Jimbob

A few holsters I made latly, Alaskan guide holster for a med. frame s&w, A 2 clip IWB, a IWB for an ugly Glock and details from an shoulder holster rig. All in 8-9 oz heavy steer saddle leather, Fiebings standard dye and 207 bondede Nylon thread.... Greetings to all... Jim

A friend of mine has a brother and he is a retired Marine !!! So he wanted a birthday present for him....working on a shadow box, ( 20X16 )...added an American flag as backround ....now this leather carving goes in, will be attached with prominent brass bolts and as finishing touch the unfinished circle in the leather picture on the bottom will get a Marine corps metal emblem in red, blue and gold !! A thank you to him for his services and a thank you to all of you served this beautiful country... Jimboob

A so called Toad...ahhhemm...I meant a Tote...custom ordered by my little girl for her second year of college....inside there is a macbook Pro foamed compartment sleeve and on the other side inside a compartment with snap for cell and such... On the outside she wanted a removable coin purse matching the bag. All is done with Springfield oil tanned leather in earth color, about 5-6 oz leather and sewn with 138 bonded Nylon on my Adler 105-64 She loved it, I am done with it and hopefully she will generate some business in college, when all the girls see it, hahaha... Jimbob

I like chocolate....sweet....nice work...super clean....as always!!!

Tension thingy is all about experience, you will learn that pretty fast and it is so easy to adjust....stay away from the bottom tension screw for now....make sure your thread is threaded right with no loops or snags....have it floating freely to your tension wheel and beyond....you will find out very soon that eventually the thickness of the leather will make your knots move in or out.....always keep the right needle in your machine and also the one that makes a stitch you like...( many different styles of needle heads ) speer, dagger, point and many more.... Keep your needle sharp or change when dull...dont use pre-waxed thread ...use bonded Nylon or Prop. Always use a number smaller on the bottom....helps to tighten the loops ( knots ) When I start a importand project, I use the exact same leather as scrap and run a few inches to see if the stitches look good..... Thanks for the praise on my website and shop....my mancave....haha...NO GIRLS allowed !! Have fun James

Camano, tnx for the heads up and info,,,,the hardware will be a problem,,,,I see that...I am sure nobody has small items to scale....I guess we found out that it will be about a size 10-11 saddle going by scale...we'll have to see.... And TXAG, dont worry, I was just trying to be funny....according to my wife I am never are...and YEs my spelling sucks...haha....so I guess I have to spell stuff right to get good returns in searchings...will do better next time.... Now its off to the bench and read some old blueprints I found....guess I need to start thinking about making this saddle tree''' Ya all be god and tnx fer helbing mee....

I an sooo glad you tokk time too correcct my speeling...never now when u nead a heelping hand....tanks for poienting out mi mistake...sooo glad.@@!! Jiimboob

The stitching is a bit off....check your stitches per foot....make it lesser, your top tension is off...your bottom shows knots like the top is to loose....stitch all in one contineous line...leave no gaps open when you connect, a light holster like that can handle a thread size lighter...207 ??!! Other than that, looks good and clean style....keep learning on ur Machine, it is a heart break after designing and cutting and gluing....to ruin your work on a sewing machine...guess how I know this....haha...

Somebody is making huge rocking horses and wants me to make a copy of a McCallan Cavallery saddle, should be about 1/3 of the original or a bit larger...horse is 5 foot long about 49 inches tall and 12 inches wide. Where can I get a tree for such thing...can I substitute something to get the shape of the tree/saddle...?? Never made a saddle but lots of bike seats and much more...since this is NOT a real saddle or horse...I can cheat here and there but it should be very close by the look to represent this McClallan saddle !! Also, what should I charge for such work...?? You can buy full size copies for under 400 bucks...?!!? Any help is needed....seems like , if he like my work....I am in for much more of these saddles...so I wanna do a real good job on my first one !!!!!!!! Thanks for helping out !!!! Jimbob

I googled >> early spanish floral designs << BINGO...just about simular to what the first pic in this thread was... Now you all got me hooked to do more research, haha...loving it !!! If anybody ever seen the book of "packing iron" lots of beatiful early California slim jim holsters with exactly this style of carving...Spanish floral carving... Jimboob...

That is absolutly correct.....the Islamic culture ( Moors ) has an abandunce of floral and very geometric patterns and designs in their portfolio!! Southern Spain was invaded over and over again in the 13 and 14 hundreds by Islamic tribes and actually these Islamic cultures staid for a long time in Southern Spain...( Alhambra (spelling))) these ornamentail details later on found their way into the Spanish silver and leather work....which was brought over to the new world by the mighty Spanish Armada...( other artistic items as blankets and such...) So it didnt take long after the early Califoniation, that these floral elements where to be mixed and copied with rather European floral art forms. Many German and other Western European imigrants where fond of lether craft and brought these here to the good 'ol USA, which they then used pattern of known floral art some of em rather simple in shape and form. That is the reason we cant really find a comon name for these styles...they are after all a long lasting form of mixed floral art form imported into the new world as we know it....hey, just what they say...this country is a melting pot....humans and art alike...guess that's why we love it sooo much !!

Dwight That is maybe the solution to my problem....sure like to do the hole thing and claim I did it all myself....also would be able to customice the inside of the case and play a bit...haha...but then who has all this time...?! I am also aware of how expensive new good cases are....and yes it is importand to have a good case, Dad has 3 banjos and I think each one costs more then I have in my used car...haha...now my little man has just started to switch from guitar to banjo...so we might need a second case soon...szzzzzz...hahaha.... Glad I play the blues harp...haha...my cases are done fast....!!!! Thanks for the input!! Jimboob...***

Hey wild Bill... I am just getting ready to wash my two 200 pounder Mastiffs....so one more HOG will not matter...haha... Thanks for the praise on my work....just trying to have fun !! James Goshh...Bill, you have a keen eye....I was hoping nobody sees that and I can get away with being a little bit sloppy...haha....had nothing with a small radius to burnish that cut-out...or being lazy I guess....will do better next time !!! haha Thanks for looking !!! Jim

thanks to all of you....now on to a new job...Banjo case for dad....

Well, seems you are a beginner....dont even know if you like it and not shure what to do....guess what....thats how I started 30 years ago....( still dont know what I am doing...according to my wife...hohoo..) Tandy has cheap stuff and no way it is usable to do pro stuff...BUT the only place to buy leather tools for small amount of money...that one said, I cant afford to spend 25 dollar on a single beveler so I buy what I can and make it work for me.....think about making your own stamping and beveler tools if your handy with metal !! You need basic stuff like a rawhide mallet, a good swivel knife BArry King is GOOD ( keep it sharp and learn how to sharpening it...) , small and medium beveler, a modeling tool and some border stamps to do amazingly lots of stuff...buy lesser and do more...then learn and buy more educated...Sheridian is a hole different world....stay with basic floral designs and have fun....look for some hardware at other places too, like Ohio travelbag company, buy leather by the full side and cut your own straps and as said here...research, research and research some more....thats it...you good to go !! Ohhhh and always practice, practice, practice and....well you get the idea...hahaha James

I thought I had this book, found out I have the other two....thanks for the hint and praise....will be a "biggie" but is has to be done..haha thanks

Let me add one more....if you look real close into early Navajo silver work, before 1870...you see the same dye stamping and ornamentation in silver....borrowed from the Navajos from the Spanish...lots of these design add ons are carried over into later Califorian leather carving and eventually into more modern stamping tools... jimbob

Candy sculls are a newer form of art, more pop art then folk art...( But borrowed from old Mexican art forms and periods...) .what you showed with the first picture is in my opinion an early California style ( before 1850 ) carving style....which had it roots from very early Spanish horse saddle ornamentation, the Spanish where very ornate in their leather work and by the time it came to North Mexico ( now California ) it had been scaled down du to lack of skills and time to a more simple carving style, yet still beautiful in its own way. Later on, as we all know, different saddle shops founded certain carving styles and the Sheridian is the most known today! Funny thing is, if you look real close to these carvings....you can almost see some European Rose maling styles in simple form... Maybe due to the fact, European Imigrants brought these styles and used it later in leather work as art form...!

Thanks Wild Bill.....I just HAD ! to finish these pieces....yard needed to be mowed, boy needed banjo to be picked up, wife needed landscaping done, dogs needed a bath....and and and.....so I locked myself into the shop...haha thanks for looking.

OK, folks.....been wanting to do that for several years now....never got to it....now it is>> now or never<< Da is turning 80 this year in December and I am going to build him a banjo case....custom made one of a kind !! He plays banjo for about 60 plus years now so I thought it is time for a nice case!!!!! Has anybody ever build one, like what to use on the outer shell....how to build the inside with foam and flees....how to attach the carved leather to the shell and and and....lot of questions!!?? Maybe someone can help me to make this a swell case and hopefully my Dad is gonna like it... thanks for all the hints. James

Make yourself a little small very firm sandbag ( shotbag) and lay the decoraticve snap face down on it.....works like a charm !!!

Just a few things I made over the weekend...finally finished that holster for myself..yeahhhh...I "borrowed" the design, but I love this bear paw and since it is for myself no harm done...Checkbook cover was a pain...soooo much detail and sooo big a brushes...haha... Done in 5-6 oz W&C, holster done in 8-9 oz Springfield..... Hope ya all like it... Jimbob the

Ok.....he came....looked and almost fell over....haha...guess he liked it...thanked me three times and called me an hour later to tell me that I nailed it. Sszzzzzzz.....that went well...haha So off to new shores and foreign matters...seeking the adventure of even older looking rigs...I keep ya all posted. James