GregGaub

Very nice. Love the two-tone double-loop lacing as well.

First off I want to thank Luke for not giving up on me. I have loads of reasons for procrastinating as long as I did, but no excuses. Luke was rightfully dismayed at the delay, but he was very gracious in his acceptance of my apology. Thanks, Luke! As Luke said, it's a large name plate. Having seen Luke's stuff in his many threads and posts, I knew that he could make anything I could just as well or better. I couldn't think of anything to make him! Sure, I could have made him a nice wallet, but would he have used it? Not without being spoiled on the surprise by me getting all his likes/dislikes about wallets, anyway. The beautiful PIFs I received gave me the idea of the name plate, but now I had a hard time figuring out how to show off my unique style/skills... such as they are. Some of the ideas for this have been bouncing around in my head for a while, but since I had never done them before, I was also worried that they might look like crap. :\ Like I said... reasons for the delay, but not excuses. ;-) The lacing is just a normal applique double-loop lace, right out of the Stohlman book, but I wondered if it would look like I imagined it would with the distance between the holes spread out like that. I wasn't expecting it to look so much like a fish bone, but I'm still happy with the way it turned out. Yes, that was the first time I did that... though it probably won't be the last. BTW, I ran out of lace, even though I made the piece EXTRA long. I had to splice in some more for the last few holes worth. hehe The lettering is actually my handwriting. I just wrote "Luke" nice and big in cursive, then gave it width and tooled it. It's not so narrow, given the size of the project, really. They hat was me being clever, but it really made sense when I saw a photo of Luke with one on. ;-) The '-ley" I originally had after the hat in my design would have been a little over the top, I think. I'm glad I didn't keep that. Anyway, that's all. I'm really glad that Luke likes it. He didn't deserve to wait so long. If anyone has any other questions on it, I'm happy to answer them. Thanks! -Greg

DaveD and Son sent me these wonderful carvings. His son has some great skills!

I have one of those... just leave it attached to my dad's old knife and blade, and hang it on my tool rack for no other use.

If you're going for some kind of authenticity, then I can't help. If you just want to archive magazines without putting holes in them, then I recommend getting some magazine holders for 3 ring binders. They're just long flat pieces of plastic with 3 holes for the ring binder, and a long slot for the magazine to be put through. I used a bunch of these with LCSJ mags a while ago. If you need a better description or a link, I'm sure I can find one.

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I missed the post where the expected deadline for completion/shipment was posted. Is it just "asap" or is there a date we're expected to git er done by?

I'm assuming there is evidence of arson? I'm sure you know as well as anyone that when things are really hot and dry, fires can start spontaneously. It's part of the natural cycle of forests. I agree, though, that if it was arson, and they catch the idiots, they should be put into labor camps for the next 50 years.

Hey, now THERE'S an idea! I wonder if anyone has made a "portable workshop" in a nicely tooled/crafted case? Just the bare necessities to start/complete basic projects when you're traveling or something. You'd need some marble, maul/mallet, Lucky-7 plus other fave tools, a couple knives, some small containers of certain chemicals (dyes, dressings, finishes), your favorite applicators (daubers/sponge/wool), a couple small spools or lace and thread with appropriate needles. Maybe an awl or a set of punches. Then all of that cased up nicely with dedicated pouches/ties for everything. You could even design it to stand up a certain way when working. Of course, the whole thing would be nicely tooled/accented in your favorite style. It would be perfect for those who do fairs and stuff, to easily break out some work during slow times or to show people how it's done, or for teachers that do classes/seminars for clubs and such. If anyone's done such a thing, I'd love to see it! Thank you kindly! -Greg

If you follow Al's guides, and carefully plan things out based on his incredible resource in those three books, you won't make any mistakes that you'll really regret, or cause you to start over. Sure, you might do some things better the next time. Your cases will surely get better and better with each one you make, but definitely don't sweat it. With those books, it's almost like having him right there in your shop with you. I usually work with relatively thin hides, between 5 and 8 ounces. I rarely get anything really heavy, and I'll only sometimes get something thinner if I know I'll need/use it for something. To add stiffness, I'll glue a piece of paperboard (like from the back of a notepad) between the layers of leather for the front, back, and spine. Thanks! I was as apprehensive as you are when I made it, but I bit my lip, told myself "just DO it" and gave it the ol' college try. I'm still proud of it, even if I would do some things differently. -Greg

Thanks, ATX, I appreciate that. I hope it makes my point, though. I had never made anything like it. In fact, I've not made anything like it since then. I used the 3 Stohlman case making books as my guide, and managed to get through just fine. I turn to those three books more than any other book in my library. You can follow the patterns in there, but it's primarily a guide for showing you how to do lots of things that you might need for your own, custom projects. Just make your needed adjustments to the patterns, and go for it!

I made this "Writer's Briefcase" based purely on the Stohlman books. The customer had some very specific requirements for the inside, which I did my best to meet. Although there are a lot of things I'd do differently, the customer loved it, and I think it turned out pretty good. No pattern used, and I'd never done anything like it before.

I was gonna say what wildrose said. I raised both my boys (stay at home dad since the first was born), and while we had large bags, it didn't take long for me to slim down what I took with me/us. Your bag will hold plenty for any common outing. You might need more for a vacation, but just to go shopping or to the park or whatever, that's plenty. And yes... definitely include a toy in there. ;-)

umm... seen any Harleys lately? ;-) But seriously, leather would look AWESOME on a chrome directors chair! One of the most famous architects designed some furniture that was leather and chrome. they DEFINITELY go together.

I'm not a gun owner, and don't have a strong desire to be one, but I'll tell you what... if I DID go out and get one for some reason, I'd get the gun that best fit me, from the feel of it in my hand, to the look of it in a holster and while holding it, etc. I would not spend the money on something like that and NOT treat it like and extension of me. I remember seeing quite the display of handguns at a local sporting good store, Sportsmans Warehouse, I think. They had more guns than I imagined existed. It was like looking at a shoe store with so many styles. Not only could you get the style you liked best, but you could get them for different outfits, in case you were going to a dress ball, or a honky-tonk! ;-)