DreadPirateRedbeard

I'll be doing some tooling work on them before they go on. Once they're molded, will it be a problem doing the tooling on them? I'm also going to use some very heavy leather such as harness leather because I'm VERY rough on my boots and want them to last.

Does that go under the leather when I glue it down?

Awesome, thank you, I'll be giving that a shot after dinner and homework!

Yes I'm going to use Gorilla glue to attach them. How do I cut them so they're the right size/shape? I've never done anything that required molding or shaping.

I got a new pair of Red Wing steel toe boots for xmas and I want to tool out a set of toe caps. The only thing I'm not sure about is how to cut or mold them so they fit right. Can anyone help please? Thank you in advance. Dirkin

What I need is a strip of leather that is 3 3/4" wide and between 45"' and 50" long. It needs to be at least 8oz, and ideally it should be around 12oz. I'm using it to make a very wide belt for my kilt. If you can help me, please email me at DreadPirateRedbeard@gmail.com or send me a message here. Thanks for your help.

I have an order for a chain maille bikini top that is to be lined with purple leather. I'm looking for 2 to 3 square feet of either suede, garment leather or upholstery leather. It doesn't have to be super heavy but it can't be too thin. I'm not sure what weight I'm looking for as I don't work too much outside of tooling leather. I'm guessing that if I were comparing it to tooling leather, that I'd be looking for between 3-4oz and 7-8oz. I sure as hell hope that this makes sense. LOL I can pay by PayPal next Tuesday. I can be reached easiest at DreadPirateRedbeard@gmail.com. Thanks in advance for any help/replies. Dirkin

Only the colouring that's on it now. I didn't want it to be too bright or loud. I really liked the way the black antiquing subdued the red in it.

I finally got around to remaking this piece in better leather. I'm very pleased with the way this one came out. the undyed areas were gone over with Eco-Flo antique black. I'll probably harden this before I do anything else with it or the other piece.

The leatherwork is awesome, very good looking work. Since no one else has asked, I wanted to know who did the chains for the wallets? Maybe it's because I do chain maille in addition to the leather andblacksmithing that I noticed the chains themselves. Once again, very nice work all the way around!

I'm looking to do custom tooled solo seats and b*tch seats. So before I go wasting my money on buying a seat pan to practice with, I need some advice from those who do seats. I've seen some unbelievably amazing work on motorcycle seats from members of this forum. I've looked up some info on the forum here but still have some questions. Some of the main questions I have are, 1) How do I determine how much foam to use for each seat? 2) How do I shape the foam for the seat so it's uniform and comfortable for the rider. 3) How do I attach the leather to the seat pan once all the tooling is done? 4) What finish/technique do I use to keep the dyes and such from rubbing off on the riders clothing? I know that the USMC black leaves a lot of rub off as do other colours/brands I'm sure. If there are any other tips/tricks to doing motorcycle seats. I will be grateful for any and all advice I get from everyone here. I have always received the best help from the members of this forum and thus, have gained a lot of skills form your advice. Thanks in advance everyone! Dirkin

I know this is probably a dumb question but I've had this thing for a while but have never known what it's for. Can someone tell me what it's used for and how to use it?

I think I should have added that I'll be welding these together to be used as a branding iron.

I'm looking for a set of letter stamps in Olde English lettering. I have a contract with a company to make some items for them that requires a number and letter set in Olde English script. I've looked on several websites including Tandy and eBay with no luck. To have a custom made stamp set would be expensive. Does anyone know where I could locate a set of these? They need to be approximately 1" to 1 1/2" in height. Thanks in advance for any help. If this is in the wrong area, please move it to the appropriate place. Thanks again everyone. Dirkin

That is fantastic work. I start getting proud of my work thinking it's great and then along comes something like this to remind me of just how much of a beginner I really am. I have so much to learn to get to your talent level. This is the kind of product I aspire to make. I don't have the words to describe how truly awesome this is.

That's some awesome work Tom. I have to get around to doing a belt for myself someday. I've also got one of the pirate captain bracers finished. I'll get those posted maybe tonight.

WOW!!! That is one of the coolest things I have EVER seen. Did you just mold it around a ceramic skull or some similar skull?

The closeups on the supersized images say Neat-Lac leather finish.

http://cgi.ebay.com/5-cans-Leathercraft-st...93%3A1|294%3A50 If I wasn't so damned low on money, I'd buy this. Maybe someone would like to buy this and maybe trade all or part for some other stuff. I have some leather to trade or I could do some blacksmithing or chain maille work for you.

Well I guess I should have opened it and checked it out. It's not gel, it's a paste. So I'd just use maybe a cotton rag to apply it?

So I got some antiquing gel in a lot of supplies a few days ago and I want to try it on a project. However, I don't know how to apply it. Do I apply it on wet leather, dry, slightly damp? And do I use anything special for it such as a sponge, paper towel, cloth? And last but not least, the leather I'm using for the vambraces is already a brown kinda colour as is the antiquing gel. Will that cancel out the effect I'm after? I've never seen leather like this anyway. It's a medium brown, kinda semi gloss finish on it, but the back is weird, it appears to have an almost cloth backing on it. I'm quite sure it's leather and not naugahyde. It smells like leather! It's thick like some of the heavier duty tooling leather I've used in the past, but not stiff like the veg tan. It's pretty soft but semi rigid. It also has these veins/streaks of way lighter brown in it and it looks like it's from being rolled up and handled. I also want to make these hardened (cuirbolli) leather, will it work for the hardening processes? I have a picture of a piece of it. It's not a great picture but it should give you an idea of what it is. I sure hope that I'm making sense, it's late and I'm tired. I just hope someone can make sense of what I'm saying and help me in identifying the leather. Thanks once again everyone, you've been a HUGE help in the short time I've been on this forum. I've learned way more than I could have imagined because of everyone's generosity and kindness. OK no more rambling, I'm off to bed. Goodnight kids! Dirkin

I've found biker wallet kits on eBay for around $20. I'm thinking of going that route and just tooling all of the stuff myself.

So I got some leather in from a shop in California that went out of business when the owner died. One of the pieces I got I'm not sure what it is. I know it's leather of course. The picture is as good as I could get as my camera seems to have a focus issue. It's thick like tooling leather but it's soft and supple. It's smooth on one side and the other side looks almost like it's got a thin cloth on it but still kinda like suede. It's a slightly reddish brown with lighter "stripes" or streaks or veins in it maybe from being folded or rolled. I want to use it to make a pair of hardened bracers out of and use some of the soft suede that I got with it for a liner. I hope this describes it enough for one of you experts to help me. Oh yes and here's the crap ass picture of it.

Thank you everyone for your kind words, coming from the great artists that you are, it means tons to have positive reviews of my humble works. Tom, they've often been labeled as the loudest band in the world. I've seen em 4 or 5 times and they never disappoint. Lemmy is the reason that I play bass. I really suck at it but it entertains me and irritates the neighbors. Right on Brian! The rivets were a faster alternative to sewing it on andd I really like the look it makes. Thanks tat2. the spacing is a result of my cheating using the ol' PC. I downloaded the font that best matched their stuff, used MS Word or some such program to make it what I wanted and printed it out. Then simply put it to tracing film on my handy light box and transferred it to the leather for processing! I'm glad you mentioned something about waterproofing as I spaced it completely. I'll probably heat up the wax, brush it on and use the blow dryer to set it in and get rid of excess wax. BTW, what's Sheridan art? That's a noob question hehe! I have been here a month or so now nad just decided to experiment with some of the techniques that I've read about here and prayed that they worked! Thanks G. I just say f**k it and dive right in. I was very frustrated during a lot of this project though. For instance, when I combined a nice red with the metal flake silver and it turned out to look like pink f**kin glitter nail polish, I almost tossed it out. But I let the pink crap dry, then applied a couple of coats of just red. When I was finished with the detail paint/dye work, I slathered it all in USMC black and wiped it with a cloth soaked in paint thinner and it became what you see. When I started chain maille in 2000, I was told that I should not do a shirt or any large pieces like armour because a noob could never do something that complicated. I did not only a shirt, but it had a brass inlay of three chevron stripes. My blacksmithing is the same. I have never been taught any of these arts formally. But now I'm building my own coal/coke forge from freebie junk and thrift store parts. I'll be putting some hand hammered steel pieces on the jacket next after the forge is built. So for any newbies reading this, Have the courage to do whatever project you want to do, big or small. Ask any of these amazing artists on this forum. Compared to their works of art, my stuff is nothing. In just a month on this forum, I've learned so much from these great people. They have a lot to offer and they're some of the nicest people I've never met! So now I am off to ask a question about some leather I just received and hope for a response or two, then start in on a pair of hardened bracers!

So it's finally done. It's taken me two weeks to get this thing done. But I learned a LOT during the process. The logo looks much darker under normal light. So after all the carving and tooling, I took a chance and mixed a bunch of browns and a couple of other colours from my Eco-Flow dyes. I tested it and liked the look so I covered the whole thing in the mixed dye. Then I ran some USMC black dye over the lettering and logo and painted the areas with a metal flake silver and flat red paint. At first, i mixed hte metal flake silver with the flat red but when I applied it, it looked like pink glitter nail polish so I had to go over it with just the red. Then I ran the USMC black over everything again and wiped it down with a rag soaked in paint thinner which took dye and paint off of some places and left it on other spots. Then I riveted the piece to my jacket. I'm hoping to get some better pictures that show the highlights and such. Please feel free to check it out and give me your constructive criticism.