TapTapTap

Cics, I have been dealing with the Tannery you are doing your basic leatherwork course with for well over 30 years and am surprised at your comments about them focusing on kangaroo leather. From my experience the roo skins are mainly used for thonging and the quality of their product is excellent. I have been making objects out of leather for close on 50 years and at one stage ran a leatherwork supply shop on the Central Coast. The Instructor on your course would have explained the pros and cons of the various types of leather during the course. I mainly use veg tanned double shoulders from 1 - 1.5mm to 4.00mm. The quality is excellent. If you use Birdsall's Antique and apply a finish like Leather Lac you can minimise the affect of water damage. Check out my website at Myleatherwork.com and you will see some examples. Best of luck with your course, Regards, TapTapTap

Welcome to the best source of leatherwork knowledge on the Web. If you can't find out what you need to do to to improve your standards you are in the wrong place. As Tom said show us some photos and we can guide you. regards, TapTapTap

i can't see any pics? what am i doing wrong ?

Welcome to Leatherworker.net. The people who use this Forum are only too happy to advise you. KEEP AT IT

DavidL, Interesting question. Back in the eighties I used to work the local markets. What I noticed was the comments from customers about the items I was making and I made notes for later reference. There are plenty of books available on how to build everything from a saddle to a keycase. If you are doing "your own thing" then the WOW factor is your goal. There are heaps of tutorials available that are designed to ensure you produce an item without the need to 'tweak it. Check out - Myleatherwork.com and you will see an example of a tutorial. I hope this advice gives you some guidance. Regards, TapTapTap

This is a leather covered water bottle which happened to be the same size as the Round Bag on page 32 of Al Stohlmans Book "How to Carve Leather". I used 2mm thick embossing leather.

Hi Frans, If you haven't bought any tools yet you could try Tandy at MINTO. They have a special on sale until 24th December which is a BASIC HAND STITCHING KIT for $43.19 (normal retail $86.29). Regards, TapTapTap

G'Day Mate (had to throw that in). The Tandy shop in Sydney is situated in Minto which puts it within your reach for a visit. If you contact them and speak to Rod (the Manager) ask him for a catalogue. They are very efficient with mail orders. I live on the Central Coast which is a two and a half hour drive so use Tandy quite often. The quality of the leather at Birdsalls is better that Tandy in my opinion. The contacts at Birdsalls are Tracy and Noel and their mail order is also excellent. There is another supplier in Queensland that has good quality kangaroo lacing called MACLACE. The best book to get you started is "The art of hand sewing leather" by Al Stohlman. There is also available a "Motorcycle Accessory Pattern Pak". Both Birdsalls and Tandy stock these publications. Any time you get stuck give me a call and we will work a solution. My web page is http://www.myleatherwork.com. regards, TapTapTap

Joce, Very nice clean work. To add the professional touch I would very carefully colour the leather on the inside of the slots and also trim the lumpy bits where you have used a slot punch. regards, TapTapTap

Hi Cyberthrasher, you hit the nail right on the head! I have only done a couple of belts and one guitar strap with the celtic design and I am now practicing my celtic work to correct the mistakes i made in this strap. Looking back at my tracing of the design I found that the problem started there and in my rush to get the strap completed and posted I just lost the plot. I note that your photo shows you with a guitar. From your personal experience could you advise which width is the most popular - 21/2 inches or 3 inches. Thanks for your comments, I appreciate the advice. regards, TapTapTap

In my last post on guitar straps (a variety of guitar straps) I said I was working on a wide strap with basket weave and celtic weave. The strap is 3 inches wide and the overall length is 58 inches. It can be extended to 64 inches for the well built musician. The basket weave stamp is the Tandy Craftool X510. The strap is lined with pigskin suede and all edges are hand sewn. It has a "Ranger Buckle Set" fitted for the western look. The buckle set allows for another 2 inches of adjustment. As usual, comments are appreciated - Positive or negative. Regards, TapTapTap Myleatherwork.com

Sherkhan1962, I am a great believer in the theory that "Hand Crafted" or "Hand Made" means what it says. All work is done by hand NOT with a sewing machine! Perhaps if I was relying on my work to survive I would have a different attitude. I hope I haven't offended anybody that uses a machine but that is my opinion. Adjusting the length is a simple process depending on the particular pattern. The guitar strap you like is adjustable from 46 inches to 52 inches. You can see the adjustment strap on image number 3. This part can be made longer if required. When you sew by hand do you use a stitching pony to hold the workpiece? regards, TapTapTap

Thought I would try making some guitar straps. Hand stitched or braided edges. Lined with suede or pigskin. As the width is 2.5 inches I managed to use belt patterns for the decoration. The next one will be 3 inch wide with basket weave and celtic pattern. Would appreciate any comment - positive or negative.