Spinner

That is probably the best hat I have seen posted. Excellent work as usual Prince!

Shipping was $230, about $30-50 more than the out of state US dealers quoted. The difference was that covered delivery to my shop door. Saving the $50-100 lift gate fee or 1-2 hours to go to somewhere with a loading dock (considering my shop rate is $50/hour plus gas to get there in my truck), plus things that Ron did to make the deal even more equitable balanced the scales in his favor slightly. I do appreciate everyone I spoke to, with the one exception mentioned above, but I'm not a haggler. I ask about products, get the price offered and compare based on my needs. Pitting dealers against one another just isn't my game so I request quotes, make notes and then make a decision. One thing that Ron did that I really liked is to send a written quote following our conversation, without being asked to. This saved me time (not having to recall notes & make follow up phone calls) and gave me piece of mind that the price discussed would also be the price tomorrow or next week. Thanks Art, I didn't know about them but at this time I decided I wanted a new machine. Good reference for the next purchase though.

Just my opinion, but after one phone call to them they were off my list when researching machines this last few weeks. Didn't get a good feeling from the conversation and at times was put off by the attitude of the person on the phone. They had no problem insulting other machines (or my intelligence for considering them) that have gotten good reviews and are used by many folks here with great success only to comment on how much better their machines are. Better or not, I'd loathe to have to deal with a personality like that in the future if I ever needed repairs/service. After much research and very pleasant conversations with Bob, Steve and Ron I opted for the new Techsew 2700 as it fit my needs perfectly current and future and Ron's prices are great even when shipping is considered.

Recent request, totally wasn't prepared for this one as I simply don't keep pink paints in the shop and didn't ever expect to need to LOL. To complicate things, the pink of the cancer ribbons isn't a true "color wheel" pink, it's a darker version that has a hint of blue and more red in it so a custom color was mixed along with the high & low lights. Everything was done subtly with just enough to create a 3D effect without making it too audacious. More pics when it's delivered and installed. Enjoy! Chris

Looking good JJ, keep it up. There are plenty of bobber seat references on the forums, check out the Show Off and Motorcycle gear sections for more inspiration than you can shake a stick at. If you need tips on the bibs part, feel free to hit me up, I can tell you all the in and outs of the Aero750 & 1100, Spirit, Valk, VTX and new VT tanks as I've worked on them all.

Here's another one that might work for ya: http://ubraidit.com/supplies-detail.php?item=53

KeyStone Manufacturing: http://catalog.kmsinc.net/category/buckles-double-bar (need business account & sold by the box) Zoron Manufacturing: http://zoronmfg.thomasnet.com/viewitems/buckles/egories-buckles-double-bar-roller-buckle-stainless (business account & $50 min order) If you don't want to buy in bulk or don't have a business account: http://store.ryansproducts.com/1gibuwrostst.html

Hey JJ, glad you finally decided to swing by! I was trying to figure out who exactly I had referred here until I saw your bike, no mistaking the Batwing! You're going to have fun here, loads to learn and look at. Looks like you're off to a good start, let me know if you have any questions. Cheers, Chris

Excellent! I'm sure he did well, he's a chip off the ol' Bearman block afterall! I didn't tell him how much that piece of wood cost when I sent it, didn't want to make him nervous! LOL Hope he enjoyed turning it as much I do.

Looking forward to getting my Beary maul hopefully soon. Folks are going to drool when they see the handle (wood from my private collection)

As KX mentioned, I can attest to these being sharp little buggers! When I was doing the turning part and test fitting the handles to KX's specifications, I poked many a hole in leather and hand alike! For those that know of my dremel & drill burnishers, the handles for these travel-all-awls are turned from the same high quality cocobolo and incorporate the 4 most commonly requested channels. The awl blades are an excellent quality as well and during my limited time with the first one, it was a real nice tool to use.

Not a problem. The Model Aircraft stuff is likely close but the art store will likely have something better. The main difference between liquid latex and art paper liquid mask is the ammonia content. Liquid Latex tends to have a higher ammonia content than the artist version does since the art version is meant to use with watercolor & acrylic paints on various canvases and papers. The ammonia is what stains leather so anything you find, you'll want it to be good for archival or fine painting uses. If it does stain the leather even a little, a quick cleaning with lemon juice or oxalic acid works well to lighten the affected area.

Incredible Liquid Mask & Frisket can be found at most art stores and also on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Grafix-2-Ounce-Incredible-Liquid-Frisket/dp/B00139SZU4 spend the extra few bucks and get the nib that goes with it, makes fine detail masking much easier. Liquid latex works well also but it tends to stain a bit more. As for the Super Sheen/Block Out, it takes 3-4 coats that have dried over night to work properly. If you have a store near you that sells Neat-Lac or Saddle-Lac, that stuff works even better.

Cova color will work fine over any dye, it's simply an acrylic paint. The Fiebings white "dye" is more like a latex paint as it is non-penetrating and uses a very heavy pigment. I have used it for projects before and it's best used through a sprayer as it tends to go on very thinly and uneven with a brush. The drawback is as a latex similar paint it tends to dry fast and gum up the airbrush. Basically I find better and longer lasting results with water based acrylics. Keep in mind, that if you choose to spray the whole piece and then paint the white on over the dark dye it will take MANY coats to get a decent white but it will always be a slightly off white due to the dark base/under color. Best best is to mask or resist the area first so the lighter leather natural color is the base for the white.

If you're air spraying, definitely use a resist on the lettering or use a liquid mask to cover them up. Since you'll be using an acrylic paint or a "leather paint" for the white, the light stains a liquid mask would leave won't matter as the paint will cover them up. The acrylics will go over a resist just fine as they simply adhere to the surface anyway and simply needs some tooth/texture to grab onto.

It's my understanding that your local/preferred engraver would be the go-to person for these. I'm having a pair done for a personal project in the next few months. You can also ask the engraver to make "proofs" that can then be used to cast future items. Clarity isn't as sharp on cast ones but the cost is much cheaper if you're looking to use them on everything including production products as well as full custom items.

I haven't tried that myself yet but from working with the two mediums previously in theory it shouldn't work out well. Stains are a heavy pigment top coat that semi-seal the pores of the leather whereas a dye penetrates and leaves the colorant in the cell structures of the leather. Using a Stain over a dye works (I have tried them this way) as the dye penetrates and then the stain seals over it. However, the oil dyes have a light solvent and the waterstains are well, water based, so the dye won't be able to penetrate as well and due to the solvent action of it's carrier medium will likely discolor the waterstain in an aura type effect around the intended area. You'll also have quite a bit of rub off as the oil dye will sit on the top longer and as it takes forever to fully dry being oil based, yuo'll likely have to wait days + to apply a top coat sealer like resolene. Now, this is just materials theory based on past experiences so you might want to give it a spin but you plan to use the waterstains for the main coloring, yuo'll have better luck adding highlights and accents with thinned down acrylics or air brush paints with an acrylic sealer sprayed over. Chris

For something that uses the same techniques but are even more varied patterns, check out Peter Main's "Australian Leather Carving". he has a number of belt tooling designs in there, among other things, that focus on Aussie flora and fauna. You can get it from him directly: http://www.petermain.com under the publications section.

Would you be interested in shipping it (w/o motor option is fine) to 91775? Hell, I can get a table locally too if shipping the table would be a pain. PM on the way.

I played with these a bit in the store a few weeks ago and we got pretty decent results by laying down a base coat of the main color and then mixing 50/50 color/pearl for the second coat and lightly rubbing it on with a slightly damp sponge in circular motions. Wiping on in straight lines would cause the pearl particles to align in the path of the wipe and looked streaky. Let each coat dye 15-20 minutes (or longer depending on temp/weather) and then buff off with a soft cloth in similar circular motion. Chris

Looks like we'll chat Monday then Bob, I was just waking up as you were leaving the shop! LOL

I have to agree with you Bobby, partially because I just received a tool I inquired about over a year ago. Peter Main makes an awesome modeling tool but only does limited production runs of them and has quite a bit of interest. I checked in with him every 3-4 months to see how it was going but other than that I knew I'd be able to get one when my time came. I'm also 2 months into my wait for my custom maul and I'll wait another month if need be as I made some specific requests including sending my own piece of wood for the handle. Being a gallery grade block of HF Amboyna Burl ($50 for a 2"x2"x5" piece of wood) I'm sure that'll be just a tad intimidating when the maker gets to that step. Speaking of custom work and possible wait times, I need to touch base with a fellow about a pair of custom conchos...

Thanks Bob. We played one heck of a game of phone tag today. I'll try you again tomorrow if you're open, otherwise Monday.

As Art mentioned, Bob does have a collection of tools at the shows & his classes. I was fortunate three years ago to take a class from him and was able to get this pictoral bevelers & a grass tool (all I could afford) and he had a number of other tools with him. I don't recall that he had his swivel knives with him though.