Fig. 79.
Tooling may either be blind tooling, that is, a simple impression of the hot tools, or gold tooling, in which the impression of the tool is left in gold on the leather.
Tools for blind tooling are best “die-sunk,” that is, cut like a seal. The “sunk” part of the face of the tool, which may be more or less modelled, forms the pattern, and the higher part depresses the leather to form a ground. In tools for gold tooling, the surface of the tool gives the pattern.
Tools may be either complex or simple in design, that is to say, each tool may form a complete design with enclosing border, as the lower ones on page [323], or it may be only one element of a design, as at [fig. 100]. Lines may be run with a fillet (see [fig. 88]), or made with gouges or pallets.
Gouges are curved line tools. They are made in sets of arcs of concentric circles (see [fig. 80], A). The portion of the curves cut off by the dotted line C will make a second set with flatter curves. Gouges are used for tooling curved lines.
Fig. 80.