ETW Grumpy

This is a pair of photo album covers I did for Steve at Lillian Rose Choppers. Size-wise, they are the biggest pieces I've done. Learned lots of stuff. Mainly that my photography sucks.

That's exactly the one. Thank you very much. Can never figure out what search terms to use.

I saw a pattern the other day for a can cover/bottle cover and I can't remember where it was. Just a lace up thing to cover a bottle is what I need. I've tried making one, and can't seem to get the curve of it right. If anyone has one, or can point me in the right direction, I'd really appreciate it.

I think the first one is the bomb. I got the sword hilt thing right away. Pendragon-ish? I agree with David, follow your instincts.

So the key to getting the color to look even is to get the oil evenly applied. Thanks very much to all.

So I guess my question is still if I use oxalic acid to clean, then oil, can I apply stain and expect an even color?

I used a couple of coats of the Eco Flo Gel stain and the paste antique. I posted a while back about getting blotchy stain and it was recommended to use Neat Lac before the stain. I think there's some confusion on my part about stain and antique. The product I used to stain the leather is Eco Flo Gel Antique. The product I used to hilite the cuts and impressions is Fiebing's (paste) Antique Finish, both in tan. If I oil after I tool, will it seal the pores enough to use the Eco Flo product evenly w/o blotching? Then Neat Lac then antique? Also, I used Bee Natural Leather Finish as a topcoat.

That helps very much. I'm letting it dry overnight, then I'll do the Neat Lac, stain, antique and finish coat tomorrow. Then start lacing. Thanks guys for the help.

Cool. I thought it would be OK, but I wanted confirmation. Thanks.

Can you use Neat Lac over dye? I've got a piece that has oil and spirit dyes on it and I want to make sure this isn't going to smear when I Neat Lac it.

Thanks to Tim, the deglazer worked. I applied it to the smudges with a q-tip and it lightened it to something you can barely see. Kevin Hopkins, I appreciate the input. You just never know what'll work sometimes. Hey, an atta girl to your staff. I ordered some 'roo lace from your website and one of your girls called me on the phone to let me know it was on backorder, how long it would take for the new stuff to come in and helped find an alternate size so I could get the project finished. Not often you see above and beyond customer service like that.

It's an oil dye.

I've got a dye smudge right in the middle of a piece that I've redone for exactly that same reason. Is there anything that I can do to remove it, or am I redoing this piece again?

TK I think you're right about the damp cloth. I re-read the instructions and it says wipe on/off with a soft cloth. Duh! Bobby, I assume that wood bleach is available at Home Depot, can I use that? Any special instructions before I ruin another piece? Thanks all.

That all sounds like great advice. Looks like it's experimentation time. Thanks for all the inputs. I'll post back when I get some decent results.

I'm using Tan Eco-Flo Gel Antique on a Hermann Oak photo album cover. After tooling, I applied the gel using a sheepswool piece in a circular motion and immediately wiped the excess off with a damp paper towel. The result I got was very blotchy and streaky and in a couple of places you can see the pores in the leather where the stuff sank in and didn't wipe off. The finished product looks horrible to the point that I'm going to redo it. Is there something that I'm doing wrong, or some step that I'm leaving out? I thought I read the instructions and the books right. Do I need to dilute this stuff? Hopefully someone can point me in the right direction.

Very nice!

Looks good. You can definitely see the progression of your hand stitching. What weight leather are these? Did you dye the inside black? If so, have you had any problem with crocking? As for practice, it's all practice. That's how we improve. Keep at it.

Thanks all for the kind comments. The pattern is Jim Linnell Tandy cover. Bonnie you are very welcome and thanks again for your patience.

I made this for Bonnie aka broncobuster. This was a PIF gift that got stalled because of some health problems on my end. She was very gracious and told me not to worry about making it. I finally got it done.

Sweeet! You do a lot of two-up seats, do you use the original cover as a pattern or make new ones? Got a guy wanting me to do a Softtail seat, and I'm kind of intimidated by the paatern making part. Do you use the original foam, or go with closed cell neoprene? Great looking seats.

You say that like it's a bad thing. Nice looking piece, though. Are you going to color it or just stain it?

To continue this theme, does anyone have a pattern for a display type card holder?

A lot of it depends on the style wallet you're making. I do a lot of biker wallets and make the backs out of 5-6 oz,that with the thickness of the pockets and lining comes out to a pretty stout wallet.

Found some links that may be helpful: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=8277 http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=9924 http://www.bikernet.com/garage/coxseat.asp I have yet to do my first seat, but I have all the stuff. You want to use closed cell neoprene foam. I forgot where I got mine, but you could probably PM Roger and he would know.Hope this helps. Levi