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BillB

Contributing Member
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    602
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About BillB

  • Rank
    Ambassador
  • Birthday 11/13/1950

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Underwood, Minnesota
  • Interests
    Grandkids and Great Grandkids, 2 Seat Sports Cars, Antique tractors & stationary steam engines, and of course Leather Work

Contact Methods

  • Skype
    billbnead

LW Info

  • Leatherwork Specialty
    Bi-Fold Notebooks, Purses, custome holsters
  • How did you find leatherworker.net?
    Web search decades ago.

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  1. Another way to design the belt loop is to extend the leather above the top of the knife to about the same length as the handle is. Then fold it over backwards to form the loop and stitch it at the end. This reduces the number of stitch seams and provides a belt loop that will not pinch the belt at the top making it easier to get on and off the belt.
  2. What is interesting is the "A" in the uppermost "Shovelhead" is revers from the other "A"s.
  3. Chris, welcome to the forum. Yes, there is a lot of information available on the forum. Glad to see that you have taken the plunge and decided to try your hand at a belt. Just remember that everyone of us had a first project. I am looking forward to see yours.
  4. Welcome to the forum. You may want to check out the fabrication section of the Leatherworker Board. There you will find a forum on Sewing leather. There used to be several good postings on how to finish the edges of a project to improve the finished product. Since I can not see the edges, it is hard to tell if they are finished. Other than that it looks pretty good.
  5. Colt, I have done colorized bi-folds and carved initials. There are many factors that I use when deciding if and when I will colorize the tooling or carve the initials. Some times it is the preference of the end user, some times it is artistic license. I do, however, prefer the natural beauty of the leather as it ages and changes color.
  6. Jerry, As long as I do not rush things come out clean. So I have to watch myself since I tend to rush when: 1. I get near to the end of the project; 2. I have been working too long and need to take a break. Learning how to pace one self is, I think, one of the hardest things to do in any craft.
  7. BillB

    Hello!

    Great that you added the tie downs. My first bike was a Kawasaki 350 back in 1971. Then a Moto Guzzi 750 Eldorado which I had the bags on. The flapping of the bags might be a result of the way the Guzzi engine sits and the turbulence that comes up from below. After two wrecks I laid off bikes until 1991 when I purchased a HD Tour Glide Ultra. I had it for over 100,000 miles and then got a 2001 Road Glide with add-ons to make it an Ultra. The HDs came with fiber glass bags so no need to make leather ones. Last year we sold the 1959 Triumph Roadster I had restored and recently purchased a 2012 Miata. Too many trips on the HD and hitting hail storms. As for leather work, I do writing bi-folds (posted some pictures the other day in the Show Off forum), purses and miscellaneous bags. Yeah, it is about a 3 hour trip from the Twin Cities to our house, but I have a 400 acre lake for a front yard. I am looking forward tor seeing more of your work.
  8. BillB

    Hello!

    Welcome to the forum JGray, Having ridden motorcycles in the past (@200,000 miles) the one problem I had with the leather saddle bags I had back in the 70s was that they would start to flap up and down at high speeds if they were empty, which most of the time one of them was. I eventually had to add a way to tie them down, either forwards to the passenger pegs or in the middle to some other structure. The tie downs near the front worked best since they kept the leading edge close to the bike. Other than that they look great. Although I live in Minnesota, I am almost to Fargo, so it might be hard to get together.
  9. Hello and welcome to the Forum einwindir, I have been doing leather work as a Hobby for over 40 years and still have some of the Tandy tools I bought back in the 70s. The type of project I would recommend would depend on which way you are leaning. For example, a tooled belt is a good way to start since it does not require many tools. For example a belt tooled with a basket weave would require a belt blank, the belt buckle, an tool for the edge and a tool for the basket weave and a mallet. If you want to assemble things in leather, then a pair of Indian style moccasins might also work. That would require the moccasin pattern (free from a number of web sites), some good deer hides, a good pair of scissors, sinew (artificial or real), a good sharp needle. Good luck on that first project.
  10. Hi Fordpkup, I have been doing leather work as a hobby for over 40 years. My grandfather taught me and I have some of his tools. Looks like you have a good start at it. Welcome to the forum. I think you will find that most of us think that the only stupid question is the one you did not ask.
  11. Hello Ebbtide, glad you finally decided to join in. Since you have already been "lurking" you should know your way around the place. What type of leather work do you do? Got anything to show?
  12. Here are some of the writing tablet bi-folds that I have recently completed. The first one is for a friend who graduated from High School this year and will be attending North Dakota State University. The second is for a nephew who is attending the Military Academy at West Point and is his class crest. The third one is for a friend who is the Music Director at our church. The last two are for pastors at Hebron Ministries with Hebron's logo on the front and a Compass Rose on the back with the symbol for Christ where the compass needle would be. Since the inside is basically the same for all the bi-folds, I only included on example. I also only included the back when I did any carving on it. As always, comments and suggestions are welcome.
  13. It has been a while since I posted any of my work. This is a hunting bag I did for a friend of mine who does black powder hunting. It is made from buffalo hide. Comments / suggestions are always welcome.
  14. Hi Pete, I have found that even the light oils from my hands can cause streaking of oil and spirit dyes by disrupting the absorption of the dye. I use Fiebing's Deglazer Cleaner first to make sure all surface oils are removed. This has helped me get a more consistent absorption of the dye.
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