Creating a Design with Leather Inlays

 

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

  Once the basic design has been cut out, the pieces can then be glued to the board, starting at one edge and slotting the shapes in together like a jigsaw, one at a time. A thin layer of glue should be applied to the edges, as well as to the underside of the leather. Using fingers, ensure that everything lines up and connects perfectly. Then press the covered board for a short 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.

                                                                                                                                                       

And the final design: