A micrometer is useful to find leathers that are a similar thickness, and a paper lining can also be used to increase the thickness when the difference is too great. Begin by lining the board. I then took a piece of red leather and cut it to the same size as board the that I wanted to cover. A second piece of leather is then placed over the section to be cut out, and held firmly in place with masking tape. This allows an exact fit to be created between the two shapes, as only one cut is used to slice through both leathers.
Cutting through two sections of Adhering the leather to the board
leather at the same time
Adding additional inlays Using a template
After the board has been lightly pressed, further inlays can be added. Hold leather sections in place (again with masking tape) and cut through both layers at the same time. To create more complex shapes, like circles which can not so easily be formed with free-hand, a template can be used to guide the skalpel blade. Gold tooling can also create a nice finishing touch.