So now we have our snake skin boarder we need to re-attach it to the cover. Because of the fabric backing on the snake skin and the fair amount of bending and tension it is going to endure I attach it with a quick setting two part epoxy. This can be picked up in any hardware or craft store. Any brand will work and I prefer the kind that sets in 5 min.
In part two, when cutting the boarder, I cut through both the snake skin and the veg tanned leather. I did this so when re-applying the boarder it would sit flush with the veg tanned center. In the picture below the veg tanned center has been dyed a light tan but I will cover the dying process in a later chapter.
All that is left is to flip it over and trim the snake skin that was purposely cut bigger than the cover. With a strait edge I trim each side to an even two inches. To ensure the sides can be folded over and form a clean corner you need to cut each corner off. I built a jig to do this but with careful cutting you can do this by hand. The cuts should be at a 45 degree angle spaced a distance from the corner equal the thickness of the cover. Once trimmed up all that you need to do is glue it down, put it under some weight and give it few hours to dry.
Now the boards are ready to start embossing. First I need to transfer the artwork I want on the cover. For this you have to get in your way back machine and find some carbon paper. You can order it online from office supply stores but your better art stores will carry it as well. The art for the front cover was put together from a few different pieces of art the were done for the book. I chose them because they fit the letter that will be on the back cover, but more on that later. Below is the carbon transfer onto the leather and was done by just tracing the image with hard edge, It will be a little smudgey but this is OK the precision will come next.
Coming in part 4, putting knife to leather and making your first impression...
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