tiles are flat. If they were then machineists would have been using them instead of float glass and machined surface granite plates etc. Think about it...all of our manmade hones are cooked in an oven (just like tiles) and none of them are perfectly flat. Try going to a company that sells and fabricates kitchen countertops from synthetic stone. Raid their dumpster and look for discards that will fill your needs (thats what I did!:)). That stuff is flatter than tiles.
Just my dumpster diving two cents,:)
check out hand american site...keith sells a flat table version of paddle strop that uses multible leathers and felts with paste...
I got a 3x12" piece of marble tile from Jason (thanks Jason :D). Will that be ok for this purpose?
On that note, I checked out Jason's work area again and I have a couple of impressions:
1) MAJOR case of RAD :eek:
2) EXCELLENT work.. Lots of ingenuity with great attention to detail.
Too bad I couldn't stick around longer but I had to go to the airport.
It depends on the type of tile how flat it will be. I've seen some very flat and quite true tiles available at Home Depot. As a base for leather, there will be some forgiveness and a perfectly flat surface really isn't necessary, anyway, in my opinion. As a substrate for anything but leather, I'd say perfect flatness is very important and even with leather, flat is good but the thicker the leather, the more minor variation is acceptable. Boards and paddles aren't flat enough to use for sandpaper but are plenty flat enough for leather.
Thanks Robert. That alleviates some of my concerns. Time to find some magnetic sheeting, contact cement and epoxy (for a different project) :D
This kind of thing is done all the time with sandpaper and plate glass, but I think a ceramic tile is really not flat enough. Something like granite or marble might be cause it's machined.
Also, it's not expensive to get a precision base from handamerican.com. THen, you can also get readymade leather inserts.
I would agree if your only talking about plain leather, but as soon as you start adding abrasive paste you're back to the snadpaper problem.Quote:
Originally Posted by PapaBull
If you think about it, a hanging strop will never be really flat, and many paddles are made to yield so as to immitate the give of a hanging strop. So, if you're only talking about plain leather flatness is probably not much of an issue.
Making our own is a part of the fun though. As I have a nice flat piece of marble, I dont' have to worry about the ceramic surface. My only concern will be the magnetic sheets as they're only 11" long.
Correction.. They're 9" long. My biggest concern would be the adhesive backing. Should I clean the adhesive before using a contact cement or just leave it there?
Your guess is as good as ours!:)Quote:
Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT
Clean it.Quote:
Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT
Remember, my opinion is worth what you paid for it :rolleyes:
Ed
Borrow a magnet sign off of a van or truck. They are longer, stronger and have no adhesive backing.
Matt, where can I go and buy one? I wouldn't feel too good about "borrowing" lol.
Try calling a local sign (vinyl graphics) shop and see if they would be willing to sell you the little bit you'll need.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT
What Miles said. A local sign shop, any one that offers car signs may be able to slide you some pieces off the roll at a lower price than usual. If not, I may have some lying around, but I think it was borrowed from a Private Passions saleswo/man.
These magnet sheets can also be used to make the coolest fridge magnets in the world, FYI.
May I ask what the magnets are for...I don't understand where or why these would be used. Thank you.
Andrew
Those were to be used for interchangeable abrasive pads. One leather strip would be treated with 1.0, another one with 0.5 and the third one with 0.25 micron abrasive. Each would be backed with a magnet and so would the backing. In any case the idea got scrapped, I glued a single strip of leather onto the marble and got some great results with 0.5 micron chromium oxide.
Thank you Ilija,Quote:
Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT
That clears up my question and further hones my ambition of making my own pasted bench strop.
I just need a good piece of leather...What should I look for...weight, thickness, etc...Any pointers?...Anyone know of any good sources in Australia?
Also what do you guys think of MDF for a medium/base for the leather? If yes should I seal it with a lacquer?
Andrew
MDF would make the perfect base. You could seal it, but it won't warp in any case. As for the leather, just look at your hanging strop and that's what you need for the bench hone. Back leather is better than belly as it doesn't stretch as much. Honey brown is preferable to treated leathers like red latigo as it's untreated and you will be treating it with Cr2O3 anyways.
Hey guys,
What does MDF stand for? I feel like an idiot that I haven't figured it out yet...
Josh
Medium Density Fiberboard. Sawdust and a rock hard glue. Basically wood that does not have grain or move.
I use it on my bench strops as it is a stable and economical base that does not cost a fortune to fabricate.
As for belly or back leather, since glued down solid it probably make less difference on a paddle than for a hanging strop.
Tony
Although there are varieties of MDF that are waterproof, I didn't think the variety you get at Home Depot is waterproof. Doesn't it need to be well sealed... particularly in damp climates and/or if water is splashed on it? Otherwise doesn't it warp/curl at the edges? :thinking:
Joe,
true, they are not waterproof. They are very stable in most climates except sitting in water <g>. The idea is NOT to do your honing with a wet Norton right next to your bench strop. I have had a few guys sit their paddles in water though which I do not suggest myself <g>.
I started sealing the edges on mine just in case.
Tony
I'd go for a 2 part epoxy like aryldite or maybe contact adhesive?
Yep, contact cement is pretty amazing stuff.Quote:
Originally Posted by ForestryProf
Justin