gringobill Report post Posted July 13, 2011 (edited) This is a briefcase that a man ordered for his daughter who just got her masters degree. I told him I was afraid it would be too big for a small lady but he was not to be confused by fact, his mind was made up. It was one of those deals where the more I chewed it the bigger it got. It took forever to complete, I kept making mistakes and had to tear stuff apart and redo it. I did the silverwork also which added some time to the job. Adding insult to injury I totally shot myself in the foot when I told him how much I would charge for it. I imagine I've lost money on the job. If I ever get an order for another one the customer better be sitting down when I give them the news! Anyway this sucker is fixin' to be outta here and man am I glad! Bill Edited July 13, 2011 by gringobill Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Timd Report post Posted July 14, 2011 Well, it was certainly worth the effort! Beautiful work! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirtclod Report post Posted July 14, 2011 You did a nice job on it for sure ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ferg Report post Posted July 14, 2011 Well, I am always the one to throw cold water. Your photos are a little small so difficult to see most. I think you selected a great pattern, doesn't matter if it is an original or not. Your work is excellent except for the Basket Weave. I hope your customer is not as picky as I. That is not a good job. Appears you didn't make a straight line mark, maybe you din't intend the weave to be straight, it should be "ALWAYS" in my opinion. I also realize your photo may be a little skewed. If that is the case forget what I said above about your BW. LOL ferg This is a briefcase that a man ordered for his daughter who just got her masters degree. I told him I was afraid it would be too big for a small lady but he was not to be confused by fact, his mind was made up. It was one of those deals where the more I chewed it the bigger it got. It took forever to complete, I kept making mistakes and had to tear stuff apart and redo it. I did the silverwork also which added some time to the job. Adding insult to injury I totally shot myself in the foot when I told him how much I would charge for it. I imagine I've lost money on the job. If I ever get an order for another one the customer better be sitting down when I give them the news! Anyway this sucker is fixin' to be outta here and man am I glad! Bill Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
King's X Report post Posted July 14, 2011 I agree with TimD.....nice job for your first! And it being your first, I know what how time can be spent spinning the wheels and spending money. Either way, be proud! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gringobill Report post Posted July 14, 2011 Well, I am always the one to throw cold water. Your photos are a little small so difficult to see most. I think you selected a great pattern, doesn't matter if it is an original or not. Your work is excellent except for the Basket Weave. I hope your customer is not as picky as I. That is not a good job. Appears you didn't make a straight line mark, maybe you din't intend the weave to be straight, it should be "ALWAYS" in my opinion. I also realize your photo may be a little skewed. If that is the case forget what I said above about your BW. LOL ferg I draw all my own patterns for better or worse. Hell, I put small pix on here so you couldn't really see all my mistakes! As far as the basket weave goes, it's not as straight as I'd like either, and I did use some guidelines to start with. I don't think in reality it's quite as crooked as it looks in the photo, that panel is an outside pocket and I don't think it was laying perfectly flat when I took the photo. But again, I'm not really satisfied with the basket weave either. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
King's X Report post Posted July 14, 2011 Gringobill Don't knock yourself out of the game that quick. You finished it and it looks better than some I have seen for sale by many others, so be proud! I have been wanting to make one for myself, after all I make leather products, but I am just too darn scared to take on such a big project (for me). Go on, keep talking about your project....and be proud. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gringobill Report post Posted July 14, 2011 Gringobill Don't knock yourself out of the game that quick. You finished it and it looks better than some I have seen for sale by many others, so be proud! I have been wanting to make one for myself, after all I make leather products, but I am just too darn scared to take on such a big project (for me). Go on, keep talking about your project....and be proud. Thank you sir, you are very kind! I have admired your work as well! I was talking to another guy who had made a briefcase and he said, "the first one is always the hardest. It was definitely a learning experience, mainly the fabrication. I definitely learned some things to do on the next one! Bill Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
reddevil76 Report post Posted July 14, 2011 I once re-did a wallet 4 times before I got it right. Not because I didn't know how to do a wallet. But due to some inlay arrangement requested by the customer, and me trying this kind of arrangement for the first time, I ended with 1st - a too-thick wallet, then on to thinner chrome tan leather, 2nd - and it became too floppy, edges wouldn't burnish and doesn't take edge dye so well 3rd - re-designed the inlay and how the lining goes, went back to veg tan for the main body, but after running the prepared pieces through a friend's bell skiver, pieces came out skewed from the skiving action. Junked the pieces. 4th - finally used a splitter to split newly cut pieces and final product had the customer smiling ear to ear. I lost money because of lost time, and material lost in attempts 1-3. But I can't hold the customer responsible for it. Instead, I charged that expense under "tuition fees" Nice job anyway. Just to let you know someone else shared that frustration before, and I'm sure many others. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gringobill Report post Posted July 14, 2011 I once re-did a wallet 4 times before I got it right. Not because I didn't know how to do a wallet. But due to some inlay arrangement requested by the customer, and me trying this kind of arrangement for the first time, I ended with 1st - a too-thick wallet, then on to thinner chrome tan leather, 2nd - and it became too floppy, edges wouldn't burnish and doesn't take edge dye so well 3rd - re-designed the inlay and how the lining goes, went back to veg tan for the main body, but after running the prepared pieces through a friend's bell skiver, pieces came out skewed from the skiving action. Junked the pieces. 4th - finally used a splitter to split newly cut pieces and final product had the customer smiling ear to ear. I lost money because of lost time, and material lost in attempts 1-3. But I can't hold the customer responsible for it. Instead, I charged that expense under "tuition fees" Nice job anyway. Just to let you know someone else shared that frustration before, and I'm sure many others. Man, you are telling my story! Thanks for sharing thatf, I guess misery loves company! I just did some stuff that I didn't think through like I should. Initially I was going to make the gussets out of some thin veg tan. Got 'em all made, lined, ends finished and stitched, had the hardware on one of the for the shoulder strap. Then I got to feeling of them and think about how they were going to have to be shaped around the corners and I could see that was going to be a heck of a fight, if I could even get it done. Then I got to thinking how stiff they were and would continue to be and had to admit that was a bad idea. So back to the drawing board. I had some nice buffalo chrome tan that I had used in for a gusset in another project and made the gussets out of that and it feels great and looks great (IMHO,) and I think it will hold up well enough for the use this piece will get. Maybe I'll find a use for those original gussets down the road some where, they are 3'wide and 41'long. I had the main piece stamped, dyed, and ready to line it with 2/3 oz veg tan. got the lining cut out and gave it a light coat of olive oil and a coat of Tan Coat. Glued it to the main piece. Then low and behold I got some kind of a stain around the hole in the lining for the latch/flap fastener. So I tried to remove it with oxalic acid. Another wreck! There was some kind of chemical reaction between the oxalic acid and either the tan coat or the olive oil and it turned brown. Keep in mind that I initially used a Q-tip to dab the bleach on the stain. So it looked bad but I thought maybe I could salvage the mess some way. the clean the finish off with denatured alcohol. That didn't work. So as a last ditch effort I used quite a bit of oxalic acid on the area and succeeded in totally messing it up. Soooooo, I had to tear the lining out, make another one only this time, I didn't use any oil on it (since it had never been cased or wet.) I gave it a couple of coats a Neat Lac before I ever started gluing it to the main piece. I wanted to make sure it was protected as much as possible. That time it worked, and ended up looking good! Note to self, no more oxalic acid on a finished piece. So, those are a couple of the issues I ran into, there were some other! Live and learn! Bill Looking at the process as paying "tuition," is a good way to look at it, the cost of learning. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
customcowboyleather Report post Posted July 16, 2011 Looks Good. Im sure you are your worst critic. I like the pattern you made. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gringobill Report post Posted July 16, 2011 Looks Good. Im sure you are your worst critic. I like the pattern you made. Thanks, I appreciate that! Bill Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Curious Cat Report post Posted July 17, 2011 That is stunning and I'm sure the new owner will be thrilled when they receive. We are our own worse critics!! cj Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gringobill Report post Posted July 18, 2011 That is stunning and I'm sure the new owner will be thrilled when they receive. We are our own worse critics!! cj Thanks, for the kind words! Bill Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blazin Report post Posted July 19, 2011 Fantastic looking work to me. Your an excellent craftsman. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
