For Finishing Leather

The quality of the finish work is the best indicator of the effort and caring that went into making a piece. Use the right stuff for the job!

A. Glues, used to secure one thing to another. The two bottles are Tandy Leather Weld and Beacon Fabri-Tac. The former is good to stick leather to leather or wood, while the second is OK for securing cloth or felt. Fabri-Tac is available at any good cloth store. The ideal bond for either type of connection is a true contact cement (not a rubber cement!) Weldwood and Barge are good. 3M's Hi-Strength 90 contact adhesive is excellent as well. The two-tubed syringe up top is Plastic Steel Epoxy, from Devcon, used to permanently secure key-posts. Superglue is faster, but use epoxy when it really counts. Any good epoxy for use on metal will do.

B. Edge treatments, all from the old Tandy. Edge Coat, a flexible black coating that wears well and dries fast. Gum Tragacanth, a slightly-sticky goop that enhances edge slicking (smoothing) with burlap cloth. Plastic edge slicker. Lil fuzzy daubers for applying the first two, although you can use Q-Tips or the like. I've recently switched from Edge Coat to Fiebing's Edge Dya and Finish Applicator, a self-contained do-it-all. The applicator is outstanding, and I find it a more accurate way to applythetop finish. I still dye first, because this stuff doesn't penetrate all that deeply.

C. The ultimate optional accessory, a Dremel Moto-Tool. Basically a small drill, used with a small sanding drum this is the fastest way to shape a trick edge or get rid of little Kling-ons! Don't pay the $30-50 for one if this is all you're going to use it for!

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A.	Glues, used to secure one thing to another. The two bottles are Tandy Leather Weld and Beacon Fabri-Tac. The former is good to stick leather to leather or wood, while the second is OK for securing cloth or felt. Fabri-Tac is available at any good cloth store. The ideal bond for either type of connection is a true contact cement (not a rubber cement!) Weldwood and Barge are good. 3M's Hi-Strength 90 contact adhesive is excellent as well. The two-tubed syringe up top is Plastic Steel Epoxy, from Devcon, used to permanently secure key-posts. Superglue is faster, but use epoxy when it really counts. Any good epoxy for use on metal will do.
B.	Edge treatments, all from the old Tandy. Edge Coat, a flexible black coating that wears well and dries fast. Gum Tragacanth, a slightly-sticky goop that enhances edge slicking (smoothing) with burlap cloth. Plastic edge slicker. Lil fuzzy daubers for applying the first two, although you can use Q-Tips or the like. I've recently switched from Edge Coat to Fiebing's Edge Dya and Finish Applicator, a self-contained do-it-all. The applicator is outstanding, and I find it a more accurate way to applythetop finish. I still dye first, because this stuff doesn't penetrate all that deeply.
C.	The ultimate optional accessory, a Dremel Moto-Tool. Basically a small drill, used with a small sanding drum this is the fastest way to shape a trick edge or get rid of little Kling-ons! Don't pay the $30-50 for one if this is all you're going to use it for!